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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

Jasper Nathaniel

Politics

Good Settler, Bad Settler

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

a photo of RFK Jr. where he looks like a broken Chuck-E-Cheeze animatronic

Science

Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism, No Matter What The CDC Website Now Says

Giri Nathan

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers attends the Allen &amp; Company Sun Valley Conference on July 9, 2025 in Sun Valley, Idaho. Every year, some of the world's wealthiest and most powerful figures from the media, finance, technology, and political spheres converge at the Sun Valley Resort for the exclusive week-long conference hosted by boutique investment bank Allen &amp; Co. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Larry Summers Recedes From Public Life Due To His Gross Emails With Jeffrey Epstein

Patrick Redford

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 10: Daniel Lurie, San Francisco Mayor attends 36th Annual Macy's Great Tree celebration presented by Ripple Lighting Ceremony at Union Square on November 10, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for Macy's)

Shocker: Appointing A 29-Year-Old Derelict Pet Store Owner With No Politics Experience To San Francisco Board Of Supervisors Not Actually A Masterstroke

Alex Shultz is a journalist based in Brooklyn. He&#8217;s a writer for <a href="https://www.hardresetmedia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hardresetmedia.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1763581679564000&amp;usg=AOvVaw07bi0TNndgTXDN2QH72s3J">Hard Reset,</a> a newsletter about tech, labor, and power.

Alex Shultz

US Senator John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, looks at his cellphone in between Senate votes to reopen the government on day 41 of the government shutdown at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, November 10, 2025. The longest-ever US government shutdown appeared headed Monday to an eventual resolution, after several Democratic senators broke ranks to join Republicans in advancing a compromise deal -- sparking intra-party backlash.

John Fetterman’s Memoir Is As Low-Effort As His Senate Tenure

Split image. The lefthand side is Olivia Nuzzi attends the 2023 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at Washington Hilton on April 29, 2023 in Washington, DC. She's wearing a leopard longsleeve top and has long blonde hair and is smiling tightly at the camera. On the right side is an image of a purple blob of some sort.

Olivia Nuzzi Addresses The Worm

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Tom Ley

(L-R) Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein, and musician Michael Bolton pose for a portrait during a party at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000.

Jeffrey Epstein’s Inbox Was A Place To Complain, Talk Shit, And Make Boomer-Grade Jokes

Jeffrey Epstein and Alan Dershowitz discuss something.

Jeffrey Epstein Was The Unofficial Advice Columnist For The Elites

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.

Newly Released Jeffrey Epstein Emails Claim That Donald Trump “Knew About The Girls”

Donald Trump smiles woodenly from the owner's box at the Nov. 9 Commanders game.

Booooooo! Boooooooo!!!

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 Point B. Handsomest man in the world.

Drew Magary

U.S. President Donald Trump departs Air Force One on October 30, 2025 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Trump is returning to Washington following a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, alongside securing trade deals with ASEAN, Japanese and South Korean partners on his week-long Asian tour.

If You’re Stuck At An Airport Right Now, It’s Because Trump Fucked You

Samer Kalaf

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt speaks onstage ADL's Never Is Now event in New York.

The ADL Is Having A Mamdani Meltdown

Andrew Cuomo delivers a concession speech on Election Night.

Let’s Check In With People Who Threatened To Leave Zohran Mamdani’s NYC

David Roth

A screenshot of Matt Damon getting bad news from Paddy Considine in The Bourne Supremacy. The Distraction logo is at lower left.

Podcasts

Pretending To Be Someone Else In An Uber, With Rohan Nadkarni

FBI and Border Patrol officers arrest Sean Charles Dunn, after he allegedly assaulted law enforcement with a sandwich, along the U Street corridor during a federal law enforcement deployment to the nation's capital on August 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump ordered an increased presence of federal law enforcement to Washington, DC in an effort to curb crime.

Life's Rich Pageant

If The Sub Didn’t Split, You Must Acquit

Israel Daramola

Music

The Zohran Mamdani Mayoral Rap Playlist

New York Mayor Eric Adams sits with Independent candidate former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo after Cuomo participated in the second debate for the upcoming mayoral election on Wednesday evening during the game between the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden on October 22, 2025 in New York City.

Defeat Isn’t Enough For Andrew Cuomo And His Pack Of Lunatics

Albert Burneko

Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, father of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), listens to daughter's remarks during a primary night event August 16, 2022 in Jackson, Wyoming.

Dick Cheney Departs The World He Made

Jason England

Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another.

Arts And Culture

‘One Battle After Another’ Isn’t Up For The Fight

Donald Trump, looking like shit in front of a blue curtain.

Get A Job, Asshole

Former Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao arrives at federal court in Seattle, Washington, on April 30, 2024. Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former chief executive of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, was sentenced today to four months in prison after he pleaded guilty to violating laws against money laundering. (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP)

Donald Trump’s Crypto Corruption Machine Is Whirring Along At A Stunning Pace

Donald Trump delivers an announcement on his Homeland Security Task Force in the State Dining Room of the White House on October 23, 2025 in Washington, DC

What Can’t The President Do?

Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner seen in a blue sweatshirt on a boat in an image from his campaign ad. He has red hair and a beard.

What Job Is A Guy With A Nazi Tattoo Qualified For?

Dave McKenna

Fianna Fail presidential candidate Jim Gavin leaving the first presidential debate on The Tonight Show, at Virgin Media Television Studios in Dublin. Picture date: Monday September 29, 2025.

Small-Time Political Scandals Still Have Consequences In Island Nation Called Ireland

Lauren Theisen

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 05: Bad Bunny attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City.