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Term Feature Four - Books

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Term Feature Four - Movies

Term Feature Four - Music

Term Feature Four - TV

CULTURE

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SPORTS

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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Israel Daramola

Ray Ratto

Markell Dabney of the Michigan Wolverines reacts after winning a college football game against the Western Michigan Broncos at Michigan Stadium on September 05, 2026 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Michigan Wolverines won the game 13-12 on a last second "Hail Mary" touchdown reception.

College Football

Cheating Is A College Football Feature, Not A Bug

Dave McKenna

Media Meltdowns

Famously Undiplomatic Britt McHenry Handed State Department Gig

Patrick Redford

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 04: Fans cheer after Carlos Alcaraz of Spain defeated Yibing Wu of China in their Men's Singles Third Round match on Day Six of the 2026 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 04, 2026 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Podcasts

Honey Deuce McBride, With Giri Nathan

Kathryn Xu

Oneil Cruz #15 of the Pittsburgh Pirates walks to the dugout during the first inning.

Report: Family Of Oneil Cruz Hired Fixer To Cover Up Fatal 2020 Car Crash

Renardo Green #0 of the San Francisco 49ers catches the ball during the NFL football game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 11, 2026.

The 49ers Struck A Blow For Sensible Travel Strategies And Thumped The Rams

Head coach Mike McDonald of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates with fans during the Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl LX victory celebration and parade at Lumen Field on February 11, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Interviews

How NFL Teams Avoid The Great Big Middle

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<p><a href="http://Feldman.cool" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brian Feldman</a> is a software engineer living in Brooklyn.</p>


Brian Feldman

New yorkers throw garbage at the green goblin from the Queensboro bridge

Arts And Culture

How An Unsubtle 9/11 Tribute Was Added To Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man’

Laura Wheatman Hill

Emily St. John Mandel, author of Exit Party

Talking To Emily St. John Mandel About Revision, Timeline Corruption, And Living Without A Floor

Becca Young

‘Furious’ Makes You Face It

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<div>Abigail Segel is a contributing writer at Defector. She is also an editor for The IX Soccer and the Equalizer. Her work has been published in the Guardian and the Montreal Gazette.</div>
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Abigail Segel

Summer May Be Ending, But We’ll Always Have ‘Sterling Point’

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<div>Rena Behar is a Brooklyn-based writer and editor specializing in responsible travel and various international oddities.</div>
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Rena Behar

Fernando Romero’s “El Sol” exhibition

Art Can Be What You Smell

Vikram Murthi

Defector At The Movies

‘It Ends’ Is The Gen Z Horror Movie Of The Year

Giri Nathan

Tennis

An Interview With A Biographer Of Renée Richards, An Actual Trans Pro Athlete

Joel Pinckney

What Do Booksellers Make Of “The End Of Reading”?

Brandy Jensen

A Brief Consideration Of Some Fictional Big Boys

<p>Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and has written for The Guardian, The Second Serve, The Athletic, n+1, Texas Monthly, Air Mail, and other publications.</p>


Owen Lewis

‘The Cruelest Game’ Examines Tennis As Torture


<p><a href="mailto:tara@taraariano.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tara Ariano</a> co-hosts the podcasts <a href="https://www.extrahotgreat.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Extra Hot Great</a>, <a href="https://listentosassy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Listen To Sassy</a>, and <a href="https://www.againwiththis90210.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Again With This</a>. She is also the co-author, with Sarah D. Bunting, of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Very-Special-90210-Book-Absolutely/dp/1419747460?tag=decider08-20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>A Very Special 90210 Book: 93 Absolutely Essential Episodes From TV’s Most Notorious Zip Code</em></a>. Her byline has appeared in the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>, <em>GQ</em>, <em>Vanity Fair</em>, <em>New York</em>, <em>Slate</em>, Vulture, Salon, and The Awl, among many others. She lives in Austin.</p>
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It's a photo of Tara Ariano. She has big sunglasses on.

Tara Ariano

Reds Week

The Cozy-Looking Sweaters In ‘Reds,’ Ranked

Albert Burneko

Tim Curry as Darkness in the film Legend (1985): a big red goat-man with huge horns

Let’s Remember When Tim Curry Played A Huge Scary Red Guy

John Saward

Actor James Gandolfini in scene from HBO TV drama series The Sopranos.

James Gandolfini Had A Lot In His Bag

Annie Geng

‘I Want Your Sex’ Is A Raunchy Plea For Young People To Have More Fun

Rachelle Hampton

Dolly Parton stands alone on stage holding a microphone. She's wearing a flowy red top and black bottoms.

Dolly Parton Prepared Us For The End

Don’t Forget The Nails

<p>Peter Coviello is Professor of English at UIC. He writes about normal things: Walt Whitman, Mormon polygamy, stepparenthood, Prince.</p>


Peter Coviello

Dolly, Josephine, And Me

Lauren Theisen

Alex Sujong Laughlin

Taylor Swift performs onstage during the 2012 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 22, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada

Defector Music Club Gets Back Together For Taylor Swift’s ‘Red’

A screenshot of the Starbug's bridge from an episode of Red Dwarf, with the Reds Week logo at lower right.

‘Red Dwarf’ Became A Sci-Fi Classic By Rejecting Every Sci-Fi Convention

Annie Berke

The Sports Idiot Is Dead, Long Live The Sports Idiot

David Roth

Melanie and Corey "explore a new connection" in the 6/23/26 episode of Love Island. It's two hot people sitting on a couch.

Folkways Of The Contemporary Sex Idiot, With Kelsey McKinney And Alex Sujong Laughlin

Defector Staff

two hot people kiss while a dozen hot men sit on bean bags in the background and clap

What Do We Think About This Season Of ‘Love Island USA’?

Arts and Culture