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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

David Roth

New York Jets running back Zonovan Knight (27) catches a pass from New York Jets quarterback Mike White (5) during the NFL game between the New York Jets and the Minnesota Vikings on December 4th, 2022.

Podcasts

Yearning For The Mike White Era, With Jasper Wang

Vice President JD Vance speaks during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on March 5, 2025 in Eagle Pass, Texas. His eyes are closed and he looks like he's singing. Beard looks like shit.

Live From The Bad Times, With Denny Carter

Twitch CEO Dan Clancy attends TwitchCon 2024 San Diego on September 20, 2024 in San Diego, California.

Streams And Nightmares, With Nathan Grayson

Rachelle Hampton

Brandy Jensen

Alex Sujong Laughlin

A woman walks in front of a mural depicting writer Octavia Butler in Nairobi, Kenya. The Defector Reads A Book badge is at upper right.

Defector Reads A Book

Octavia E. Butler’s ‘Parable Of The Sower’ Confronts What Comes After The End

he Colorado Rockies mascot performs before the MLB Spring Training baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies on February 22, 2025 at Salt River Fields.

There Is Something Like Baseball On

Klay Thompson making the stink-face after hitting a three, being congratulated by an erased visual vacuum shaped exactly like Luka Doncic and with a Mavs logo where his head should be, in a frame from a since-deleted Mavericks hype video.

Dallas Mavericks Oafishly Edit Hype Video, Then Delete Hype Video

A general view of the atmosphere at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at Fair Grounds Race Course on April 24, 2016 in New Orleans, with a fried crab po'boy front and center.

Some Basketball, Some Sandwich, With Rohan Nadkarni


<p>Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.</p>


Dan McQuade

Ricky Jay, with his hair balding halfway up his head but black and tall, and a large black beard, in a black suit with a black tie and a dark purple shirt, looking at the camera holding a cut-in-half watermelon with two playing cards into the inside.

Arts And Culture

Someone Has To Save The Film And TV That Studios Won’t

Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs tries to avoid a sack by DE Brandon Graham #55 of the Philadelphia Eagles during Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday February 9, 2025.

How To Describe An Ass-Kicking

A farmer prepares seeds for planting on the agricultural land as farmers who harvested crops in the summer replanted wheat, barley and canola seeds. Honestly kind of hard to do a visual that matches the content of The Parable Of The Sower, the cover of which is superimposed on the seed image at upper right.

Defector Reads A Book Is Going To Reap What Octavia Butler Sowed

US President Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump (L) watch the pre-game show before Super Bowl LIX on February 9, 2025. His hair looks all fucked up; there's a huge American flag on the field.

Politics

Confused Brits Cause Severe Damage At The Donald Trump Propaganda Factory

Nick Sirianni, head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, is escorted off the field by thirsty-ass Dom DiSandro following the NFC Championship Game against the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field on January 26, 2025.

The Eagles Fan Version Of Personal Growth, With Dan McQuade

People organize a rally and demonstration against Elon Musk outside the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in Washington D.C., United States on February 03, 2025.

Billionaire Dipshit And His Strike Team Of Greasy Beavises Are Stripping The Wires From The Federal Government

Reed Hastings attends the Netflix and Mediaset Partnership Announcement in Rome, in 2019.

The Movie Studio At The End Of The World, With Will Tavlin

An Ai Me robot from Chinese company TCL is displayed during the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show CES in Las Vegas.

Capital

The Future Is Too Easy

Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki wearing #11 which was Miguel Rojas number is introduced as the newest Dodger during a press conference at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Bop It In The Go Bag, With Justin Halpern

An Enchanted Tools robot called the Mirokai is displayed during the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show CES in Las Vegas.

The Future Feels Like The Raiders, With Ed Zitron

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin walks out of the tunnel before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on December 15, 2024 in Philadelphia

Los Angeles Is A Football Town, With Diana Moskovitz

Congestion pricing, or Congestion Relief Zone, car toll sign on the westbound Long Island Expressway approaching Van Dam Street in Queens, New York on Jan. 5, 2025.

Journalismism

Democracy Dies As Awful Man No Longer Able To Freely Drive 18 Blocks In Manhattan

A master swordsman named Bernard Ganter uses a saber to open an enormous bottle of Moet & Chandon at a celebration in Denver, Co.

The Fellowship Of The Champagne Saber

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Giri Nathan

Patrick Redford

Firefighters wash up after fighting the O'Brien Creek fire. Lolo national Forest, Montana, August 21, 1940.

Racing With Mortality In Norman Maclean’s ‘Young Men And Fire’

Malcolm Gladwell and Carlos Watson speak onstage during OZY Fest 2018 at Rumsey Playfield, Central Park on July 22, 2018 in New York City.

Feeling Like Ozymandias, With Susie Banikarim

Woody Johnson (center) and his sons attend the Super Bowl LVIII Pregame at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas.

Report: New York Jets Plagued By Woody Johnson’s Meddlesome Teen Sons

A small drone flies in front of the skyline of midtown Manhattan and the Empire State Building as the sun rises in New York City on August 11, 2023

It’s Time For A Little Recreational Mental Illness In New Jersey

A birthday cake is seen for Jess Park of England (not pictured) at St George's Park Futsal Arena on October 21, 2024 in Burton upon Trent, England. It's kind of a saddish cake sitting on what looks like a couch. The Distraction logo is at upper right.