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Defector

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


Dan McQuade

Lil Nas X, holding up a pair of the Blood Shoes

Life's Rich Pageant

The Blood Shoes Will Steal Your Immortal Sole

Brandy Jensen

Defector Reads A Book

My Year With Jack Reacher

Kelsey McKinney

Oh No! Big Boat Is Stuck

Kalyn Kahler

The 16 Lawsuits Filed Against Deshaun Watson Tell One Story

Amos Barshad

Capital

Inside The Chaotic, Quasi-Legal Marketplace For Personal Protective Equipment

Samer Kalaf

Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh leaves King Edward VII's Hospital in central London on March 16, 2021.

This Is So Stupid

What’s The Least Flavorful Food Item That Would Nonetheless Instantly Vaporize Prince Philip?

<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>


Drew Magary

Composer Irving Berlin (1888 Ð 1989) with singer Barry Wood (1909 - 1970) and orchestra leader Ray Bloch (1902 - 1982) recording a song in the 1940's. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)

Elder Wisdom

Never Stop Singing

Albert Burneko

Woman preparing pizza in kitchen, portrait

Chefector

Does Your Region Have Its Own Pizza Style? (No.)

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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

In The Future Of Collecting, Is Anyone Having Fun?

LLANDUDNO, WALES - MARCH 31: Mountain goats roam the streets of LLandudno on March 31, 2020 in Llandudno, Wales. The goats normally live on the rocky Great Orme but are occasional visitors to the seaside town, but a local councillor told the BBC that the herd was drawn this time by the lack of people and tourists due to the COVID-19 outbreak and quarantine measures. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Overexplained Lists

My Pandemic Pursuits, Ranked

Jason England

A still from the movie Judas and the Black Messiah.

Defector At The Movies

Shaka King, Director Of ‘Judas And The Black Messiah,’ Talks Radical Politics, How To Make Black Movie Stars, And The Black Excellence Industrial Complex

Dave McKenna

COLUMBIA, SC - DECEMBER 05: Camden High School students watch the South Carolina High School League Class AAA football championship game at Spring Valley High School on December 5, 2020 in Columbia, South Carolina. The Class AA championship game, between Abbeville and Marion originally scheduled for December 4, was postponed after a team quarantine for COVID-19. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

High School Sports

How D.C.’s Toniest High Schools Are Skirting The City’s Ban On Prep Sports

Video Games

Inside Blaseball

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Laura Wagner

Journalismism

The Era Of Lady Boss Sports Team Owners Is Upon Us

This is the screen you see when there are only 55,000 people ahead of you in line for a NBA Top Shot pack.

A Short, Lucrative, And Depressing Journey Into NBA Top Shot

<p><a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="http://demause.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;http://demause.net/&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]"><em>Neil deMause</em></a><em> has covered sports economics for more publications than even he can shake a stick at. He’s co-author of the book </em><a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="https://www.amazon.com/Field-Schemes-Stadium-Swindle-Private/dp/1567511384?ascsubtag=c9dca64cfbbd6c35085d286f4423ee39b8350b2f&amp;rawdata=%5Br%7Chttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F%5Bks%7Cgoogle%5Bt%7Clink%5Bp%7C1800657108%5Ba%7C1567511384%5Bau%7C5722120546910826704%5Bb%7Cdeadspinascsubtag%3D4eba2da0f6cc83fe1f221e8d8ca5894cd93bf2a7ascsubtag%3D33f4f2a16c1eda72859c34ee8aa577410b04a0d8&amp;tag=deadspinamzn-20" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-ga="[[&quot;Commerce&quot;,&quot;deadspin - Baseball Doesn't Need Collusion To Turn Off The Hot Stove&quot;,&quot;1567511384&quot;]]" data-amazonasin="1567511384" data-amazontag="deadspinamzn-20" data-amazonsubtag="[r|https://www.google.com/[ks|google[t|link[p|1831644811[a|1567511384[au|5722120546910826704[b|deadspin[lt|text" data-commerceready="true">Field of Schemes: How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns Public Money Into Private Profit</a><em>, and runs </em><a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="http://fieldofschemes.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;http://fieldofschemes.com/&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]"><em>the website of the same name</em></a><em>.</em></p>


Neil deMause

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 01: Construction continues at Allegiant Stadium, the USD 2 billion, glass-domed future home of the Las Vegas Raiders on July 1, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Raiders and the UNLV Rebels football teams are scheduled to begin play at the 65,000-seat facility in their 2020 seasons. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Science

Which Teams Will Be The First Lost To Climate Change?

Will Anyone Miss The NFL Combine?

Patrick Redford

Better Hate An Owner

The DeVos Family Is The Face Of American Oligarchy

I Love The Sports Chapter Of The Aeneid

David Roth

Jack Easterby doing his thing, whatever it is, at the 16th Annual Super Bowl Gospel event.

This Is Jack Easterby’s World

Politics

It’s Always The Same Lie

Rush Limbaugh, who has since died, celebrates after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Point/Counterpoint: Rush Limbaugh

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


Diana Moskovitz

The Amazon logo at a new Amazon warehouse, set against a black sky.

An Alienating Journey Through The Amazon Warehouse

Lauren Theisen

A baseball player is silhouetted as he follows through while practicing in the batting cages

Life Lessons

Lost And Found In The Batting Cage

Japan's SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son delivers a speech during a press briefing on the company's financial results in Tokyo on November 6, 2019. - Japanese giant SoftBank Group said Wednesday it suffered an operating loss of $6.4 billion in the second quarter, the worst in its history, taking a hit from investments in start-ups including WeWork and Uber. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP) (Photo by KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images)

Blogs Of Note