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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

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

Dan McQuade

Moby performs on stage at a concert in 2002. He is in front of a mic in a black t-shirt with a weird eyeball design on it. He's sort of pushing forward with his torso as his arms go backward.

A Notorious Pitchfork Reviewer Was My Biggest Musical Influence

Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.

Nicholas Russell

The main character giving a speech in Origin

Arts And Culture

‘Origin’ Fails As Both Homework And Entertainment

Lauren Theisen

Stuck In The One-Woman Myth

Soraya Roberts

A childhood photo of the author during ballet class next to a current photo of her wearing her ballet clothes

Elder Wisdom

Ballet Brought Me Back To My Body

Israel Daramola

The Five New Playboi Carti Songs, Ranked

Columnist. Author of many <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drew-Magary/e/B001JS8R52/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1">fine works of literature</a>, including Point B. Handsomest man in the world.

Drew Magary

Woman plays Wordle on her smartphone at the kitchen table of her home on 26th November 2023 in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Wordle is a web-based word game played by millions of users / players worldwide often on their mobile devices. The game was created and developed by software engineer Josh Wardle, and owned by The New York Times Company since 2022.

Overexplained Lists

New York Times Games, Ranked

Tom Ley

David Roth

Justin Ellis

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

A bad guy reacts to having a grill thrown through his windshield by Jack Reacher

It Is Now Time To Discuss Jack Reacher Throwing A Grill At A Guy

Journalismism

Music Journalism Can’t Afford A Hollowed-Out Pitchfork

Corey Atad is a freelancer writer based in Toronto with an unhealthy Air Bud obsession.

Corey Atad

Nathan Fielder and Emma Stone in The Curse

‘The Curse’ Showed Just Enough To Unsettle

A garden party scene from The Zone Of Interest

‘The Zone Of Interest’ Is About Cognitive Harmony

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

hanging sculptures by Ruth Asawa in the tower of the de young museum

In The Shadows Of Ruth Asawa

A scene from Tenet in which The Protagonist fights a bad guy

I Can’t Stop Watching ‘Tenet,’ And I Finally Know Why

Sean T. Collins has written for The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vulture, Decider, Pitchfork, and many others. He lives with his family on Long Island.

Sean T. Collins

TOM WILKINSON as Arthur Edens in Michael Clayton

Tom Wilkinson And His Baguettes Are Eternal

How ‘The Wheel Of Time’ Made Great Art Out Of Great Pain

Albert Burneko

UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 1921: Conrad Veidt as "Cesare" in the film "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari". Photograph. 1921

This Is A Damn Conrad Veidt Appreciation Blog

The Patti Smith Group pose for portraits, (L-R) Lenny Kaye, Richard Sohl, Patti Smith, Ivan Kral and Jay Dee Daugherty, in May 1976 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Life Lessons

Make Space For The Artist

Does It Matter If Adam Driver Is A Bad Actor?

Defector Staff

Year In Review

The Best Things We Watched In 2023

Andre Braugher in a black and white portrait taken in 2015.

The Good Guy

Antique print of whalers harpooning a sperm whale off New Bedford, Massachusetts. The print is from 1910.

A Year In Pursuit Of Moby Dick

Kelsey McKinney

black and white photo of a man photographing a family

What Can Another Photo App Give Us?

Godzilla standing and I guess yelling, as seen during the trailer to the film Godzilla Minus One.

Six Things You Are Not Allowed To Say To Me About ‘Godzilla Minus One’

Gary Oldman Is Gross And Loving It

There’s So Little To Say About Taylor Swift Being Person Of The Year

artist's rendering of Caravaggio's painting of Narcissus with a spotify logo for a head