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

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


Sabrina Imbler

Joy Binion, formerly a social science analyst at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMSHA

Interviews

An Interview With A Terminated Analyst At The Substance Abuse And Mental Health Administration

<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

Andrew Cuomo speaks in the New York City Democratic Mayoral Primary Debate at NBC Studios on June 4, 2025 in New York City.

Andrew Cuomo Is Garbage

Albert Burneko

Elon Musk speaks during a news conference with President Trump on May 30, 2025 inside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington.

Politics

Donald Trump And Elon Musk Throw Day-Long Tantrums At Each Other

a photo of Patrick Kelly, a Doctoral Candidate at Brown University School of Public Health, whose NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse funded doctoral research was terminated

An Interview With A Public Health Researcher Whose Funding Was Terminated By The Trump Administration

Patrick Redford

A large bitcoin guy regards the world they will take over

What World Does Bitcoin Want To Build For Itself?

<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

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, arrives for a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen building on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. Nominees Adam R. Telle, to be assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, Richard L. Anderson, to be assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, and Dr. Matthew C. Napoli, to be deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation, National Nuclear Security Administration, testified.

Joni Ernst Is A Piece Of Shit

Mamta Patel Nagaraja, a fired NASA associate chief scientist for exploration and research, giving a keynote at the Department of Transportation for a White House event

An Interview With A Fired NASA Associate Chief Scientist


<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

AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley competes in the girls high jump during the CIF State Track and Field Championships at Veterans Memorial Stadium on May 30, 2025 in Clovis, California.

Youth Sports

Despite Online Outrage, The California State Track Meet Was Mostly Just A Track Meet

a headshot of Becca Beckham, a former AmeriCorps portfolio manager

An Interview With A Fired AmeriCorps Portfolio Manager

Tom Ley

A woman wearing Save Girls Sport hat records a video of transgender athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley (not pictured) during the girls long jump at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet at Moorpark High School on May 24, 2025 in Moorpark, California.

It’s A Great Time To Be A Pathetic Loser

Donald Trump holds up a printed article from "American Thinker" while accusing South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa of state-sanctioned violence against white farmers in South Africa during a press availability in the Oval Office at the White House on May 21, 2025 in Washington, DC.

What Do You Do About A Declining President?

David Roth

Police officers are seen outside the Supreme Court of the United States is seen on Thursday May 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. The court is hearing arguments about lower courts' ability to block President Donald Trump's policy to end birthright citzenship.

Podcasts

Notes Of Sparkling Authoritarianism, With Jason Steinhauer

Robert Pastore

A protester waves a "Black Lives Matter" flag across the street during a demonstration at Elmira Correctional Facility

The Earned Time Act Would Bring Freedom To Those Who Need It

Anthony Santander of the Toronto Blue Jays rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning during the game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Angels.

A Dumb New Way To Think About The Dismantling Of The Federal Government

Samer Kalaf

Journalismism

The New York Times Really Asked Ms. Rachel If She’s Paid By Hamas

The obnoxious Grok logo, on a phone screen, in a hand silhouetted against a neon green background.

Elon Musk’s Idiot Chatbot Goes Full Boer

An Interview With A Fired Contract Specialist At The Office Of Personnel Management

Kelsey McKinney

What Is My Senator Good For?

Donald Trump looking like a saggy orange bag of shit on his way onto Air Force 1 for a trip to the Middle East.

NYT Reporter: It’s Not Corruption Unless The Envelope Says “Bribe” On It

New York City police arrested dozens of Pro-Palestinian protesters on Columbia University on Wednesday evening after they took over part of a central library in New York, USA on May 7, 2025.

Teachable Moment

Ray Ratto

Cardinal Robert Prevost, newly elected as Pope Leo XIV is seen on the Saint Peter's Basilica balcony, at Saint Peter's Square in Vatican on April 8, 2025.

Life's Rich Pageant

Well, They Made A Cubs Fan The Pope [UPDATE]

a photo of Chuck Sebian-Lander, a fired CFPB web manager. He is wearing a a shirt from my union, NTEU 335, and b) a lapel pin with the CFPB seal that he was given as part of a Director's award

An Interview With A Fired Web Content Manager At The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) (L) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) (R) speak about an alleged screenshot from the Instagram of USA Fencing board director Damien Lehfeldt during the hearing on “Unfair Play: Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports" held by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Subcommittee at the U.S. Capitol on May 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. Green is holding a photo that makes it look like Lehfeldt is pointing at himself with his middle finger. Stansbury is holding up a larger capture of the same photo that shows him making a peace sign with the same hand.

The DOGE Fencing Hearing Was Stupid And Pointless Even By Congressional Standards

display of flight board inside Newark airport

The Mess At Newark Airport Is Only The Beginning

A photo of fired EPA program analyst Amanda Cronin holding the text of Executive Order 14096