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Defector


<p>charismatic megafauna (they/them)</p>


Sabrina Imbler

Baby monkey named 'Punch' is seen with a stuffed animal at a zoo on February 20, 2026, in north of Tokyo, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Abandoned by his mother at birth, the monkey found comfort with a stuffed animal.

Creaturefector

The Mournful Ballad Of Punch The Monkey

a screenshot of an email exchange with "Elena Ferrante", which contains six back-and-forth emails out of an exchange of 12

Life's Rich Pageant

What I Learned From My Annoyingly Long Correspondence With “Elena Ferrante”

the ancient fish Haikouichthys, which resembles a blue noodle with four eyes

Finally! An Ancient Fish That Understood Life’s Terrors

Gold medalist Loic Meillard of Team Switzerland, Silver medalist Fabio Gstrein of Team Austria and Bronze medalist Henrik Kristoffersen of Team Norway celebrate by taking a victory selfie on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Men's Slalom Run

Olympics

It’s Time To Get Cozy At The Podium

Davide Ghiotto of Team Italy, Andrea Giovannini of Team Italy,Michele Malfatti of Team Italy in action during the Speed Skating Men's Team Pursuit

Are The Fellas In Sync?

Wojciech Chmielewski and Michal Gancarczyk of Team Poland compete in the Men's Doubles Run 1 on day five of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Cortina Sliding Centre on February 11, 2026 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy

High-Level, Actionable Insights From Watching Doubles Luge For The First Time

The President of the Lombardy Region, Attilio Fontana, is welcoming the mascots Tina and Milo of the XXV Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 in Piazza Citta di Lombardia, in Milan, Italy, on February 27, 2024.

Which Other Olympic Mascots Could Italian Stoats Tina And Milo Slaughter In Cold Blood?

fake berries called bulbils of the black-bulb yam

This Week In Delicious Scams; Or, I Yam Not What You Think I Yam

Artist impression of what Prototaxites would have look like in life

Who The Hell Was This?

A statue representing an iceman named Oetzi, discovered on 1991 in the Italian Schnal Valley glacier, is displayed at the Archaeological Museu of Bolzano

Science

Let The Record Show That Ötzi Fucked

Veronika the cow resting while using a stick.

Veronika The Cow’s Record Scratch

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 08: U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unveils the department's new dietary guidelines food chart during a policy announcement event at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on January 8, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Trump administration announced new dietary guidelines on Wednesday including an emphasis on proteins and full-fat dairy, and limits on processed foods. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Food

In The War On Protein, We Have Been Humiliatingly Defeated By Protein

jon allen holds a worm up in front of a class

This Worm Is A Millennial

A self-portrait by Leonardo da Vinci in which he looks displeased, perhaps making the face he would make if he learned that scientists were trying to grind up some ancient hair to unlock a supervision gene

Arts And Culture

Leonardo da Vinci’s Legacy Won’t Be Found In His DNA

a laboratory mouse pokes out of a brown paper cup in a field of grass

What A Week Of Freedom Can Do For A Lab Mouse

American crocodile basking on jet ski, Broward County, Florida, USA December 2023. This crocodile was being tracked with a satellite transmitter as a component of ongoing research.

If You Give A Crocodile A Kawasaki Ultra 310LX

flat-headed cat, small wild cat, camera trap, southeast Asia, Thailand

What Would You Name This Cat?

Israel Daramola

Kelsey McKinney

Ray Ratto

a hand holds a framed photo of Zooey Deschanel, Charlie Cox, and a terrier mix played by Gus the Dog. Everyone is in christmas attire

Defector Watches A Christmas Movie: ‘Merv’

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


Dan McQuade

Corporate office, maybe mid-2010s style. Two women are walking in the background, and in front of them is a digital display about Charlie Duncan, case number 1016897, and how she's rude, deceptive, and a general menace.

Defector Watches A Christmas Movie: ‘She’s Making A List’

Alex Sujong Laughlin

a photo of a woman dressed in drag as Santa Claus holding a flaming shot glass looking at a blurry man

Defector Watches A Christmas Movie: ‘My Secret Santa’

Dave McKenna

a still from the movie Jingle Bell Heist, with Lucy Punch in a fascinator looking at Connor Swindells

Defector Watches A Christmas Movie: ‘Jingle Bell Heist’

a photo of the set of the broadway musical Chess, with a sign that says CHESS, and the chorus standing for bows in front of it

‘Chess: The Musical’ Is Somehow More Of A Musical About Chess Than You Can Imagine

a mother leopard seal opens her mouth above the body of her dead pup

Why Won’t Nora The Leopard Seal Abandon Her Dead Pups?

a photo of RFK Jr. where he looks like a broken Chuck-E-Cheeze animatronic

Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism, No Matter What The CDC Website Now Says

Split image. The lefthand side is Olivia Nuzzi attends the 2023 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at Washington Hilton on April 29, 2023 in Washington, DC. She's wearing a leopard longsleeve top and has long blonde hair and is smiling tightly at the camera. On the right side is an image of a purple blob of some sort.