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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

Capital

Climate

Margin Of Error

Policing

The Machines

Politics

Alex Sujong Laughlin

A photo showing an ear bud resting on the screen of a smartphone showing the Spotify music app.

If You Love Podcasts, Dump Spotify

<p>Annie Howard is a journalist and historian based in Chicago. She is currently at work on her debut manuscript, <em>The City Made Me Trans</em><i>.</i></p>


Annie Howard

an aerial view of an empty Guaranteed Rate Field

How To Fix Chicago’s White Sox–Shaped Black Hole

Patrick Redford

PHOENIX, AZ - MARCH 7: Mat Ishbia speaks during a press conference announcing Phoenix as the host of the NBA All-Star 2027 on March 7, 2024 at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)

Mat Ishbia Revealed To Be Familiar Kind Of Asshole

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Kauffman Stadium is the home of the Kansas City Royals and beyond it is GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium which is the home of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs And Royals Got What They Deserved

<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p>Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19</p>


Chris Thompson

Ted Leonsis talks into a Wizards-branded microphone.

Ted Leonsis Finally Abandons Glenn Youngkin’s Doomed Virginia Gambit

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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

Attorney Peter Angelos talks about his law practice and his hopes about buying the Orioles.

Peter Angelos Was The Ultimate Team Owner

Whew! A-Rod’s Ownership Team Finally Secured Someone Else’s Money To Buy The Timberwolves

David Roth

Vice co-founders and executives Shane Smith and Suroosh Alvi looking kind of wet at the 20th Webby Awards in 2016.

The Coffee Machine That Explained Vice Media

A topiary of Goofy stands with the Spaceship Earth ball in the background.

A Disney World Pervert’s Take On: The Existential War Of Investor Aggression

<p>I am an independent writer/journalist based in New Delhi, India. I mainly work on long-form reportage on conflict, gender, climate, culture, intersection of technology and human agency. Published with the Al Jazeera Journalism Review, Aljazeera Digital, Defector, C S Monitor.</p>


Meher Qadri

Two divers jump into the foamy Yamuna River

The Yamuna River’s Treasure Divers Fight More Than Poverty To Survive

Albert Burneko

G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller speaking at a conference with one of those microphones you wear on your ear.

Jim Spanfeller Is A Third-Rate Parasite

Ted Leonsis’s Suburban Arena Scam Is Nearly Kaput

The rostrum of the U.S. House of Representatives, with the entire chamber empty.

My Fellow Americans


<p>Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s 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

A VICE Media Group location is seen on February 23, 2024 in the Venice section of Los Angeles, California.

“The Locusts Of The Newspaper World”: How Fortress Investment Group Decimated Newspapers Before Gutting Vice

A guest wears new Apple Vision Pro outside Bora Aksu during London Fashion Week February 2024 on February 16, 2024 in London, England.

Podcasts

The Future Doesn’t Work, With Ed Zitron

<p>Hamilton Nolan is a journalist based in New York City. Subscribe to his work at <a href="https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1687350200913000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0naFbUVOe-5ZgtPDtIM3gz">HamiltonNolan.com</a>.</p>


Hamilton Nolan

UAW members attend a rally in support of the labor union strike at the UAW Local 551 hall on Chicago’s South Side. UAW president Shawn Fain joined members in solidarity with the ongoing strike on October 7, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois.

Book Excerpts That Don't Suck

Unions Can Fix What’s Broken

<p>Jen Ramos Eisen is a Central California-based minor league baseball writer.</p>


Jen Ramos Eisen

A cartoon of an outfield wall with an encroaching shadow over the player standing looking at it. It feels dark and desolate. The baseball stadium is empty.

The Life Of An International Minor League Baseball Player Has Never Been Simple

Journalismism

Vice’s Avaricious Stewards Finally Succeeded At Bleeding It Dry

<p>Brian Merchant writes, mostly about technology, culture and labor. He&#8217;s the former tech columnist at the <em>LA Times</em>, and the author of <a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/brian-merchant/blood-in-the-machine/9780316487740/?lens=little-brown" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/brian-merchant/blood-in-the-machine/9780316487740/?lens%3Dlittle-brown&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1708054039723000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3ZYJqk866F8lCizxq0W5MD"><em>Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech</em></a> and the <a href="https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1708054039723000&amp;usg=AOvVaw38SvjFhr3e98pTryqBSmV9">newsletter</a> of the same name.</p>


Brian Merchant

Firemen extinguish a Waymo autonomous vehicle that was set on fire by a crowd in San Francisco. It's a screengrab of news footage.

Life's Rich Pageant

Torching The Google Car

Justin Ellis

A man sitting in an Apple Store in Los Angeles demos the Apple Vision Pro with his hands held wide apart in a very silly way.

The Problem With The Goggles Of The Future Is Today

Israel Daramola

A display for CBS Sports Streaming on Paramount+ is shown in front of the Bellagio Hotel & Casino.

Paramount CEO Announces Layoffs One Day After Boasting About Super Bowl Revenue

Logo for The Messenger, with letters flickering out and then going blank. First the 'h', then the 'nge', then the 'T e e r.' Blue background, white text.

The Messenger Was Built To Fail, And Did

Boeing CEO David Calhoun speaks during a joint press event with United Airlines at the Boeing manufacturing facility in North Charleston, on December 13, 2022.

How Will The Golden Age Of “Making It Worse” End?

A screenshot of one of the scammy AI-generated listings on Amazon; the product's name is just the boilerplate apology text created by OpenAI when it's asked to do something it can't do.

The Future Of E-Commerce Is A Product Whose Name Is A Boilerplate AI-Generated Apology

Mary Lou Retton signs a Wheaties box in 2003. By her side is her longtime coach, Bela Karolyi