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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

NYC: Come To Our WNBA Comedy Show On July 15

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Live Event

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Lauren Theisen

The Savannah Bananas players and Party Animals players get up after making a group photo after a game

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The Savannah Bananas Make Baseball Boring


<p>Jasper Hutson is a lapsed journalist.</p>


Jasper Hutson

Hercules3

Fitness

Any “Halfway Decent Person” Can Join And Own Ireland’s Oldest Gym

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Ben Goldfarb

A bulldozer moves a pile of dirt, which features two hoofs sticking out of the top

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Capital

An Abundance Of Concrete

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Brandy Jensen

LouisTheroux

Arts And Culture

‘The Settlers’ Makes Louis Theroux Say What He Thinks

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Samer Kalaf

Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless on Undisputed

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Media Meltdowns

Seal Up The Pit That Contains Fox Sports 1

<p>Abigail Segel is a writer based in Montreal.</p>


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Abigail Segel

The Vermillion Vanguard prepares to march

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Soccer

The Vermilion Vanguard Is On The March

<p>Alex Shultz is a journalist based in Brooklyn.</p>


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Alex Shultz

A tabloid style Sports Illustrated cover in the checkout line

Journalismism

Horny Sports Blogging Makes A Bewildering Return To Sports Illustrated

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


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Jake Romm

October8

Politics

The Paranoid Fantasies Of ‘October 8’

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Albert Burneko

Painting of Science Fiction Scene with Robot Woman by Anton Brzezinski

Henry Blodget Invents, Hires, Sexually Harasses, Blogs About Nonexistent AI Subordinate

<p>The author can be reached at postpostdoc@protonmail.com.</p>


Post-Postdoc

AI Gig Work

How I Became Highly Educated Grist For The AI Mill

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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

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer looks on as US President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on April 9, 2025 in Washington, DC.

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Margin Of Error

The Bargain Vs. The Boot

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Israel Daramola

President Trump Signs New Executive Orders At The White House

Welcome To The Scam Century

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David Roth

Octavio Dotel pitches for the Detroit Tigers pitches against the Minnesota Twins on August 15, 2012 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Detroit Tigers v Minnesota Twins

Octavio Dotel Made A Life In Baseball

Ms. Rachel attends the Sesame Workshop 2024 Benefit Gala

ms-rachel-sesame-street

Ms. Rachel Is Hamas Now


<p>Visual Editor. Runs <a href="http://defectorstore.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">defectorstore.com</a>. Philadelphia-based, if you couldn’t tell.</p>


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Dan McQuade

Topps baseball cards featuring the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, are seen during the Washington Nationals media preview day at Nationals Park on Friday, March 21, 2025.

Nationals Media Day 2025

That’s Too Many Baseball Cards!

<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400">Dan Brooks writes essays and fiction from Missoula, Montana.</span></i></p>


Dan Brooks

U.S. Vice President JD Vance (L) shoots with U.S. Marines at a gun range during a visit to Marine Corps Base Quantico

Vice President Vance Visits Marine Corps Base Quantico

American Freedom


<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

The front of a U.S. Department of Education building.

US Dept of ED

Title IX Is Now A Weapon In The Trump Administration’s Culture War

Dave McKenna

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My Friend Has Been Naming Shitty TV Characters After Me For 20 Years

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


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Sabrina Imbler

People attend the 'Trans Day of Visibility Rally' hosted by the Christopher Street Project on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Someone holds up a sign saying "I WANT MORE TRANSSEXUAL FRIENDS LOVERS TEACHERS STUDENTS NEIGHBORS AUTHORS ARTISTS LEADERS LAWYERS PREACHERS & COMRADES.

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Science

What It Means To Fund Studies In Transition “Regret”

The Golden Gate Bridge and Downtown San Francisco are seen from the Marin Headlands during a brief rain break near Sausalito, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025.

Northern California Weather

This Is So Stupid

Tech CEO: Do Not Say To Me That I Was Not Just Assassinated By The Jackal

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Patrick Redford

Striking Touchstone route setters demonstrate in front of a California climbing gym.

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Climbing

There’s No Climbing Without Route Setters, And They’re On Strike

Elon Musk chats with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick as they walk with White House Communications Director Steven Cheung and White House deputy chief of staff for policy and US homeland security advisor Stephen Miller on the south lawn of the White House. Everyone absolutely looks like shit.

Kingdom Of The Biters

<p>Carly Stern is an independent journalist, writer and editor based in Brooklyn. She has written for publications including The New York Times, Vox, The Guardian and The Washington Post.</p>


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Carly Stern

Carlos Watson, co-founder of Ozy Media, speaks with press after his sentencing hearing at Brooklyn Federal Court on December 16, 2024 in New York City. Watson was sentenced to almost 10 years in prison for trying to defraud investors and lenders by lying about the company’s finances after being convicted in July. Samir Rao, the other co-founder of Ozy, and Suzee Han, a former Ozy chief of staff, pleaded guilty last year to fraud charges and both cooperated in the case and testified against Watson.

Ozy Media’s Carlos Watson Sentenced In Fraud Trial

Looking For Closure At Carlos Watson’s Sentencing Hearing

Normal Gossip: portraits

Alex Sujong Laughlin

my food

Chefector

I Found This Guy’s Recipe For Human Kibble Surprisingly Enjoyable

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


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Nicholas Russell

On a gradient background going from tan-ish to pink-ish, the front cover of the book Trauma Plot by Jamie Hood. The book is black with a statue of a woman with wings in the center. It also identifies Hood as the author of How to Be A Good Girl.

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Interviews

“Rape Is Political”: Jamie Hood On Trauma Narratives, Writing The Self, And Ethical Obligation

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