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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.

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Defector

The Defector Crewneck Sweatshirt Is Back In Stock

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Merch v3

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Barry Petchesky

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capitol One Arena, in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP-INAUGURATION

Politics

So What Would You Call This?

Profile Pic

Chris Thompson

Trump supporters crowd the parade route, with trash everywhere.

Inauguration 2025

Painting The Town Red

Normal Gossip: portraits

Alex Sujong Laughlin

An image of one of Alex's old journals, sitting on a very nice wood table.

IMG_3232

It’s Day One, Again

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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

Jill Biden, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Melania Trump.

The Inauguration Of Donald J. Trump As The 47th President

Margin Of Error

Welcome Home

‘Vidcom’ de Cannes

Under The Influence

TikTok Users Learn The Internet Isn’t Forever


<p>Investigations Editor. You can reach her at diana@defector.com or, if you prefer protonmail, dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. If security is a concern, download the Signal app and send her a text at 929-251-8187.</p>


DFM New Headshot

Diana Moskovitz

An aerial view of a street in the Eaton fire. The entire street is burned and decimated. It looks like a bomb went off. A sole person walks down the empty steet.

Eaton Fire aerial view

Journalismism

We Need A New Deal To Save Local Journalism


<p>Michael is a writer who has worked with The Atlantic, The New Yorker, WIRED, Vox, The New York Times, and other publications. His first book, <em>The Other Olympians</em>, which uncovers the stories of several European athletes who transitioned gender in the 1930s, is now available for purchase.</p>


Michael Waters

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 20: Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (C) and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-VA) (L) raise their hands when asked if they know a transgender woman during an event to celebrate the House passing The Protection Of Women And Girls In Sports Act outside the U.S. Capitol on April 20, 2023 in Washington, DC. President Joe Biden has promised to veto the legislation, which defines sex as 'based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth' and would ban all transgender women and girls from competing in female school sports.

House GOP Members And Female Athletes Mark Passage Of The Protection Of Women And Girls In Sports Act

The Trans Sports Ban Portends Something Much Darker


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


Typing

Sabrina Imbler

a silvery fish called a delta smelt in a litle cup

Delta_Smelt_(36489759745)

This Week In Maligned Little Fish

First responders wearing Hazmat gear investigate a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in front of the entrance to the Trump International Hotel & Tower Las Vegas on Jan. 01, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

burned cybertruck

How Crazy Was The Las Vegas Cybertruck Bomber?

Dave McKenna

LAGRANGE, GA - JUNE 10: Former US President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalyn Carter attach siding to the front of a Habitat for Humanity home being built June 10, 2003 in LaGrange, Georgia. More than 90 homes are being built in LaGrange; Valdosta, Georgia; and Anniston, Alabama by volunteers as part of Habitat for Humanity International's Jimmy Carter Work Project 2003.

Former President Carter Works On Habitat For Humanity Homes

Jimmy Carter Was The Iron Man Of Hospice

Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and JD Vance attend the Army-Navy football game on December 14, 2024.

Trump Musk Vance

Elon Musk Takes What He Can Get

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ABC’s Trump Settlement Is A Bad Omen

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Tom Ley

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - DECEMBER 4: Police officers investigate the scene where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in Midtown Manhattan near a hotel on 54th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues on December 04, 2024 in New York, United States. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, was fatally shot in what authorities are calling a 'brazen, targeted attack' outside the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The masked gunman, who waited several minutes before ambushing Thompson, fired multiple times, striking him in the back and right calf. Thompson was rushed to Roosevelt Hospital but succumbed to his injuries. The suspect fled the scene and remains at large. A $10,000 reward has been offered for information leading to his arrest.

Healthcare executive gunned down in New York City in apparent ‘targeted attack’

What Comes After The Gun?

<p>Mohammed Mhawish is a Palestinian journalist and writer from Gaza. He is currently a contributing writer for <em>The Nation</em>. Mohammed, a contributor to the book <em>A Land With a People</em>, has reported for Al Jazeera, <em>The Economist</em>, MSNBC, +972 Magazine, and more. Subscribe to his newsletter <a href="https://www.mohammedmhawish.com/">here</a>.</p>


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Mohammed R. Mhawish

The rubble of the author's house in Gaza. A child's toy is visible.

mhawish-gaza-house

Stories

One Year Ago, Israel Buried Me Alive. I’m Still Clawing My Way Out.

VictorPortraitWClaw

David Roth

A small drone flies in front of the skyline of midtown Manhattan and the Empire State Building as the sun rises in New York City on August 11, 2023

Sunrise in New York City

It’s Time For A Little Recreational Mental Illness In New Jersey

ajk_headshot

Alan Kluegel

Denzel Washington looking incredibly sinister and cool in Gladiator II.

Denzel-washington-gladiator-ii

Defector At The Movies

II Decadent II Decrepit: The Politics Of ‘Gladiator II’

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth leaves a meeting with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) with his wife Jennifer Rauchet as he continues to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on December 5, 2024 in Washington, DC.

hegseth

What Makes A Scandal

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Samer Kalaf

Joe Biden holds a copy of The Hundred Years' War On Palestine by Rashid Khalidi.

US-POLITICS-BIDEN

The Next History Book On Palestine Will Have Joe Biden In It

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO - OCTOBER 19: Brooke Slusser #10 of the San Jose State Spartans serves the ball during the first set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

SJSU v Air Force

Bigots Don’t Know Ball

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Lauren Theisen

The Charter Building, Uxbridge, United Kingdom. Architect: dn-a architecture, 2017.

The Purpose Of A Bathroom Law


<p>Luisa Rollenhagen is a German-Argentinian freelance journalist based in Berlin. She&#8217;s written for publications such as <em>The Guardian</em>, BuzzFeed News, Deutsche Welle, and <em>GQ</em>. </p>


Profile

Luisa Rollenhagen

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 12: A parade float shows an effigy of Donald Trump holding a pair of scissors in his hand with a cut-up US flag in the shape of a swastika at the annual Rose Monday Carnival parade on February 12, 2024 in Dusseldorf, Germany. The Mainz and Dusseldorf Rose Monday parades are known for their biting political satire. Cities in western Germany are celebrating the traditional Rhineland Carnival this week, culminating in today's Rose Monday parades. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Rose Monday Carnival Parades In Mainz And Dusseldorf

Donald Trump Is Everyone’s Problem, Even In Germany

The U.S. Supreme Court building with the low afternoon sun behind it and a pedestrian in the foreground.

SCOTUS

Lapse Of Judgment

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Kelsey McKinney

The Harvest Moon rises over the U.S. Capitol dome in 2022.

Capitol Harvest Moon

The American Nightmare Is A Rerun

WASHINGTON, DC - May 23: Laura Helmuth of The Washington Post via Getty Images poses for a portrait on Tuesday May 23, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Post Staff Portraits – Washington, DC

Science

Do Not Accept An Unscientific American

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Albert Burneko

Robert F. Kennedy looking like an old shrunken russet potato at some Trump rally.

RFK Jr. lookin real bad

Media Meltdowns

What The Fuck Is A “Vaccine Skeptic”?