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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

Kelsey McKinney

black and white photo of a man with a pipe lounging with a book

Arts And Culture

How Do I Find A Non-Fiction Book I Won’t Hate?

<p>Emily Zhou is the author of <em>Girlfriends</em><i>, </i>which won the Publishing Triangle’s Leslie Feinberg Award and was nominated for a Lambda<i>. </i>She edits books at LittlePuss Press and short fiction at <em>Joyland Magazine</em><i>.</i></p>


Emily Zhou

Nerves, Nerves, Nerves

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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

Craig Finn attends "A New York Evening With Margo Price" at The Greene Space on June 16, 2023 in New York City.

Craig Finn Can Write A Great Song, But Can He Write A Good Short Story?

Rachelle Hampton

An orange cat sits in front of two framed Henri Rousseau prints.

Finding Henri Rousseau

Brandy Jensen

Bills Week

William F. Buckley’s Bill Never Came Due

Barry Petchesky

Calvin And Hobbes’s Gruesome Snowmen Were A World All Their Own

Israel Daramola

How ‘Kill Bill’ Changed The Action Blockbuster

Albert Burneko

The actor David Soul holding a wooden cross and yelling "Bill!"

Bill!

black and white woodblock print of a scene in love's labour's lost

Shakespeare Makes Me A Slower And Better Reader

Can We Pull You For A Chat?

Ray Ratto

Sure, We Gained Our Independence, But We Lost The Ability To Make Anything As Good As ‘Taskmaster’

<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

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)

Just Give Me Some Normal Damn Dinosaurs

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

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 .