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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

David Roth

A stock photo of a man in his thirties sitting at a computer with headphones on, presumably thinking about podcasts.

Podcasts

Let’s Remember Some Podcasts, With Alex Sujong Laughlin

Mr. Met striking a benignly unsettling Mr. Met-style pose on the field during a Mets game.

The Minimum Amount Of Podcast Allowed By Law

A bathroom at Mar-a-Lago positively jammed with boxes full of junk.

Ambitions As A Writer And Bathroom Chandeliers, With Israel Daramola And Dave McKenna

LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman at a press conference during the LIV event in Adelaide, Australia, in April of 2023.

The Money Will Not Shut Up, With Ray Ratto

Jae Towle Vieira [they/them] works as a producer for Normal Gossip. Their fiction has been published in The Normal School, New England Review, Carve Magazine, Passages North, Fairy Tale Review, and elsewhere.

Jae Towle Vieira

Normal Gossip logo with cartoon characters gossiping

Vibesmithing Via Committee

Gabe Vincent, Bam Adebayo, and Caleb Martin stand together as the team is introduced before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Eat Culture, With Rohan Nadkarni

The Chill Bride, The Boutonnieres, And The Hair Straightener

Grant Williams of the Boston Celtics holds the ball while Jimmy Butler makes a Jimmy Butler Face in an Eastern Conference Finals game..

Sacred Oafs, Holy Madmen, Culture Wars, Things Of That Nature

We Are Surrounded By Mysteries In Our Own Backyards

Dispatches From The Gulf Of Pain, With David Grann

Welcome To The Chair Saga

A Mariachi Band performs on Cinco De Mayo as writers on strike march with signs on the picket line on day four of the strike by the Writers Guild of America in front of Netflix in Hollywood, California.

A Symphony Of Solidarity Honks, With Adam Conover

What’s A Guy Gotta Do To Make A Friend Around Here?

Malik Monk prepares to push the button that illuminates the beam after Sacramento's win against Golden State in Game 2 of their NBA Playoffs series.

The Beam Shines For All, With Patrick Redford

Kelsey McKinney

Time To Process Our Michael Phelps Trauma!

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud during his session at the NFL Combine in March of 2023.

Positively Covered In Belichick Dander, With Rivers McCown

When Does Gossip Become A Myth?

Jeremy Swayman #1 of the Boston Bruins and teammate Linus Ullmark #35 share a hug after Game One of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Please Like Her Sports, With Lauren Theisen

It’s Good To Laugh So Hard You Weep

Luka Doncic smiling, kind of, for the camera before an early April Mavericks game against the Bulls in which he did not play.

Scuffing Up The Gossip, With Kelsey McKinney

Please Be Careful Who You Are Texting

A photo of a bunch of people hooting and partying at the MTV Spring Break event in Cancun in 2014.

Drinking Schnapps On Spring Break

Salt, Fat, Acid, Gossip! Normal Gossip Is Back!

Kansas State guard Markquis Nowell shrugs after hitting a big shot in the Wildcats' Elite Eight game at Madison Square Garden.

Live From The Game Of Somebody’s Life, With Dan McQuade

Dillon Brooks smiling on the floor during a Grizzlies game against the Philadelphia 76ers in February of 2023.