CULTURE

Footer Column 2

Footer Legal

Footer Main

Nav Bar

OTHER

SPORTS

Subscribe, at any level, to play

Thanks for your interest in Defector Crosswords!

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Plans start at $8/month.

Subscribers enjoy unlimited, ad-free browsing.

Register to continue

Or click here to subscribe for unlimited, ad-free access!

Our gift to you: This year's post is unlocked. Register your email to get even more free articles.

Welcome to the 2025 Hater's Guide!

Just register your email:

This blog is free to read.

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

Alex Sujong Laughlin

Ray Ratto

Kathryn Xu

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Black-and-white photo of a writer scrawling on paper.

Defector Reads A Book

‘The Artist’s Way’ Week 3: Synchronicities And Faith

Spectators in a color television studio on an exhibition of the USA in Moscow.

‘The Artist’s Way’ Week 2: Roadblocks And Revelations

An image of one of Alex's old journals, sitting on a very nice wood table.

Politics

It’s Day One, Again

Under The Influence

TikTok Users Learn The Internet Isn’t Forever

Arts And Culture

‘The Artist’s Way’ Week 1: Our Hands Hurt

Fashionable women's bags hang along the sidewalk storefronts on Canal Street in New York City.

What’s In A Knockoff?

A man and woman sit on a beach under a striped umbrella drinking Coke out of glass bottles.

Life Lessons

I Was Wrong About Diet Coke

A person sits at a desk filled with books and writes in a notebook.

Your Defector Pals Attempt ‘The Artist’s Way’

Carlos Watson caught mid-speech in a press conference.

Media Meltdowns

Carlos Watson Played The Wrong Game And Lost

Emma Chamberlain stands in her closet, which has recently been emptied of most of its items.

A Capsule Wardrobe Won’t Save You

Journalismism

ABC’s Trump Settlement Is A Bad Omen

Luis Paez-Pumar

Lindsay Lohan sitting on a chair opening a book that reads "Construction Proposal Lifestyle Complex"

Defector Watches A Christmas Movie: ‘Our Little Secret’

Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.

Dan McQuade

Kelsey McKinney

Drew 'Gonzo' Gonville is at the bottom of the steps of a private jet, dressed in a Santa suit. The beard is pulled down. Bowyn Sykes is dressed in a sleeveless sweater top and a kilt-like skirt. She is on the top step of the airstairs into the private jet. They are looking at each other.

Defector Watches A Christmas Movie: ‘Christmas In The Spotlight’

Supporters hold "Women for Trump" signs as they watch Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speak at a campaign rally at the Santander Arena on November 04, 2024 in Reading, Pennsylvania

It’s Safe For Lifestyle Influencers To Be MAGA Now

Screenprinted black and white image of a woman looking at an older version of herself in fear.

My Favorite Influencer Is In Her 60s

Giri Nathan

Patrick Redford

Women's world chess champion, Vera Menchik (1916 - 1944, left) and Sonia Graf (1908 - 1965) competing in the British Chess Federation Major Open in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, UK, 11th July 1935. Menchik finished the tournament in third place with Graf in seventh. (Photo by Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Sit Down Across The Board With Sally Rooney’s ‘Intermezzo’

Risk Week

Everything I Expect From Atlantic City, Based On The ‘Rugrats’ Vacation Episode

Students observe a classroom demonstration in an old black-and-white photograph from the 1930s.

I Took A TikTok Class. What Happened Next Blew My Mind

Models walk the finale of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

No One Needed The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show To Come Back

Sisters Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen pose for photos at the CFDA Fashion Awards, at the Brooklyn Museum in 2019

When Quiet Luxury Gets Loud

Is It Possible To Create Anticapitalist Work On Social Media? 

Rachelle Hampton

four women sit at a booth in the roller rink

What Exactly Happened With The Fruity Pebbles?

An adaptation of the "Oh, the Places You'll Go" cover with a Robert Moses statue.

Life's Rich Pageant

Oh, The Power You’ll Broker!

A person stops to watch a TV screen at a bar in Washington D.C. showing the U.S. presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Who Won The Debate? The Swirling Existential Void That Will Consume Us All

A Pop Star Academy contestant looks at her phone, in a screenshot of the show.