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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 Sinykin

Arts And Culture

Close Reading Is For Everyone

Lauren Theisen

Helen Frankenthaler Is A Reason To Go To Rochester

<p>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 <em>Point B</em>. Handsomest man in the world.</p>


Drew Magary

Slayer, Tom Araya, Clash of the Titans, Genk, Belgium, 22nd September 1990.

Are We Human, Or Are We Slayer?


<p>Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99</p>


Diana Moskovitz

Actor Timothee Chalamet and director Spike Lee celebrate after the New York Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Second Round NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 12, 2025 in New York City.

Timothée Chalamet Is In His Sports Bro Era

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


Sabrina Imbler

Kelsey McKinney

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


Dan McQuade

Ray Ratto

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

Can You Do Racism Against Italians? A Eurovision Roundtable

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<p>Robert Rubsam writes fiction and nonfiction. His work has appeared in the NYT Magazine, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, the Baffler, and Liberties. He is a contributing writer for Commonweal Magazine.</p>
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Robert Rubsam

Netflix Keeps Ruining Action Movies

Joe Don Baker, in a loud white shirt with color slots on it, sits in a blue car talking to a kid in a yellow shirt. Silhouettes of a man and three robots are in front of the image.

‘Mitchell’ Is Part Of Joe Don Baker’s Legacy, For Better Or Worse

Swole Woman Casey Johnston Has Written A Swole Book

<p>Violet Lucca is the author of <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/david-cronenberg-clinical-trials-violet-lucca/21170132"><i>David Cronenberg: Clinical Trials</i></a>. Her writing has appeared in the <em>New York Times</em>, <em>Art in America</em>, <em>Sight and Sound</em>, the <em>Village Voice</em>, and elsewhere. She was the VP of Digital at <em>Harper’s Magazine</em> and Digital Producer at <em>Film Comment</em>, and was the host of their respective podcasts.</p>


Violet Lucca

‘The Shrouds’ Is David Cronenberg’s Typically Prescient Epitaph For Our Present And His Career

sarah snook on stage with several screens showing her

‘The Picture Of Dorian Gray’ Is A Digital Monument To Vanity

Soraya Roberts

‘Friendship’ Can’t Sustain The Relationship

Israel Daramola

A bunch of Danny McBride characters from Righteous Gemstones, Vice Principals and Eastbound & Down

Every Episode Of The Danny McBride HBO Universe, Ranked

Rafaela Bassili

Nicolas Cage on a beach holding a surfboard.

‘The Surfer’ Mostly Sputters And Flails

Ben Goldfarb

A bulldozer moves a pile of dirt, which features two hoofs sticking out of the top

Capital

An Abundance Of Concrete

Brandy Jensen

‘The Settlers’ Makes Louis Theroux Say What He Thinks

Kate Wagner

Mark Zuckerberg Still Can’t Buy Taste

Jack Hanson

The Perfect Fascist

Tunde Adebimpe’s Solo Debut Channels The Gift Of The Mixtape

<p>Jake Romm is a New York City-based writer and the Associate Editor of Protean Magazine.</p>


Jake Romm

Politics

The Paranoid Fantasies Of ‘October 8’

‘Sinners’ Is A Worthy Blockbuster

Jen Vafidis

Richard Kind poses at a gala celebrating "All In: Comedy About Love" opening night on Broadway at The Hudson Theatre on December 16, 2024 in New York City.

Life Lessons

How Meeting Richard Kind Changed The Course Of My Life

Meghann Fahy as Violet in Drop, directed by Christopher Landon.

‘Drop’ Is Not A ’90s Thriller Because The ’90s Are Unfortunately Over

<p>John Semley is a writer and researcher based in Philadelphia.</p>


John Semley

People queue outside indie record store Flashback Records to shop for vinyls on Record Store Day in London on April 20, 2024.

How Record Store Day Became The Stupidest Day In Music

Tom Ley

<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p>Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19</p>


Chris Thompson

David Roth

Is Reacher Too Big Now? A Roundtable Discussion

<p>Lindsey Adler is a writer based in Brooklyn. She exclusively covered sports for a decade but has other interests, too.</p>


Lindsey Adler

NEW ORLEANS, LA - OCTOBER 28: Jesse Lacey of Brand New performs during the 2017 Voodoo Music + Arts Experience at City Park on October 28, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana.