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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

Rachelle Hampton

Dolly Parton stands alone on stage holding a microphone. She's wearing a flowy red top and black bottoms.

Arts And Culture

Dolly Parton Prepared Us For The End

Brandy Jensen

Don’t Forget The Nails

<p>Peter Coviello is Professor of English at UIC. He writes about normal things: Walt Whitman, Mormon polygamy, stepparenthood, Prince.</p>


Peter Coviello

Dolly, Josephine, And Me

Lauren Theisen

Patrick Redford

Alex Sujong Laughlin

Ray Ratto

Taylor Swift performs onstage during the 2012 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 22, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada

Reds Week

Defector Music Club Gets Back Together For Taylor Swift’s ‘Red’

Israel Daramola

An Ode To Redman, The Hip-Hop Court Jester

Giri Nathan

Pat McAfee reacts in the game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Indianapolis Colts

I Played Pat McAfee’s Album For Another Frequently Red-Faced, Sleeveless Baby

<p>Mitch Therieau is a writer living in Virginia.</p>


Mitch Therieau

The Red Hot Chili Peppers Beyond Good And Evil

Books

Defector At The Movies

Music

Defector Staff

Dolly Parton performing live on stage in New York in August 1978

Our Favorite Dolly Parton Performances

DMX performs at the Hard Knock Life Tour at the Continental Airlines Arena.

The Year DMX Painted The World Blood Red

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<p>Robert Rubsam writes fiction and nonfiction. His work has appeared in the NYT Magazine, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, the Baffler, and Liberties. He is a contributing writer for Commonweal Magazine.</p>
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Robert Rubsam

Wild Pink Goes Alt-Country

Fenix Flexin Puts Bankrolls On The Table And AI On The Charts

Charli XCX Made A Beautiful Monument To Impermanence

Mike Kinsella of American Football performs onstage during a concert at O2 Academy Leeds.

American Football Is Still Making Magic

Still image from Drake's music video for "Burning Bridges."

The Best Music Of 2026 So Far

Who’s Afraid Of A Scammer Anthem?

25 Rap Songs For America’s 250th

How Jay-Z Changed Rap With ‘Reasonable Doubt’

Sohini Desai

Eight Years Of Rituals With Rosalía

What Does It Mean To Be A “Black Artist”?

Dave McKenna

The Girl In The White Dress, from Heavy Metal Parking Lot

Life's Rich Pageant

After 40 Years, The Guys Who Made ‘Heavy Metal Parking Lot’ Are Almost Famous

The Passion Of The Drake: A (Mostly) Objective Review Of His Three New Albums

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


Sabrina Imbler

People take part in a No Stage For Genocide protest to demonstrate against Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria. Picture date: Saturday May 16, 2026. (Photo by Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images)

Politics

Eurovision Is Running Out Of Time

What Makes A Great American Songwriter?

Mark Asch

Charli XCX Is Firmly In Her Cinephile Era

US actor Jaafar Jackson poses for photogaphers as he arrives on the red carpet for the world premiere of the Michael Jackson biopic "Michael" at the Uber Eats Music Hall in Berlin on April 10, 2026.

‘Michael’ Is The Most Cynical Attempt At Biopic Myth-Making Yet

All That Matters Is That It Bangs