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Defector

<p>Joshua C. Kendall was born in New York City. An award-winning freelance journalist, he has written on history,<br />
politics, biography, health care, and neuroscience for many national magazines and newspapers. He is currently an associate fellow of Yale’s Trumbull College. His previous books include <em>First Dads</em>, <em>The Man Who Made Lists</em>, and <em>The Forgotten Founding Father</em>.</p>


Joshua Kendall

Book Excerpts That Don't Suck

“Awfulness For Decades”: A Short History Of Trump And Doonesbury

Defector Staff

A photo of a bunch of old-timey green barstools with the cover of the NYRB Classics edition of Robert Coover's Universal Baseball Association in the middle and the Defector Reads A Book logo at left.

Defector Reads A Book

There Is A Whole World In ‘The Universal Baseball Association, Inc. J. Henry Waugh, Prop.’

James Webster

Arts And Culture

‘The Vivisectors’ Is A Brilliant Novel In Any Reality

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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

‘Blue Heron’ Is A Revelation

Luis Paez-Pumar

Jenna Lewis Dougherty, Kyle Fraser, Savannah Louie, Q Burdette, Angelina Keeley, Charlie Davis, Kamilla Karthigesu, Genevieve Mushaluk, Colby Donaldson, Dee Valladares, Chrissy Hofbeck, Benjamin "Coach" Wade, Christian Hubicki, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Emily Flippen, Ozzy Lusth, Rick Devens, Cirie Fields, Tiffany Ervin, Rizo Velovic, Joe Hunter, Jonathan Young, and Aubry Bracco attend and Jeff Probst hosts the Survivor 50 Live Finale at the Paramount Studios lot in Los Angeles, California on May 20, 2026.

The ‘Survivor 50’ Finale Was A Dark Omen For The Future

Israel Daramola

Listening Habits

The Passion Of The Drake: A (Mostly) Objective Review Of His Three New Albums

<p>Sean T. Collins has written for The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vulture, Decider, Pitchfork, and many others. He lives with his family on Long Island.</p>


Sean T. Collins

Kill Grogu

David Roth

US former football player Tom Brady walks the runway during the Gucci Cruise 2027 collection fashion show at Times Square in New York on May 16, 2026.

Tom Brady: The Leather Years

Lauren Theisen

Daniel Radcliffe seen onstage during curtain call at "Every Brilliant Thing" Opening Night at Hudson Theatre on March 12, 2026 in New York City.

Daniel Radcliffe Will Talk You Off The Ledge

Patrick Redford

09 June 2023, North Rhine-Westphalia, Cologne: Polish author Olga Tokarczuk speaks on the panel at Phil.Cologne, the international festival of philosophy. Photo: Horst Galuschka/dpa (Photo by Horst Galuschka/picture alliance via Getty Images)

The Machines

The Written Word Is Having A Rough Week

<p>Lindsey Adler is a writer based in Brooklyn. She exclusively covered sports for a decade but has other interests, too.</p>


Lindsey Adler

Consider The Sister

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


Sabrina Imbler

two computer-animated sheep peering through a window

Defector At The Movies

‘The Sheep Detectives’ Made Me Baaaawl My Eyes Out

<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

Patrick Radden Keefe’s ‘London Falling’ Tries To Separate Fact From Fiction

<p><a href="https://katedries.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://katedries.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1778682596117000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0nTLmZnCJ7W_WrwEZAFeZH">Kate Dries</a> is the Executive Editor of Dwell. She previously worked at VICE, Jezebel, BuzzFeed and WBEZ, and has written for many other publications.</p>


Kate Dries

Anna Wintour and Meryl Streep attends the world premiere of The Devil Wears Prada 2

The Devil Wears Prada, Too

Kelsey McKinney

jeff probst snuffs Ozzy's torch in Survivor 50

Jeff Probst Is Ruining ‘Survivor 50’

Brandy Jensen

Finally, An Austen-ish Adaptation Worth Watching

<p>Jake Romm is a New York City-based writer and the Associate Editor of Protean Magazine.</p>


Jake Romm

Franco Berardi’s ‘Thinking Gaza’ Fails To Think

anne hathaway and meryl streep wear sunglasses in the Devil Wears Prada 2