Footer Legal

Header - Categories

Header Menu

The last good website.

Topics

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.

Defector

<div id="message-list_1773066846.655809">
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>Abigail Segel is a contributing writer at Defector. She is also an editor for The IX Soccer and the Equalizer. Her work has been published in the Guardian and the Montreal Gazette.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>


Abigail Segel

Arts And Culture

Jules Boykoff’s ‘Kicking’ Is Clear-Eyed And Warm-Hearted

Jack Hanson

The Torpor Of ‘Converts’

Mark Asch

Charli XCX Is Firmly In Her Cinephile Era

Israel Daramola

US actor Jaafar Jackson poses for photogaphers as he arrives on the red carpet for the world premiere of the Michael Jackson biopic "Michael" at the Uber Eats Music Hall in Berlin on April 10, 2026.

‘Michael’ Is The Most Cynical Attempt At Biopic Myth-Making Yet

<div class="PostFooter_wrapper__Msc__">
<div class="Container_contentWidthWrapper__RL4A5">
<div class="PostFooter_inner__ikvxo">
<div class="PostBylineRiver_wrapper__2QH_p">
<div class="PostBylineRiver_authorWrapper__6ThRc">
<div class="PostBylineRiver_bio__xKPxl">
<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>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="Container_contentWidthWrapper__RL4A5">
<div id="coral_thread" class="Embed_wrapper__vD_40">
<div>
<div id="coral" class="coral-width-gt-xs coral-width-gte-xs coral-width-gt-mobile coral-width-gte-mobile coral-width-gt-mobileMax coral-width-gte-mobileMax coral-width-gt-sm coral-width-gte-sm coral-width-lt-md coral-width-lte-md coral-width-lt-lg coral-width-lte-lg coral-width-lt-xl coral-width-lte-xl" data-nosnippet="true">
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>


Robert Rubsam

Gwendoline Riley’s Phantom Lives

Kelsey McKinney

a woman stands on a plank while a bunch of hotties watch from the yacht

How Close To The Stanford Prison Experiment Can A Reality Show Get?

Alex Sujong Laughlin

Image of the cover of "Famesick" by Lena Dunham with cutouts of the pair of legs from the cover copied all around it.

Lena Dunham Can’t Help Herself


<p><a href="mailto:tara@taraariano.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tara Ariano</a> co-hosts the podcasts <a href="https://www.extrahotgreat.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Extra Hot Great</a>, <a href="https://listentosassy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Listen To Sassy</a>, and <a href="https://www.againwiththis90210.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Again With This</a>. She is also the co-author, with Sarah D. Bunting, of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Very-Special-90210-Book-Absolutely/dp/1419747460?tag=decider08-20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>A Very Special 90210 Book: 93 Absolutely Essential Episodes From TV’s Most Notorious Zip Code</em></a>. Her byline has appeared in the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>, <em>GQ</em>, <em>Vanity Fair</em>, <em>New York</em>, <em>Slate</em>, Vulture, Salon, and The Awl, among many others. She lives in Austin.</p>
<div> </div>


It's a photo of Tara Ariano. She has big sunglasses on.

Tara Ariano

James Garner (left) and Joe Santos in a still from an episode of the television series, 'The Rockford Files,' circa 1974.

‘The Rockford Files’ Remains One Of Television’s Greatest Hangs

Becca Young

The Fatherless Fantasy Of ‘Bridgerton’


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


Corey Atad

Interviews

Steven Soderbergh And Ed Solomon Talk About Their Best Collaboration Yet

<p>Craig Fehrman last wrote for Defector about <a href="https://defector.com/it-never-ends-like-it-should" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://defector.com/it-never-ends-like-it-should&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1775741247521000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1R6Fh05yMdaM2z1ukPQtbb">the death of Iris</a>, his NBA-loving neighbor. His book <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/This-Vast-Enterprise/Craig-Fehrman/9781982174248"><i>This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis and Clark</i></a> comes out on April 21.</p>


Craig Fehrman

Map showing the route taken by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their first expedition from the Missouri River near St. Louis, Missouri, to the mouth of the Columbia River at the Pacific Ocean in Oregon and the return trip to St. Louis. The expedition took place from May 14, 1804 to September 23, 1806.

History

The Hardest Part Of History To Tell Is How It Felt

My Year In November 18ths

Brandy Jensen

‘Last One Laughing UK’ Is Absurdly Funny

Annie Geng

‘The Drama’ Has More Going For It Than A Provocative Twist

Rafaela Bassili

Anatomy Of A Gaucho

Rachelle Hampton

A yellow path curves through sprays of purple irises.

Monet, Through The Iris

Eli Cugini

It’s Time To Grow Up

<p>Grace Byron is a critic, reporter, and novelist based in Queens. Her writing has appeared in <em>The New Yorker</em>, <em>Granta</em>, <em>Bookforum</em>, and elsewhere. Her debut novel <em>Herculine</em> is out now.</p>


Grace Byron

The Gentle Parenting Of Ben Lerner’s ‘Transcription’

<p>Mychal Denzel Smith is the author of <i>Stakes Is High</i>, winner of the Kirkus Prize for Non-Fiction.</p>


Mychal Denzel Smith

I Demand That Jay-Z Perform All Of ‘Kingdom Come’ At His Yankee Stadium Concert

Annie Berke

‘Imperfect Women’ Is The Latest Entry In A Fittingly Flawed Genre

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


Nicholas Russell

Namwali Serpell On Understanding Toni Morrison The Author, Not The Icon

Tom Ley

A side by side photo of Jorginho and Chappell Roan

Soccer

Chappell Roan And Jorginho Are Beefing

taylor frankie paul in a baby blue dress looks over her shoulder at the camera

The Not-At-All-Secret Life Of Taylor Frankie Paul

Eleanor Russell

The New Evangelists

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


Sabrina Imbler

A still from the trailer for Hoppers showing a beaver standing on a pile of machine rubble and proselytizing to a crowd of animals