Books

Defector At The Movies

Music

CULTURE

Footer Column 2

Footer Legal

Footer Main

Nav Bar

OTHER

SPORTS

Subscribe, at any level, to play

Thanks for your interest in Defector Crosswords!

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Plans start at $8/month.

Subscribers enjoy unlimited, ad-free browsing.

Register to continue

Or click here to subscribe for unlimited, ad-free access!

Our gift to you: This year's post is unlocked. Register your email to get even more free articles.

Welcome to the 2025 Hater's Guide!

Just register your email:

This blog is free to read.

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

<p>Alexandra Tey is a writer, photographer, and birdwatcher living in Queens, New York.</p>


Alexandra Tey

Life's Rich Pageant

The Anti-Fascist Power Of Trans Women Wrestling In Nacho Cheese

<p>Becky Ferreira is a science reporter based in Ithaca, N.Y. She writes <a href="https://www.404media.co/author/becky/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.404media.co/author/becky/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1740083778769000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3_mk31dNhas5lklZb38a6k">The Abstract</a>, a weekly science column for 404 Media. Her book <em>First Contact</em>, about the search for alien life, <a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/becky-ferreira/first-contact/9781523527755/">is available now.</a></p>


Becky Ferreira

Sun over dying Earth. Illustration of the Sun, around 5 billion years in the future, heating a dying Earth. The oceans have evaporated, leaving salt-encrusted rocks. The Moon is seen passing in front of the massively swollen Sun. This stage of the Sun's life, known as its red giant stage, will begin when the Sun exhausts the hydrogen fuel in its core. It will then begin burning hydrogen in a shell surrounding the core, causing the Sun to expand. The expanding Sun will engulf the inner planets, and possibly the Earth. If the Earth survives this stage of the death of the Sun, it will freeze as the Sun collapses into a white dwarf star.

Science

Are You Team Fiery Sun Death Or Team Lifeless Husk?

<p>Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.</p>


Nicholas Russell

Promo still from the 1961 Film The Children's Hour

Interviews

Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back: Michael Koresky On Hollywood’s Queer History

Barry Petchesky

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 24: A 5-story Titanosaurus towers over Rockefeller Center to promote the film "Jurassic World: Rebirth" on June 24, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Liao Pan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

Arts And Culture

Just Give Me Some Normal Damn Dinosaurs

Brandy Jensen

Alex Cooper, host of “Call Her Daddy” and founder of the Unwell Network, speaks during the New York Times annual DealBook

Call Her On Her Bullshit

Kelsey McKinney

black and white photo of a woman reading with glasses on

My New Glasses Have Ruined My Ability To Read! Help Me!

<p>Annie Howard is a journalist and historian based in Chicago. She is currently at work on her debut manuscript, <em>The City Made Me Trans</em><i>.</i></p>


Annie Howard

Chloe Dzubilo And The Perilous Path Forward For Trans Life

Two new bombshells stand inside a heart that says "home run" underneath a sign that says 4th base.

I Love My Daily Sports Shows: Baseball And ‘Love Island’

Sarah Brouillette

The Plight Of The White Male Novelist

Defector Staff

In the shadows, c.1920. Private Collection. Creator: Cucuel, Edward (1875-1954).

Books We Think You Should Read This Summer

dakota johnson and pedro pascal slow dance at a wedding in materialists

A Good Marriage Plot Needs Real Stakes

Soraya Roberts

Stick With ‘Dept. Q’

25th May 1937: Two London women reading back to back as they sunbathe by the banks of the Serpentine in Hyde Park, London.

I Had A Baby And Now I Can’t Read! What Do I Do?

Lauren Theisen

Brian Wilson, along with the Beach Boys perform at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California on January 1, 1987 .

Brian Wilson Was The Sound Of Something Just Out Of Reach

Israel Daramola

Is This An Era Of Cultural Stagnation?


<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

Marc Maron performing stand up comedy. He is sitting on a stool and holding a microphone

There Will Never Be Another ‘WTF With Marc Maron’

The Cool Athlete Is No Longer In Production

<div>
<div>Katherine Churchill holds a Ph.D. in English literature. Her writing has appeared in <i>Time</i>, <i>Literary Hub, Electric Literature, Oxford American Magazine</i>, and elsewhere.</div>
</div>
<div></div>


Katherine Churchill

The Exclusive Men’s-Only Rare Books Club, And The Woman Who Has A Key

<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

Tom Cruise arrives at the US Premiere of "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning" at Lincoln Center Plaza in New York, New York on May 18, 2025.

If Tom Cruise REALLY Loved Movies, He Would Let Me Watch Him Die

A logo for Ask the Book Doctor, with a woman with arm tattoos and a nose ring looking at a giant art book and flipping pages. It's a very 1980s clip art look

Got A Reading Problem? Ask The Book Doctor!

Dave McKenna

Rick Derringer performs at Oakland Stadium in Oakland, California - July 23, 1977