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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

The Secrets Of Human And Canine Fashion At The Westminster Dog Show

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


Sabrina Imbler

Artist impression of what Prototaxites would have look like in life

Who The Hell Was This?

Kathryn Xu

A Boston Terrier is examined in the judging area during day one of the 150th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City on February 2, 2026.

Interviews

A Westminster Dog Show Judge Tells Us What They’re Looking For

Veronika the cow resting while using a stick.

Veronika The Cow’s Record Scratch

jon allen holds a worm up in front of a class

This Worm Is A Millennial

a laboratory mouse pokes out of a brown paper cup in a field of grass

What A Week Of Freedom Can Do For A Lab Mouse

American crocodile basking on jet ski, Broward County, Florida, USA December 2023. This crocodile was being tracked with a satellite transmitter as a component of ongoing research.

If You Give A Crocodile A Kawasaki Ultra 310LX

flat-headed cat, small wild cat, camera trap, southeast Asia, Thailand

What Would You Name This Cat?

<p>A. Frog is a freelance writer living in Japan.</p>


A. Frog

A screencap of a video showing the backside of a green frog and a hornet inside a plastic box

I Shall Never Mess Up Again

a mother leopard seal opens her mouth above the body of her dead pup

Why Won’t Nora The Leopard Seal Abandon Her Dead Pups?

Albert Burneko

Beware The Jingler

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.

Politics

Olivia Nuzzi Addresses The Worm

a female spider next to a funnel-shaped hole in a web

Drop Whatever You’re Doing Right This Instant, There’s Big Spider Web News

A pack of Nanotyrannus attacking a juvenile T. rex.

Let Us Now Celebrate Our Extinct Short King, Nanotyrannus

Barry Petchesky

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 26: Tom Brady looks on from the field during warmups prior to an NFL football game between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on October 26, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images)

Tom Brady Cloned His Dead Dog As A Brand Activation

<div class="gmail_default">
<div class="gmail_default">Ryan Goldberg is an award-winning journalist and author who has written for <i>Texas Monthly</i>, The Intercept, <i>The</i> <i>New York Times</i>, <i>Popular Science</i>, and ProPublica, among many other publications. Some of his best stories ran in the old Deadspin. He lives in Brooklyn, and leads regular walks for the Brooklyn Bird Club. You can find more of his work at <a href="http://ryangoldberg.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://ryangoldberg.net&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1758917926877000&amp;usg=AOvVaw04lh06uBoaa598nfG5ro-G">ryangoldberg.net</a>.</div>
<div class="gmail_default"></div>
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<div class="yj6qo ajU"></div>


Ryan Goldberg

UNITED STATES - 2023/05/31: Close-up of a barred owl (Strix varia), also known as the northern barred owl, or striped owl, in a park in Kirkland, Washington State, United States. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The Owl Code Tearing Apart New York’s Birders

a photo of the microscopic flatworm Stenostomum simplex, which looks like a worm with green balls inside its body.

Exclusive! A Revealing And Not Made-Up Interview With A Two-Headed Worm

a spider with yellow stripes perched on a web decorated with stabilimenta

Why Do Some Spiders Make Web Art?

a photo of a brown basilisk lizard missing a forelimb sitting on a reed

Fat AND Sassy? A Three-Legged Lizard Really Can Have It All

Chunk Overcomes Murder Rap, Broken Jaw To Win Fat Bear Week

a wild octopus americanus, arms unspooled and curling

Unlike Our Stupid Human Arms, Octopus Arms Are All Equally Beautiful And Talented

a spotted ratfish, which is a brownish fish with white spots and a white spot between its eyes

Why Not Have A Rod Of Teeth On Your Forehead For Sex Reasons?

two winged male ants: Messor ibericus (left) and Messor structor (right) against a black background

Everything You Need To Know About The Girlboss Ants That Give Birth To Another Species In Order To Exploit Their Offspring (Slay Ant Queen!)

a swarm of bumblebee catfish climbing the vertical rock of a waterfall

Where Are You Going, Fish?

an illustration of two bats together, one with a rat. the next panel shows the two bats biting the rat together