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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.

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Defector

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<div class="p-rich_text_section">Tom Scocca is the editor of <a href="http://indignity.net">Indignity</a>, a subscription-supported newsletter of news, essays, and commentary.</div>
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Tom Scocca

NYPD officers prepare to make arrests during a rally and a march in Manhattan to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recent raids and crackdown on migrants in New York. New York City, U.S., February 13, 2025.

Rally against ICE in New York

Margin Of Error

The Country That Was Here Is Gone

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Giri Nathan

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Life's Rich Pageant

A Stinky Pilgrimage To The Corpse Flower, With Notes Of Rat, Sweat, And Cheese

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Lauren Theisen

a set of homemade toasted subs with ground beef, cheese, green pepper and onion

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Life Lessons

How I Got Comfortable With Cooking, And Eating

<p>Kit Fox is a writer, and former editor at Runner&#8217;s World and Men&#8217;s Journal, based in Emmaus, PA. He peaked in middle school after breaking sport stacking&#8217;s world record in the 3-3-3. He is also the co-author of the non-fiction book <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374311605/mightymoe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374311605/mightymoe/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1739381570912000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3ixF1HpjLWDV7W39BiDUhA"><i>Mighty Moe: The True Story of a Thirteen-Year-Old Women&#8217;s Running Revolutionary</i></a><i>.</i></p>


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Kit Fox

Cups stacked in the 1-10-1 formation, with a glowing eye on the top cup

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Stories

If You Ever Stacked Cups In Gym Class, Blame My Dad

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Patrick Redford

Screenshot 2025-02-11 at 10.05.31 AM

Capital

For Sale: The End, And The Means To Wait For It

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Barry Petchesky

Screenshot 2025-02-09 at 9.32.46 PM

Animals

What Did She See, At The End?

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David Roth

US President Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump (L) watch the pre-game show before Super Bowl LIX on February 9, 2025. His hair looks all fucked up; there's a huge American flag on the field.

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Politics

Confused Brits Cause Severe Damage At The Donald Trump Propaganda Factory

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Alan Kluegel

The actor Matthew McConaughey looking slightly deranged while sitting at an outdoor restaurant table, in the dark, under a torrential downpour.

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The Machines

Salesforce Is Using A Hallucination To Sell AI

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<div>Casey Taylor is a writer living and working in Pittsburgh. He is currently writing a book for St. Martin&#8217;s Press about cannabis religions, Haile Selassie I, and the Cold War in the Caribbean. He also writes a free newsletter called <a href="https://weedchurch.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://weedchurch.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1709306863919000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1mVH2xiID6S0zvlyj6yHco">Weed Church</a> covering foolish spiritual things that occur to him. His work has appeared in The New Republic, WIRED, New York Magazine, and a sports blog he can’t currently recall the name of. You can <a href="mailto:caseyt7@gmail.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">email</a> him if you’d like.</div>
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Casey Taylor

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History

The Last Living Bedwardite

<p>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 <em>Point B</em>. Handsomest man in the world.</p>


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Drew Magary

Whilte House Chef Rene Verdon (L) and former chef Jacques Pepin preparing a salad for a picnic on Gardiners Island. (Photo by Mark Kauffman/Getty Images)

Salad Jamboroo

Jamboroo

I Want To Focus On My Salad

People organize a rally and demonstration against Elon Musk outside the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in Washington D.C., United States on February 03, 2025.

Protesters rally against Elon Musk outside U.S. Office of Personnel Management in Washington D.C.

Billionaire Dipshit And His Strike Team Of Greasy Beavises Are Stripping The Wires From The Federal Government

<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p>Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.09</p>


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Chris Thompson

The plasma cannon fires a bolt of plasma.

Plasma Cannon

Science

I Would Think Nothing Of Being Shot In The Chest With This Plasma Cannon

<p>Raphael Orlove is a freelance writer and editor with a few events under his belt as a rally co-driver. You may have seen his work on Robb Report, Road &amp; Track, Jalopnik, or the briefly-aired Car vs America TV show if you have a very extensive cable subscription.</p>
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Raphael Orlove

Stephane Lhonnay gives a thumbs up while driving his recce car

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Racing

On The Road With The Monte Carlo Ice Crews, Who Keep Disaster At Bay

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


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Sabrina Imbler

a tiger named Elena seemingly retching after she has just sampled elephant dung

Picture by Tambako the Jaguar

Creaturefector

Normalize Eating Poop

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<div>Jen Golbeck is a writer, scientist, and professor at the University of Maryland. Her Substack, The <a href="http://magareport.news/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://magareport.news&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1738242090561000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1v7CItRYSjo8F2e4vcdTQy">MAGAReport</a>, tracks what&#8217;s happening on far-right pro-Trump social media. She splits her time between Washington, D.C. and Key West.</div>
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Jen Golbeck

Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Kharkiv. ( Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Arts And Culture

What’s Wrong With War Tourism?

<p>Elizabeth Hawes is a poet, playwright, and essayist from Minneapolis. A recipient of the Keeley Schenwar Memorial Essay Prize, she has contributed to multiple pedagogical journals and books. Her quotes have been projected onto the Rockefeller Center during PEN America&#8217;s Centennial Art Installation Celebration: Speech Itself.</p>


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Elizabeth Hawes

An illustration of a steel toilet with blue water, in an empty room.

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What Happens In Prison When You Can’t Pee On Command

An Ai Me robot from Chinese company TCL is displayed during the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show CES in Las Vegas.

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The Future Is Too Easy

<p>Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and co-founded the website <a href="http://popcorntennis.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://popcorntennis.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1726234676777000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0PFWw6PL-FUqaCMME5TLqP">popcorntennis.com</a>. He wrote 63,000 words about the Novak Djokovic-Rafael Nadal rivalry that can be accessed for free at <a href="https://thegoldenrivalry.substack.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://thegoldenrivalry.substack.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1726234676777000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2OjAHpo4PVIhkx8Xd21lRJ">thegoldenrivalry.substack.com</a>.</p>


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Owen Lewis

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Tennis

The Australian Open Is Happy And Hot

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Kathryn Xu

itcher Roki Sasaki puts on his jersey during a Los Angeles Dodgers press conference.

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Maybe The Dodgers’ Competitors Could Show Some Self-Respect

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Samer Kalaf

Jonathan Greenblatt of the ADL speaking at a dinner.

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The ADL Was A Farce Long Before It Made Excuses For Elon Musk

<p>William Turton is a photographer and investigative reporter. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.</p>


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William Turton

Trump fans in rain ponchos wait in the cold.

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Donald Trump’s Biggest Fans Waited In The Cold Like Dogs

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Israel Daramola

David Lynch Was The Artist of Our Time


<p>Investigations Editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99</p>


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Diana Moskovitz

An aerial view of a street in the Eaton fire. The entire street is burned and decimated. It looks like a bomb went off. A sole person walks down the empty steet.

Eaton Fire aerial view

Journalismism

We Need A New Deal To Save Local Journalism

<div dir="ltr">Dom Cosentino is a writer in Brooklyn who takes Pittsburgh sports way too seriously.</div>
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Dom Cosentino

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JANUARY 11: Head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on prior to an NFL football wild card playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&amp;T Bank Stadium on January 11, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

AFC Wild Card Playoffs: Pittsburgh Steelers v Baltimore Ravens

What’s Mike Tomlin’s Standard Now?


<p>Michael is a writer who has worked with The Atlantic, The New Yorker, WIRED, Vox, The New York Times, and other publications. His first book, <em>The Other Olympians</em>, which uncovers the stories of several European athletes who transitioned gender in the 1930s, is now available for purchase.</p>


Michael Waters

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 20: Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (C) and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-VA) (L) raise their hands when asked if they know a transgender woman during an event to celebrate the House passing The Protection Of Women And Girls In Sports Act outside the U.S. Capitol on April 20, 2023 in Washington, DC. President Joe Biden has promised to veto the legislation, which defines sex as 'based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth' and would ban all transgender women and girls from competing in female school sports.

House GOP Members And Female Athletes Mark Passage Of The Protection Of Women And Girls In Sports Act

The Trans Sports Ban Portends Something Much Darker

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