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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

Ray Ratto

A customer takes a photograph of a glass of Russian River Brewing's Pliny the Younger at the Russian River Brewing Company on February 1, 2019 in Windsor, California.

Life Lessons

An Afternoon With Pliny The Younger

Alex Sujong Laughlin

Two joggers run in an autumnal park between two trees.

Falling Back In Love With Running

Kelsey McKinney

Albert Burneko

A barren Dust Bowl wasteland with a single fencepost standing in the foreground.

Now Let Us Survey Our Summer’s Gardening Bounty

Rachelle Hampton

A young woman at home, feeling sick. She is, appropriately, holding her lower back.

I Hurt My Back

<p>Former Defector intern, now freelancer.</p>
<p>For professional inquiries or tips please write lucybl00m@protonmail.com or yuck.20 on Signal.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


Lucy Bloom

You Can’t Be Too Careful

Lauren Theisen

Seeking Closure At Planet Hollywood, Where My Life Once Exploded

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<div class="p-rich_text_section">Puja Patel is a writer, editor, and curator who has served as the Editor-in-Chief of Pitchfork and <em>Spin</em>, a culture editor for Deadspin, and a columnist for MTV and the <em>Village Voice</em>. Her work has appeared in publications such as the <em>New Yorker</em>, <em>Harper&#8217;s Bazaar</em>, and <em>Rolling Stone,</em> among others. She serves on the advisory board of NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music and Building Beats, a nonprofit organization that provides music education to underserved youth across New York City and Los Angeles.</div>
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Puja Patel

Mods Asleep

Just A Tip

Bills Week

I Have Found A Personal Finance Influencer Who Isn’t As Bad As “Personal Finance Influencer” Sounds

Bill Laimbeer #40 takes the ball during the NBA playoffs against the Boston Celtics

Bill Laimbeer Made Me A Youth Basketball Maniac

black and white photo of a woman reading with glasses on

Arts And Culture

My New Glasses Have Ruined My Ability To Read! Help Me!

<p>Emily Bice is a Brooklyn-based writer. Her work centers on explorations of how we navigate love and life in the 21st century. These investigations have taken her to a fishmonger, inspired meditations on dating, and even led to rollerblading a marathon. You can find more on her Substack, <a href="https://129waysto.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://129waysto.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1728739707762000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1SlDWyDATtJJ90_yxFN0B1">129 Ways to Get a Life</a>.</p>


Emily Bice

a woman bowls into a time travel-like vortex

Ten Frames Of Time Travel

Tom Ley

Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks and Bennedict Mathurin #00 of the Indiana Pacers get into an altercation after Game 5 of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on April 29, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. 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.

Bucks Collapse Leads To Giannis Antetokounmpo Delivering Fatherhood Lessons To Tyrese Haliburton’s Dad

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


Nicholas Russell

: A COVID face mask dangles from the rear-view mirror of a car

Why I Keep Masking

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


Post-Postdoc

Capital

How I Became Highly Educated Grist For The AI Mill

<div>Rick Paulas is a writer in Brooklyn who made <i><a href="http://www.theladyingreenpoint.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.theladyingreenpoint.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1693673714100000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mdrn4_mwbI7boyzf49u2G">The Lady in Greenpoint</a></i>, a 3-mile walking audio ghost story starting at the Pulaski Bridge, and <i>The Palmer Hotel</i>, a collection of spooky short stories set over a century in a downtown hotel, which has sold out.</div>
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Rick Paulas

Why Is This So Good?

The Best Thing I Own Is My Tiny TV/VCR

Jen Vafidis

Richard Kind poses at a gala celebrating "All In: Comedy About Love" opening night on Broadway at The Hudson Theatre on December 16, 2024 in New York City.

How Meeting Richard Kind Changed The Course Of My Life

<p>Vivian Blaxell grew up in rural Australia and co-founded Tiresias House, Australia’s first shelter and resource centre for and by trans people. Her essay &#8220;Nuclear Cats&#8221; was shortlisted for the 2021 Melbourne Prize for Literature. She lives in Naarm/Melbourne, VIC, Australia.</p>


Vivian Blaxell

Coke Sign at corner of William Street and Kings Cross, Sydney

Book Excerpts That Don't Suck

“Get The Fuck Off This Corner. It’s Mine.”

Brandy Jensen

I Will Take An Annoying World Over A Sterile One

Barry Petchesky

There Are Other People In The World

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 12: Former NFL Player Tom Brady looks on prior to the NFC Wild Card Playoff between the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on January 12, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Nuisance Is That Which You Cannot Escape


<p class="wp-block-paragraph">charismatic megafauna (they/them)</p>


Sabrina Imbler

op down image of a pile of dirty dishes and saucepans sitting on a countertop in a kitchen

The Year Of No Dishwasher

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

How I Got Comfortable With Cooking, And Eating


<p class="wp-block-paragraph">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

People stretch and raise their hands during an outside yoga session on Thursday, April 4, 2024 in Long Beach, CA.

A Hip Stretch To Help You Stay Sane

A red iPhone 12 mini rests on a wood table. The back of the phone is facing up; it's glass surface is cracked.

Phone Too Big

<p>Megan Greenwell is the author of <em>Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream</em>, which will be published in June 2025 and is <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/bad-company-megan-greenwell?variant=43151012757538">available for preorder now</a>.</p>


Megan Greenwell

photo of a corner of the Clevelant Museum of Art