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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

NYC: Come To Our WNBA Comedy Show On May 16

10-minute-quarters-3-2-fix (1)

Live Event

<p>Elizabeth Hawes is a poet, playwright, and essayist from Minneapolis. A recipient of the Keeley Schenwar Memorial Essay Prize, she has contributed to multiple pedagogical journals and books. Her quotes have been projected onto the Rockefeller Center during PEN America&#8217;s Centennial Art Installation Celebration: Speech Itself.</p>


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Elizabeth Hawes

An illustration of a steel toilet with blue water, in an empty room.

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Stories

What Happens In Prison When You Can’t Pee On Command

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Giri Nathan

Screen Shot 2025-01-24 at 2.34.29 PM

Media Meltdowns

Oratorical Uncles Bond Over Increasingly Reactionary Views

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Kelsey McKinney

Politics

The Old Rules Are For Losers

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Samer Kalaf

Jonathan Greenblatt of the ADL speaking at a dinner.

jonathan-greenblatt-adl

The ADL Was A Farce Long Before It Made Excuses For Elon Musk

<p>William Turton is a photographer and investigative reporter. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.</p>


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William Turton

Trump fans in rain ponchos wait in the cold.

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Donald Trump’s Biggest Fans Waited In The Cold Like Dogs

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Patrick Redford

A stock graph shows the value of the $TRUMP meme coin displayed on a mobile screen in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on January 19, 2025. (Photo by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto)

Super $Trump Meme Coin – Photo Illustration

Donald Trump Has Finally Come Up With A Use Case For Crypto

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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)

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So What Would You Call This?

<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p>Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.09</p>


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.

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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 contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99</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

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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.

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

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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

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Alan Kluegel

Denzel Washington looking incredibly sinister and cool in Gladiator II.

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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.

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What Makes A Scandal

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

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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