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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

<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">A Very Special 90210 Book: 93 Absolutely Essential Episodes From TV’s Most Notorious Zip Code</a>. Her byline has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, GQ, Vanity Fair, New York, Slate, Vulture, Salon, and The Awl, among many others. She lives in Austin.
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It's a photo of Tara Ariano. She has big sunglasses on.

Tara Ariano

The cast of Amazon's "A League Of Their Own" series, seen here looking determined in their Rockford Peaches uniforms.

The Future Of Television Looks A Lot Like The Past

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

Dan McQuade

The Chicago Jordan 1 "Lost and Found." Red shoe with white and black accents. Orange box lid and black box. Everything looks a little worn.

Arts And Culture

The New Chicago Jordan 1s Are For Poseurs

Lauren Theisen

Everything You Need To Know About “Dimes Square”

Kelsey McKinney

The Money Is In All The Wrong Places

Is Everything Really Grayer Than It Used To Be?

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

Capital

Inside Hollywood’s Visual Effects Crisis

<a href="https://twitter.com/petesegall?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pete Segall</a> lives in Chicago. His fiction has appeared in The Bennington Review, Conjunctions, The Drift, and elsewhere.

Pete Segall

The Assassin in Phil Tippett's animated feature Mad God.

Three Decades In The Making, Phil Tippett’s ‘Mad God’ Is A Movie For This Moment

Is Anyone Famous Anymore?

Claes Oldenburg Gave Me A Place To Meet

Samer Kalaf

Patrick Redford

Rays Week

A Review Of Three Eateries Across The Ray’s Spectrum

Barry Petchesky

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

The Read Planet: Let’s Discuss ‘The Martian Chronicles’

A picture of US photographer and artist Man Ray and his wife US dancer and model Juliet Man Ray sits on their vandalized grave.

What Makes Autobiographical Writing Good?

Justin Ellis

How To Be A Good Friend: Do Not Expose Your Pals To Cosmic Rays

Here’s To Mike Davis, A Titan

Albert Burneko

Novelist’s Plagiarism Defense Is A Truly Mind-Blowing Document

Dadfector

Free Things My Small Child Was Given In France And Italy, Ranked

The Queen Of Writing The Beautiful Mundane

“They’ve Got To Pee On It”: A VFX Supervisor Explains Why Their Job Is So Tricky

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

Diana Moskovitz

Amber Heard leaves after the jury announced a split verdict in favor of both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard on their claim and counter-claim in the Depp v. Heard civil defamation trial at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, on June 1, 2022.

The Bigger Celebrity Wins

David Roth

Roger Angell at the 2009 New Yorker Festival.

See What You Find

<a href="https://twitter.com/robertfoconnell" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Robert O’Connell</a> is a writer from Kansas living in New York. His work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and elsewhere.

Robert O’Connell

Craig Finn of The Hold Steady performs at Ottobar in Baltimore.

Craig Finn Returns To The Scene

Interviews

An Anonymous TV Writer Offers An Inside Look At Why Special Effects Seem So Bad Right Now

Soraya Roberts

The Empty Center Of The Johnny Depp And Amber Heard Trial

Bad Special Effects Are A Choice

The Power Of The Big Suit Endures