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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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<p>Heather Chen is a former Defector intern and the managing editor at the <em>Columbia Daily Spectator</em>. She loves hockey, photography, and the good ol’ state of Michigan.</p>


Heather Wei-Xi Chen

A photo of the west side of the South Lawn in front of Columbia University's Butler Library at the Morningside campus. This picture, taken right before sunset, depicts an encampment set up by protestors on a lawn with turf and a big event tent. Students are scattered throughout, and there are multiple banners and signs depicting pro-Palestine statements.

Politics

Why Did I Sleep On The Turf?

Patrick Redford

Members of the Falun Gong (Falun Dafa) held a parade through Chinatown to protest against the Communist Party of China in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on August 19, 2023. The Communist Party of China has allegedly tried to wipe out Falun Gong with torture and violence because of their beliefs. Falun Gong is a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline that brings together meditation, energy exercises and moral teachings as a means to cultivating the mind and body towards enlightenment. (Photo by Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto)

Media Meltdowns

Feds Accuse America’s Weirdest Media Company Of Being A Money-Laundering Front For The Falun Gong

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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

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 26, 2024 in Concord, North Carolina. He is wearing a make American Great Again hat.

The Doubts Were Not Reasonable

Tom Ley

Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits at the defendant's table inside the courthouse as the jury is scheduled to continue deliberations for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024 in New York City. Judge Juan Merchan gave the jury instructions, and deliberations are entering their second day. The former president faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial.

Defector Up All Night

Justice Delivered To Notable Yankees Fan

<p><span style="font-weight: 400">Madeleine Baker is a historian and an associate editor at </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">The Drift.</span></i></p>


Madeleine Baker

Professor Richard Dawkins next to a bus displaying an atheist message in Kensington Gardens, London.

Mods Asleep

The Ghosts Of New Atheism Still Haunt Us

David Roth

Harrison Butker wearing a knit cap and a cowl while warming up on the field in cold temperatures before the Chiefs' January 13, 2024 Wild Card game.

Harrison Butker Overestimates His Range

U.S. Senator JD Vance takes pictures as Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Manhattan criminal court, Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York.

Dress For The Job You Want

Samer Kalaf

Harrison Butker delivers commencement speech at Benedictine College

Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker’s Inspirational Message To Graduating Catholics: Be Worse

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


Sabrina Imbler

Pro-Palestinian protesters opposing Israel's participation in the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) demonstrate in Malmo, Sweden, on May 11, 2024, with a poster saying : NEJ TILL FOLKMORD, Welcome to the Genocide Song Contest

Arts And Culture

The Myth Of An Apolitical Eurovision

<p>Puja Changoiwala is an award-winning journalist and author based in Mumbai. <a href="https://www.pujachangoiwala.com/">This</a> is her website.</p>


Puja Changoiwala

An image of the frontline in the Russia/Ukraine war, with an image of Mohammed Sufiyan, who was lured into that conflict by an Indian YouTube influencer.

How A YouTuber Duped Indians Into The Russia-Ukraine War

An NYPD officer in riot gear looms over a student protestor on the ground and appears to be gripping her arm.

Going Off Script

A line of police at City College during pro-Gaza demonstrations

Interviews

A City College Student Journalist Shares What He Saw During The NYPD Crackdown

Counter protesters attack pro-Palestinian protesters at a pro-Palestinian encampment set up on the campus of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) as clashes erupt, in Los Angeles on May 1, 2024. Clashes broke out on May 1, 2024 around pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the University of California, Los Angeles, as universities around the United States struggle to contain similar protests on dozens of campuses. (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP)

UCLA Chooses Violence Over Divestment

NYPD officers in riot gear enter Columbia University's encampment

The Outside Agitators On Campus Were The Police

A group of Columbia University students, advocating for Palestinians, access the iconic Hamilton Hall building as they gather to stage a demonstration at the campus in New York, United States on April 30, 2024. Protests are sweeping college campuses across the US following a police attempt to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University, resulting in the arrest of over 100 students. Columbia University asked students on Monday to 'voluntarily disperse' amid stalled talks, threatening the students with suspension.

Journalismism

They Are Insecure For A Reason

The Gaza Solidarity Encampment at Columbia University.

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

PEN America Chooses The Most Cowardly Words

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

The Speech-Free Campus

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.

The New York Times Ignores Reality In Pursuit Of Objectivity

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<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>
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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.