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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

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

a photo of Patrick Kelly, a Doctoral Candidate at Brown University School of Public Health, whose NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse funded doctoral research was terminated

Interviews

An Interview With A Public Health Researcher Whose Funding Was Terminated By The Trump Administration

Mamta Patel Nagaraja, a fired NASA associate chief scientist for exploration and research, giving a keynote at the Department of Transportation for a White House event

An Interview With A Fired NASA Associate Chief Scientist

a headshot of Becca Beckham, a former AmeriCorps portfolio manager

An Interview With A Fired AmeriCorps Portfolio Manager

Picture of Colossal’s Dire Wolves; Romulus and Remus at age three months. Born 10/1/2024

Creaturefector

Colossal Biosciences Can’t Have It Both Ways

Kelsey McKinney

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

Dan McQuade

Ray Ratto

The two Eurovision hosts are surrounded by dancers holding giant fondue sticks.

Music

Can You Do Racism Against Italians? A Eurovision Roundtable

An Interview With A Fired Contract Specialist At The Office Of Personnel Management

a photo of Chuck Sebian-Lander, a fired CFPB web manager. He is wearing a a shirt from my union, NTEU 335, and b) a lapel pin with the CFPB seal that he was given as part of a Director's award

An Interview With A Fired Web Content Manager At The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

A photo of fired EPA program analyst Amanda Cronin holding the text of Executive Order 14096

An Interview With A Fired EPA Environmental Justice Program Analyst

a headshot for Charla Burnett, a fired science for development fellow at USAID

An Interview With A Fired Science For Development Fellow At USAID

three bone collector caterpillars, which are caterpillars covered in the bodies of insects they've eaten

The Very Grisly Caterpillar

Claire Sneed, a recently fired US Forest Service hydrologic technician

An Interview With A Fired U.S. Forest Service Hydrologic Technician

A headshot of Madyson Miller, a fired NOAA program analyst, in a blue sweater and golden light

An Interview With A Fired NOAA Program Analyst

a photo of matt o'malley, a fired USDA agricultural engineer, smiling in front of mountains

An Interview With A Fired USDA Agricultural Engineer

a headshot of fired CDC health communications manager Sarah Boim

Politics

An Interview With A Fired CDC Health Communications Manager

A photo of a USAID education officer, Joel Runnels, standing in a field

An Interview With A Fired USAID Education Officer

A photo of Jules Reynolds, a fired USDA program coordinator, sitting near a valley of farmland

An Interview With A Fired USDA Program Coordinator

two caterpillars having a face-off on a leaf tip until one launches itself off the leaf

This Leaf Tip Ain’t Big Enough For The Two Of Us

People attend the 'Trans Day of Visibility Rally' hosted by the Christopher Street Project on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Someone holds up a sign saying "I WANT MORE TRANSSEXUAL FRIENDS LOVERS TEACHERS STUDENTS NEIGHBORS AUTHORS ARTISTS LEADERS LAWYERS PREACHERS & COMRADES.

Science

What It Means To Fund Studies In Transition “Regret”

a photo of Tara Kerin, an infectious disease epidemiologist who lost her job as a result of the DOGE layoffs

An Interview With An Epidemiologist Who Lost Her Job Because Of The DOGE Layoffs

Alex Sujong Laughlin

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Kathryn Xu

Defector Reads A Book

‘The Artist’s Way’ Week 12: Is Julia Cameron Wrong?

a photo of Veronica Correa, a fired EPA public affairs specialist, standing in snowy woods by a stream

An Interview With A Fired EPA Public Affairs Specialist

Skeleton seated at a table, holding an hourglass. Undated photograph.

‘The Artist’s Way’ Week 11: We Are Dying To Be Done

A photo of Sara Hugentobler, a USFWS fish biologist, in the lab extracting DNA

An Interview With A Fired USFWS Fish Biologist

a photo of Kate Wheeler, a former USDA farm to school specialist. Kate has short brown hair and is smiling in front of several painted planks

An Interview With A Fired USDA Specialist

a selfie of Sarah Cooley, the former director of NOAA's ocean acidification program, with an orange life vest on a river