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<div><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/mattribel.bsky.social">Matt Ribel</a> writes about the intersection of science, technology, and politics. His features have appeared in WIRED, Washingtonian, and elsewhere.</div>


Matt Ribel

An illustration of a hand taking a circuitous route to a mailbox to send in a tax return, while a number of other hands try to block it.

Politics

Free, Easy, Dead: The Difficult Birth And Predictable Death Of IRS Direct File

Albert Burneko

The Machines

You Should Never Be The Most Sycophantic Participant In A Conversation With A Chatbot

David Roth

Jon Rahm of Legion XIII celebrates with the trophy after winning the final round of LIV Golf Mexico City at Club de Golf Chapultepec on April 19, 2026 in Mexico City.

Golf

Saudi Arabia Decides LIV Golf Is Ready To Be Supported By Its Passionate Fan Base, Unbeatable Product


<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

In an aerial view, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (R) are shown in Exposition Park on March 5, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.

Olympics

One Angeleno’s Journey Through Olympics Ticket Madness

Patrick Redford

Spencer Weiner 805–653–7527 –– – (left–r) Steve Galbraith and Kim Cuevas, United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Archaeologists, search burn area near Lions camp in Rose Valley. The Forest Service regularly researches ruins, or other artifacts revealed in Wilderness areas after wildfires. Members of U.S. Forest Service Archeological team are in areas of the Sespe Wilderness to check on the condition of rare Native American rock art and other artifacts that may have been damaged when the wolf fire raged through the area last week.

The Great Outdoors

The Trump Administration Is Killing The U.S. Forest Service So It Can Also Kill U.S. Forests

A LED sphere screen shows information inside the new location of the prediction market online platform Polymarket called "The Situation Room."

Capital

Polymarket Apologizes For Taking Bets On American Pilots Downed Over Iran

Tech Media Propaganda Operation Makes It Official, Goes In-House At OpenAI

Climate

Margin Of Error

Policing

Food

Erewhon Is Not A Grocery Store

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 11: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the BlackRock Infrastructure Summit on March 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. The global investment management company held the summit consisting of leaders from government, business, and labor to address expanding U.S. infrastructure. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Now That OpenAI Has Terminated Sora, How Will I Have This Blog Read To Me By An Uncanny Buxom Mike Wazowski?

A hand holding a phone with a tapeworm coming out of it

Gambling

Why I Got Out Of The Gambling Business

Lauren Theisen

Commissioner of Major League Baseball Rob Manfred

It’s Gambling

The Ticketmaster logo is displayed on a smartphone screen in this photo illustration. Ticketmaster's parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, currently faces a major antitrust trial in the United States, where regulators accuse the live-events giant of monopolizing the concert ticketing and promotion market, allegations the company denies, in Brussels, Belgium, on March 5, 2026. (Photo by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto)