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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

New Defector Merch For Your Baby

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Merch v3

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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

A monitor shows the CBS News broadcast of the Vice Presidential Debate between US Senator and Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz in Harrisburg, PA, on October 1, 2024, at a watch party.

Vance and Walz

Margin Of Error

JD Vance Found A Debate He Couldn’t Win

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Patrick Redford

Steve Ballmer speaks onstage at the Intuit Dome opening night event held at Intuit Dome on August 15, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)

Intuit Dome Opening Night – Press Conference

Clippers Fans, And Only Clippers Fans, Can Now Buy Alcohol At 3:17 In The Morning In California

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Barry Petchesky

New York City Mayor Eric Adams talks to the press outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor of New York City, on September 26, 2024, after he was indicted on federal criminal charges. US federal agents raided the official residence of Mayor Adams early September 26 ahead of the expected announcement of criminal charges against the former city cop once touted as a rising Democratic Party star. The search at the residence known as Gracie Mansion began before dawn, and is the latest shock twist in a graft investigation against the Adams administration. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / POOL / AFP)

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Politics

The Most Unbelievable Bits From NYC Mayor Eric Adams’s Indictment

bashtapper

Journalismism

The Truth Is An Inconvenience For Jake Tapper And Dana Bash

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Samer Kalaf

A picture taken on September 24, 2024, shows the debris and destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli strike on a neighbourhood in the Lebanese city of Baalbeck

TOPSHOT-LEBANON-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT

Israel Uses The Same Pretense For New Bloodshed

A splitscreen image. On the left, New York magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi. On the right, former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Nuzzi and RFK Jr.

Media Meltdowns

Sending Horny Texts To RFK Jr. Is Not A Public Service


<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

POTSDAM, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 22: Protesters gather outside the venue where members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) were holding their election evening party in Brandenburg state elections on September 22, 2024 near Potsdam, Germany. The AfD entered the election today in a neck-and-neck race against the incumbent German Social Democrats (SPD).(Photo by Michele Tantussi/Getty Images)

Brandenburg Holds State Elections

What’s Driving The Rise Of The Far Right Among Young Germans?

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Justin Ellis

Red crime scene tape marking off an area outside the Trump International Golf Club sign in West Palm Beach, Florida, as law enforcement investigate an apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

Secret Service Thwart Apparent Assassination Attempt On Former President Donald Trump At West Palm Beach Golf Club

Cope Is A Terrible Way Not To Die

New York Magazine Suspends Olivia Nuzzi Over “Inappropriate Relationship” With Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Donald Trump makes a loony-eyed face while speaking at IAC.

trump crazy eyes

Where Racism Goes To Become Rhetoric

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David Roth

Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Republican vice presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) appear on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Delegates, politicians, and the Republican faithful are in Milwaukee for the annual convention, concluding with former President Donald Trump accepting his party's presidential nomination

2024 Republican National Convention: Day 1

What A Lie Is For

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris debate on September 10, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

trump and kamala

Donald Trump Talked Honestly About Policy

Normal Gossip: portraits

Alex Sujong Laughlin

A person stops to watch a TV screen at a bar in Washington D.C. showing the U.S. presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

US-VOTE-POLITICS-DEBATE-WATCH PARTY

Who Won The Debate? The Swirling Existential Void That Will Consume Us All

a Washington Commanders helmet rests near the sidelines during the game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins on Saturday, August 17, 2024 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

NFL: AUG 17 Preseason Commanders at Dolphins

Disgraced Conservative Media Creep Gets Commanders Employee Fired With Hidden-Camera Video

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Patrick Beverley Reveals More Than He Intended About Life In Israel

A man waves the Russian national flag as he arrives at the patriotic concert at the Red square in downtown Moscow ahead the Russia Day on June 11, 2023. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP) (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)

TOPSHOT-RUSSIA-POLITICS

Dimwitted Right-Wing Influencers Accused Of Being Unwitting Russian Assets

A picture of Donald Trump at the first presidential debate next to a rendering of a trading card which includes a swatch of the suit he wore in that debate, taken from the website selling those cards.

TrumpSuitRelic

Donald Trump Is Still Selling NFTs, Now Also Selling Trading Cards With Bits Of His Suit Embedded In Them

Donald Trump wears an ain't-I-a-stinker smirk while Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks onstage at a campaign event at which the latter announced the end of his presidential campaign and endorsement of the former.

RFK Jr.

Stupid And Contagious

Dave McKenna

Viewer discretion warning at the start of FBI PSA

Screenshot (372)

Dadfector

Run, Hide, Fight, Die

Attendees calling for a ceasefire in Gaza demonstrate as President Joe Biden deliver the keynote speech during the first day of the Democratic National Convention on August 19, 2024,

2024-dnc-gaza

Everyone At The DNC Speaks For Palestine, Except For Palestinians

<p>Hamilton Nolan is a journalist based in New York City. Subscribe to his work at <a href="https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1687350200913000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0naFbUVOe-5ZgtPDtIM3gz">HamiltonNolan.com</a>.</p>


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Hamilton Nolan

Democratic National Convention (DNC) 2024 – Day Three

Patriot Games

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 19: Delegates from Florida chant "Lock him up," as Hillary Clinton talks about former President Donald Trump's criminal convictions during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 19, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.

2024 Democratic National Convention: Day 1

A Night With The Party Animals

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton waits to speak at the annual convention of the Rainbow/Push Coalition June 24, 2003 in Chicago, Illinois. Clinton said Bush Administration policies make likely the need for affirmative action programs for years to come.

Clinton Speaks At Rainbow Coalition Convention

Can The Pundits Pivot Toward The Center?

Republican vice presidential candidate, U.S. Sen J.D. Vance (R-OH) speaks during a press conference at the Shelby Township Police Department on August 7, 2024 in Shelby Township, Michigan.

Vice Presidential Candidate JD Vance Speaks In Michigan

Men On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown

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


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Nicholas Russell

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leaves the stage during a commercial break as he participates in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections with US President Joe Biden at CNN's studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024.

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Interviews

‘Know Your Enemy’ Host Matt Sitman Talks About Covering Politics Without Becoming A Hack