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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

Israel Daramola

Politics

Welcome To The Scam Century

David Roth

Elon Musk speaks during a cabinet meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 26, 2025. He's backlit and is doing his Thinking Hands and is wearing a stupid hat. The Distraction logo is at upper right.

Podcasts

Beavises In The Code Base, With Tim Marchman

Samer Kalaf

Ms. Rachel attends the Sesame Workshop 2024 Benefit Gala

Ms. Rachel Is Hamas Now

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


Sabrina Imbler

A photo of Jules Reynolds, a fired USDA program coordinator, sitting near a valley of farmland

Interviews

An Interview With A Fired USDA Program Coordinator

<p>Columnist. Author of many <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drew-Magary/e/B001JS8R52/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1">fine works of literature</a>, including <em>Point B</em>. Handsomest man in the world.</p>


Drew Magary

U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a chart while speaking during a “Make America Wealthy Again” trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025 in Washington, DC. Touting the event as “Liberation Day”, Trump is expected to announce additional tariffs targeting goods imported to the U.S.

Oh, Shut The Fuck Up

<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400">Dan Brooks writes essays and fiction from Missoula, Montana.</span></i></p>


Dan Brooks

U.S. Vice President JD Vance (L) shoots with U.S. Marines at a gun range during a visit to Marine Corps Base Quantico

American Freedom


<p>Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99</p>


Diana Moskovitz

The front of a U.S. Department of Education building.

Title IX Is Now A Weapon In The Trump Administration’s Culture War

People attend the 'Trans Day of Visibility Rally' hosted by the Christopher Street Project on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Someone holds up a sign saying "I WANT MORE TRANSSEXUAL FRIENDS LOVERS TEACHERS STUDENTS NEIGHBORS AUTHORS ARTISTS LEADERS LAWYERS PREACHERS & COMRADES.

Science

What It Means To Fund Studies In Transition “Regret”

a photo of Tara Kerin, an infectious disease epidemiologist who lost her job as a result of the DOGE layoffs

An Interview With An Epidemiologist Who Lost Her Job Because Of The DOGE Layoffs

TCU Horned Frogs forward Sedona Prince (#13) dribbles up court during the Big 12 college basketball game between the TCU Horned Frogs and Baylor Bears on January 26, 2025 at Ed &amp; Rae Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

College Basketball

The Silence Surrounding Sedona Prince Is A Look Into Sports’ Future

<p>John Loeppky is a freelance writer and theatre artist currently based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. His work has appeared for outlets such as FiveThirtyEight, CBC, and <em>Maclean’s</em>.</p>


John Loeppky

CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 07: Wheelchair basketball athletes Natalie Schneider of Team USA, Zoie Voris of the Arlington Lady Movin' Mavs, Hayley Nielsen #20 of Arizona and and Josie Aslakson #7 of Team USA compete at halftime during the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament National Championship between the Iowa Hawkeyes and South Carolina Gamecocks at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on April 07, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Parasports

University Parasports Brace For Trump’s Anti-DEI Crusade

Elon Musk chats with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick as they walk with White House Communications Director Steven Cheung and White House deputy chief of staff for policy and US homeland security advisor Stephen Miller on the south lawn of the White House. Everyone absolutely looks like shit.

Kingdom Of The Biters

a photo of Veronica Correa, a fired EPA public affairs specialist, standing in snowy woods by a stream

An Interview With A Fired EPA Public Affairs Specialist

Tom Ley

Surveillance footage of Rumeysa Ozturk's arrest

It Is What It Looks Like

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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

Yemeni men and children in the rubble of a Sana'a neighborhood leveled by U.S. attacks.

The Human Factor

A photo of Sara Hugentobler, a USFWS fish biologist, in the lab extracting DNA

An Interview With A Fired USFWS Fish Biologist

a photo of Kate Wheeler, a former USDA farm to school specialist. Kate has short brown hair and is smiling in front of several painted planks

An Interview With A Fired USDA Specialist

Luis Paez-Pumar

Jackie Robinson, in military uniform, becomes the first African American to sign with a white professional baseball team. He signs a contract with the minor league club in Montreal, a farm team for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Department Of Defense Backtracks After Deleting Jackie Robinson Article For “Woke DEI”

A person holds a sign calling for the release of Mahmoud Khalil as pro-Palestine demonstrators rally for Gaza in Times Square on March 18, 2025 in New York City. Israeli forces carried out renewed airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, killing over 400 people, according to Gaza officials. The attacks broke a temporary ceasefire with Hamas, heightening fears of a return to full-scale conflict.

Read Mahmoud Khalil’s Letter From An ICE Detention Facility

Lauren Theisen

Demonstrators hold signs as they protest the deportation of Assistant Professor of Medicine Dr. Rasha Alawieh of Brown University at the State House in Providence, Rhode Island

We’re All We’ve Got Left

a selfie of Sarah Cooley, the former director of NOAA's ocean acidification program, with an orange life vest on a river

An Interview With A Fired NOAA Director

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) walks back towards the senate side of the building at the U.S. Capitol on March 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. Tensions have flared over the shutdown within the Democratic caucus after Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced Thursday that he will vote to advance a House-passed six-month government funding bill, despite opposition from many Democrats who argue it would create a "slush fund" for former President Trump and Elon Musk.

Chuck Schumer Is Responsible

Kelsey McKinney

There Should Be Consequences For Filming A Tesla Ad At The White House

(L-R) Bari Weiss, The Free Press Founder, Peter Thiel, and Matt Danzeisen attend Inauguration Eve hosted by Uber, X and The Free Press at Cafe Riggs on January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Journalismism

They Should Call It The Free Piss

A protestor with a sign that reads "Release Mahmoud Khalil."