Margin Of Error

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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

The Defector Crewneck Sweatshirt Is Back In Stock

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Merch v3

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


Typing

Sabrina Imbler

A CVS pharmacy store on February 28, 2025 in San Diego, California

CVS Pharmacy In San Diego

Science

How Are You Supposed To Get The COVID Vaccine Now? An Explainer

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David Roth

A screengrab from Mark Teixeira's website for his congressional run. He's holding out a baseball and grinning and wearing a tight red golf shirt. It looks like an ad for a real estate agency.

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Mark Teixeira Is Ready To Do Whatever It Is Congress Guys Have To Do

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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

Armed members of the National Guard patrol Union Station on August 27, 2025 in Washington, DC.

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Well, He Sent In The Troops

President Trump Meets With His Cabinet At The White House

RFK Jr. Is Making His Bid To Become One Of American History’s Biggest Killers

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Patrick Redford

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK - 2025/04/06: A banner saying “Greenland not for sale” and “Kalaallit Nunaat Kalaallit Pigaat” translated to "Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders” seen during a demonstration against the Trump administration. Protesters gathered in front of the American Embassy in response to the Trump administration's repeated statements about wanting control over Greenland. These statements, which questioned Denmark’s sovereignty and emphasized Greenland’s strategic value, sparked outrage in both Greenland and Denmark. Greenlandic leaders and citizens strongly rejected any suggestion of being "for sale," stressing their right to self-determination and fears of losing their cultural identity. The situation has unified Greenland’s political parties and raised broader concerns about international law and Arctic geopolitics. (Photo by Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

A banner saying “Greenland not for sale” and “

Politics

Danish Intelligence Service Tells Trump To Stop Oafish Espionage Maneuvers

<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p>Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19</p>


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Chris Thompson

Josina Anderson

Life's Rich Pageant

Josina Anderson Advises Independent Noun-Inclusion Vis-À-Vis Chemtrails

Screwworm larva. Tusklike mandibles protruding from the screwworm larva's mouth rasp the flesh of living warm-blooded animals.

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Make America Wormy Again

<p>James Greig is a journalist and the Political Editor at <a href="https://www.dazeddigital.com/user/jamesgreig">Dazed</a>.</p>


James Greig

Hay Festival – Day 4

Sally Rooney Dares The British Government To Follow Through

Dave McKenna

The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) agents walk on patrol near Nationals Park on August 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. An increased presence of law enforcement has been seen throughout the nation's capital since U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to deploy federal officers and the U.S. National Guard.

Trump Increases Federal Law Enforcement Presence, Deploys National Guard In Nation’s Capital

Notes From The D.C. Clampdown

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Albert Burneko

James Dobson poses for a portrait in 2011 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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James Dobson Is Dead, Was A Monster

Snack

Never Attempt To Bribe Me With Snacks Unless They Are The Good Snacks

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Kathryn Xu

Commuters ride a SEPTA bus on October 10, 2017, in the Philadelphia, PA Suburbs.

SEPTA Ends Sales of Tokens in move to Update Fare Payments, in Philadelphia, PA

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Doomsday For SEPTA Is Bad News For Everyone

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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

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Kim Jong Un, Girl Dad

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Kelsey McKinney

Starving Palestinians including women and children holding pots wait to receive food distributed by a charity organization as Israel continue to block humanitarian aid from reaching the Gaza Strip on August 10, 2025.

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The Free Press Reports Gaza’s Starving Children Have Pre-Existing Condition Of Being Bombed By Israel


<p>Corey Atad is a freelancer writer based in Toronto with an unhealthy Air Bud obsession.</p>


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Corey Atad

Zohran Mamdani smiling with a megaphone in the park

New York Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani Campaigns In Brooklyn

Selling Zohran

David Brooks making a surprised face while being interviewed by Oprah Winfrey on the OWN Netwrok.

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Journalismism

David Brooks: Wearing A Mets Hat Might Just Save Our Democracy

The Apartheid Museum, featuring collections of photographs, documents and materials exhibited in its galleries.

Apartheid Museum of South Africa

Tyranny Is Managed Into Existence

A screengrab of Alan Dershowitz on his Dershow podcast's mailbag segment. He is literally saying the words "Jeffrey Epstein" at this moment.

DershowScreenshot

Are You Aware Of The Alan Dershowitz Martha’s Vineyard Pierogi Situation?

U.S. President Donald Trump looks at (L-R) golfer Bryson DeChambeau, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, and WWE Chief Creative Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque as he speaks during an executive order signing ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on July 31, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump signed a series of orders that will expand on his council on sports, fitness and nutrition, including by reviving the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools.

President Trump Signs Executive Order In White House’s Roosevelt Room

Report: Harrison Butker’s PAC Coffers Are As Empty As His Head

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Tom Ley

Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever looks on prior to the game against the Chicago Sky during the first half at the United Center on July 27, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.

Indiana Fever v Chicago Sky

Media Meltdowns

Wall Street Journal Calls For Congressional Investigation Into Caitlin Clark Getting Fouled

<p>Maggie Mertens is a freelance journalist in Seattle, and the author of <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/better-faster-farther-how-running-changed-everything-we-know-about-women-maggie-mertens/20674936?ean=9781643753355" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bookshop.org/p/books/better-faster-farther-how-running-changed-everything-we-know-about-women-maggie-mertens/20674936?ean%3D9781643753355&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1754022936515000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1qsnDemLKZppvFS2kpVCTH">BETTER FASTER FARTHER: How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women</a>. She also sometimes writes and sends the newsletters <a href="https://maggiemertens.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://maggiemertens.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1754022936515000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0lAUeT18_qV95dy9jg9Sg0">My So-Called Feminist Life</a> and <a href="https://gilmorewomen.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://gilmorewomen.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1754022936515000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1hLBDLFWCAWpJsqvPzljRr">Gilmore Women</a>.</p>
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Maggie Mertens

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High School Sports

Minnesota Softball Has A Title IX Problem

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Brandy Jensen

The front of the New York Times building on 8th Avenue during sunset

New York City Exteriors And Landmarks

The New York Times Clarifies That A Starving Child In Gaza Also Needs Medical Care

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Ray Ratto

Washington Commanders logo displayed on a phone screen and photo of Donald Trump taken on June 25 in The Hague displayed on a laptop screen in the background. It's a photo illustration.

Washington Commanders And Donald Trump Photo Illustrations

Donald Trump Is Trying To Extort The Washington Commanders Into Making It 1989 Again

From left, American real estate developer Donald Trump and his girlfriend (and future wife), former model Melania Knauss, financier (and future convicted sex offender) Jeffrey Epstein, and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell pose together at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000.