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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

Becca Young

‘Furious’ Makes You Face It

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<div>Abigail Segel is a contributing writer at Defector. She is also an editor for The IX Soccer and the Equalizer. Her work has been published in the Guardian and the Montreal Gazette.</div>
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Abigail Segel

Arts And Culture

Summer May Be Ending, But We’ll Always Have ‘Sterling Point’

Ray Ratto

A screenshot of the Starbug's bridge from an episode of Red Dwarf, with the Reds Week logo at lower right.

Reds Week

‘Red Dwarf’ Became A Sci-Fi Classic By Rejecting Every Sci-Fi Convention

John Saward

Actor James Gandolfini in scene from HBO TV drama series The Sopranos.

James Gandolfini Had A Lot In His Bag

Annie Berke

The Sports Idiot Is Dead, Long Live The Sports Idiot

David Roth

Melanie and Corey "explore a new connection" in the 6/23/26 episode of Love Island. It's two hot people sitting on a couch.

Podcasts

Folkways Of The Contemporary Sex Idiot, With Kelsey McKinney And Alex Sujong Laughlin

Defector Staff

two hot people kiss while a dozen hot men sit on bean bags in the background and clap

What Do We Think About This Season Of ‘Love Island USA’?

Books

Defector At The Movies

Music

Alexi Lalas attends the Fox Sports FIFA World Cup 2026 Media Day event at Lavan on May 21, 2026 in New York City.

Soccer

Alexi Lalas Has Already Worn Out His Welcome

<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

‘Off Campus’ Can’t Sell The Hockey Player Fantasy

Kelsey McKinney

host Ariana Maddux, in a gold dress, leans inside a heart shaped sculpture

I Finally Understand Why I’m Obsessed With ‘Love Island’

Israel Daramola

RIP To ‘Euphoria,’ HBO’s Dumbest Show

Tom Ley

Journalismism

Bari Weiss Hires Credulous Dope To Run ’60 Minutes’

Luis Paez-Pumar

Jenna Lewis Dougherty, Kyle Fraser, Savannah Louie, Q Burdette, Angelina Keeley, Charlie Davis, Kamilla Karthigesu, Genevieve Mushaluk, Colby Donaldson, Dee Valladares, Chrissy Hofbeck, Benjamin "Coach" Wade, Christian Hubicki, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Emily Flippen, Ozzy Lusth, Rick Devens, Cirie Fields, Tiffany Ervin, Rizo Velovic, Joe Hunter, Jonathan Young, and Aubry Bracco attend and Jeff Probst hosts the Survivor 50 Live Finale at the Paramount Studios lot in Los Angeles, California on May 20, 2026.

The ‘Survivor 50’ Finale Was A Dark Omen For The Future

Jeff Probst and the immunity idol during the Survivor 50 season finale

And So We Arrive, Starving And Exhausted, At The Defector ‘Survivor 50’ Finale Questionnaire

jeff probst snuffs Ozzy's torch in Survivor 50

Jeff Probst Is Ruining ‘Survivor 50’

Brandy Jensen

Finally, An Austen-ish Adaptation Worth Watching

a woman stands on a plank while a bunch of hotties watch from the yacht

How Close To The Stanford Prison Experiment Can A Reality Show Get?

Alex Sujong Laughlin

Image of the cover of "Famesick" by Lena Dunham with cutouts of the pair of legs from the cover copied all around it.

Lena Dunham Can’t Help Herself


<p><a href="mailto:tara@taraariano.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tara Ariano</a> co-hosts the podcasts <a href="https://www.extrahotgreat.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Extra Hot Great</a>, <a href="https://listentosassy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Listen To Sassy</a>, and <a href="https://www.againwiththis90210.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Again With This</a>. She is also the co-author, with Sarah D. Bunting, of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Very-Special-90210-Book-Absolutely/dp/1419747460?tag=decider08-20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>A Very Special 90210 Book: 93 Absolutely Essential Episodes From TV’s Most Notorious Zip Code</em></a>. Her byline has appeared in the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>, <em>GQ</em>, <em>Vanity Fair</em>, <em>New York</em>, <em>Slate</em>, Vulture, Salon, and The Awl, among many others. She lives in Austin.</p>
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It's a photo of Tara Ariano. She has big sunglasses on.

Tara Ariano

James Garner (left) and Joe Santos in a still from an episode of the television series, 'The Rockford Files,' circa 1974.

TV