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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

Defector Staff

Year In Review

The Best Things We Read In 2025

Kelsey McKinney

Brandy Jensen

Arts And Culture

Some Thoughts On ‘Heated Rivalry,’ Including But Not Limited To: Ahhhh, Mmmm, And [Crying Emoji]

<p>Eva Holland is a freelance writer and editor based in Whitehorse, Yukon. She&#8217;s a correspondent for Outside magazine and the author of the books <i>Nerve </i>and <i><a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/no-sleep-til-fairbanks#/">No Sleep &#8216;Til Fairbanks</a>.</i></p>


Eva Holland

‘Heated Rivalry’ Is Bringing Me Back To Hockey

Israel Daramola

The 2025 Hate List

Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931) experimenting with the first motion picture machine. B/W photo,1905.

The Best Things We Saw In 2025

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


Sabrina Imbler

Ray Ratto

a hand holds a framed photo of Zooey Deschanel, Charlie Cox, and a terrier mix played by Gus the Dog. Everyone is in christmas attire

Defector Watches A Christmas Movie: ‘Merv’

Lauren Theisen

A exterior view of the Palace Theatre at the opening night of "West Side Story" on Broadway at the Palace Theatre on March 19, 2009

The Best And The Most Of My 2025 In Theater

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


Dan McQuade

Corporate office, maybe mid-2010s style. Two women are walking in the background, and in front of them is a digital display about Charlie Duncan, case number 1016897, and how she's rude, deceptive, and a general menace.

Defector Watches A Christmas Movie: ‘She’s Making A List’

American Cant

American director, producer, and actor Rob Reiner gestures near a camera while crew members surround him outdoors on the set of his film, 'North.'

Defector’s Favorite Rob Reiner Credits

Dan Schindel

Interviews

Filmmaker Ian Bell On ‘WTO/99’ And The Legacy Of The Battle In Seattle

a woman with brown hair wearing a jacket leans forward in the back of a car

Everything I Remember About ‘Ella McCay’

Kathryn Xu

Daniel Craig as the detective Benoit Blanc in a still from 'Wake Up Dead Man'

‘Wake Up Dead Man’ Defines Justice Differently

Becca Young

Maggie Nelson Sputters And Stalls In ‘The Slicks’

Somewhere Between Pettiness And Journalism Lies Netflix’s Diddy Documentary

Alex Sujong Laughlin

a photo of a woman dressed in drag as Santa Claus holding a flaming shot glass looking at a blurry man

Defector Watches A Christmas Movie: ‘My Secret Santa’

Jack Hanson

Patricia Lockwood’s Inexhaustible Mind

David Roth

A crop of four images of people kind of partying and hanging out from Ken Ohara's "Contacts" show at The Whitney, with the relevant Whitney credit language superimposed at lower right.

Make Yourself At Home


<p><a href="http://Feldman.cool" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brian Feldman</a> is a software engineer living in Brooklyn.</p>


Brian Feldman

tim robinson using the computer in the chair company

‘The Chair Company’ Is A Show About How Fun It Is To Use The Computer

<p>August <span class="il">Prum</span> is a writer and filmmaker based in Queens.</p>


August Prum

Martin Donovan, Elina Lowensohn, and Bill Sage, left to right, dance in an empty restaurant in a scene from Hal Hartley's film "Simple Men."

Hal Hartley Is Still Figuring It All Out Onscreen

Dave McKenna

a still from the movie Jingle Bell Heist, with Lucy Punch in a fascinator looking at Connor Swindells

Defector Watches A Christmas Movie: ‘Jingle Bell Heist’

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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

‘Train Dreams’ Is Afraid Of Its Own Shadow

Tim Robinson Understands What The Boys Are Going Through

a photo of the set of the broadway musical Chess, with a sign that says CHESS, and the chorus standing for bows in front of it