Capital

Climate

Margin Of Error

Policing

The Machines

CULTURE

Footer Column 2

Footer Legal

Footer Main

Nav Bar

OTHER

SPORTS

Subscribe, at any level, to play

Thanks for your interest in Defector Crosswords!

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Plans start at $8/month.

Subscribers enjoy unlimited, ad-free browsing.

Register to continue

Or click here to subscribe for unlimited, ad-free access!

Our gift to you: This year's post is unlocked. Register your email to get even more free articles.

Welcome to the 2025 Hater's Guide!

Just register your email:

This blog is free to read.

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

Samer Kalaf

The Gaza Solidarity Encampment at Columbia University.

Politics

The Crackdown Explains The Protest

Dave McKenna

SHADY GROVE, MD - SEPTEMBER 26: Robin Ficker, a Republican candidate for Montgomery County Executive, speaks during a County Executive Candidates debate on September 26, 2018 in Shady Grove, MD. (Photo by Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Portrait Of The Asshole As An Old Man

<p>Asher Elbein is <a href="https://www.asherelbein.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.asherelbein.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1712179533443000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2CJ0U-vHMdK0s6sOdzlGGF">a journalist and fiction writer</a> based in Austin, Texas. Among other places, his work has appeared in The New York Times, Scientific American, Undark Magazine, Audubon, and Texas Monthly.</p>


Asher Elbein

An illustration of Magneto placing a yarmulke atop his head.

History

The Judgment Of Magneto

Lauren Theisen

Arts And Culture

PEN America Chooses The Most Cowardly Words

<div id="1695913206.579009" class="c-virtual_list__item c-virtual_list__item--initial-activeitem" role="listitem" data-qa="virtual-list-item" data-item-key="1695913206.579009">
<div class="c-message_kit__background c-message_kit__background--hovered p-message_pane_message__message c-message_kit__message" role="presentation" data-qa="message_container" data-qa-unprocessed="false" data-qa-placeholder="false">
<div class="c-message_kit__hover c-message_kit__hover--hovered" role="document" data-qa-hover="true">
<div class="c-message_kit__actions c-message_kit__actions--above">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter c-message_kit__gutter--compact">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter__right" role="presentation" data-qa="message_content">
<div class="c-message_kit__indent">
<div class="c-message_kit__blocks c-message_kit__blocks--rich_text c-message_kit__blocks--inline">
<div class="c-message__message_blocks c-message__message_blocks--rich_text c-message__message_blocks--inline" data-qa="message-text">
<div class="p-block_kit_renderer p-block_kit_renderer--inline" data-qa="block-kit-renderer">
<div class="p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper--first">
<div class="p-rich_text_block p-rich_text_block--inline" dir="auto">
<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>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="1695913224.677889" class="c-virtual_list__item" role="listitem" data-qa="virtual-list-item" data-item-key="1695913224.677889">
<div class="c-message_kit__background p-message_pane_message__message c-message_kit__message" role="presentation" data-qa="message_container" data-qa-unprocessed="false" data-qa-placeholder="false">
<div class="c-message_kit__hover" role="document" data-qa-hover="true">
<div class="c-message_kit__actions c-message_kit__actions--above">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter c-message_kit__gutter--compact">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter__left" role="presentation"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>


Tom Scocca

A big outdoor sign reading USC University of Southern California, with a student riding a skateboard in the background.

The Speech-Free Campus

Patrick Redford

New York Times Managing Editor Joseph Kahn gives the keynote speech at the Andrew Olle lecture 2017 at ICC darling Harbour on October 27, 2017 in Sydney, Australia.

Journalismism

The New York Times Ignores Reality In Pursuit Of Objectivity

<div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div>Casey Taylor is a writer living and working in Pittsburgh. He is currently writing a book for St. Martin&#8217;s Press about cannabis religions, Haile Selassie I, and the Cold War in the Caribbean. He also writes a free newsletter called <a href="https://weedchurch.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://weedchurch.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1709306863919000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1mVH2xiID6S0zvlyj6yHco">Weed Church</a> covering foolish spiritual things that occur to him. His work has appeared in The New Republic, WIRED, New York Magazine, and a sports blog he can’t currently recall the name of. You can <a href="mailto:caseyt7@gmail.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">email</a> him if you’d like.</div>
</div>
<div class="yj6qo ajU"></div>
</div>
<div></div>


Casey Taylor

Having escaped a raging war at home, Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia face more conflict and insecurity as the border region of Amhara is plagued by unrest and clashes that sees the Ethiopian National Defense Force battling an ethnic Amhara militia known as 'Fano'. According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) over 100,000 people have crossed into Ethiopia from Sudan since April 2023. Sudanese and other refugees in the border camps in Amhara lament a lack of security, difficult communication with the outside world - the Ethiopian government has disrupted access to mobile internet in the region since August 2023 - and a general sense of abandonment, raising the question if they fled a dire situation to end up in similar one. (Photo by )

How Do You Get Americans To Care About A War?

Palestinian children are standing next to a bombed-out WCK vehicle in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.

The Exchange Rate On Palestinian Life

NAIA Becomes First Organization To Ban Trans Athletes From College Sports

A Palestinian checks a damaged vehicle after Israeli strikes in central Gaza Strip city of Deir el-Balah, on April 2, 2024.

Voting For Gaza

Agents of the Texas National Guard struggle with a migrant man after he crossed across the Rio Grande river to reach the US side, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on March 20, 2024.

Amy Coney Barrett’s Charm Offensive

Tom Ley

Aaron Rodgers #8 of the New York Jets looks at a Microsoft Surface tablet during the second half against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium on December 28, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Report: Aaron Rodgers Being Considered For Dream Job As Attention-Getting Loser

<p>Katie Britt is not actually Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama.</p>


Katie Britt

Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, delivering her floridly bizarre response to the State of the Union speech on Fox News on Thursday, Mar. 7 2024

This Is So Stupid

The Nets, Of The Great State Of Brooklyn, Have Lost, I Fear, For The Children! Of America. To The Detroit Pistons—Of. This. Great. Na. Tion. Tonight. Last Night.

The rostrum of the U.S. House of Representatives, with the entire chamber empty.

My Fellow Americans

Palestinians, who are unable to meet their basic needs due to the Israeli army's obstruction of humanitarian aid, receive a bag of flour from an aid truck that arrived at al-Rashid Street in the west of Gaza City, Gaza.

The Status Quo In Gaza Is Death

David Roth

Albert Burneko

Sen. Kyrtsen Sinema (D-AZ) speaks at a news conference after the Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act at the Capitol Building on November 29, 2022.

Point/Counterpoint: Senator Kyrsten Sinema Retires


<p>Jay Willis is a writer who covers law and democracy. His work has appeared in GQ, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Slate, and more. He is the editor-in-chief at Balls &amp; Strikes, an outlet for progressive commentary on the legal system.</p>


Jay Willis

Giant portraits of the news anchors at Fox News headquarters building in New York City. Very cursed image.

Tim Burke’s Indictment Is A Political Choice Disguised As A Legal Act

The New York Times Ignores Intense Scrutiny Of Its Oct. 7 Report

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 27: A person holds a sign during a vigil for U.S. Airman Aaron Bushnell at the US Army Recruiting Office in Times Square on February 27, 2024 in New York City. Bushnell died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC on Sunday. In a video that was posted to a social media account showing the act, he stated that would “no longer be complicit in genocide," before pouring an unknown liquid over himself and igniting it while yelling “Free Palestine” repeatedly. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Why Did Aaron Bushnell Burn?

In this photograph a group of townsfolk descend on a disciple after it was discovered that the ritual he participated in left a person dead during an Epoch Event in Toronto on August 6, 2011

Fantasy Convention

<p>Sean T. Collins has written for The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vulture, Decider, Pitchfork, and many others. He lives with his family on Long Island.</p>


Sean T. Collins

Here’s To Cecilia Gentili

CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 06: Migrants cross the border to USA through Gate 36 and to be received by elements of the Border Patrol and the Texas National Guard for the processing of their request to migrate, captured from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on February 06, 2024.

The Crisis Keeps Migrating

Thomas Friedman of the New York Times doing a PBS interview

New York Times Pays Thomas Friedman To Compare The Middle East To Bugs

<p><span style="font-weight: 400">Dennis Young is the news editor at Front Office Sports.</span></p>


Dennis Young

Marathon running holding a Palestinian flag

Olympics

How Four Marathoners Organized A Ceasefire Protest From Across The Country

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JANUARY 28: Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs (L) celebrates with Taylor Swift after defeating the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game at M&amp;T Bank Stadium on January 28, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)