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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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Books

Defector At The Movies

Music

Arts And Culture

Israel Daramola

The ‘Succession’ Misery Index: Raised By Wolves

Soraya Roberts

‘Cry Wolf’ Shows How Easy It Is To Blame The Victim

The ‘Succession’ Misery Index: Strategic Refocus

Conor McKeon lives in New York. He can be reached at conorjmckeon@gmail.com.

Conor McKeon

Life's Rich Pageant

‘Keys To The VIP’ Unlocked The Modern Manosphere

The ‘Succession’ Misery Index: Something Everyone Knows, But Nobody Says

The ‘Succession’ Misery Index: Raking Up A Whole Lot Of Bullshit For No Profit

TV Is Thinking Of Ending Things

Kendall Roy, sitting on the ground, crying.

The ‘Succession’ Misery Index: Season Preview

Dominique Fishback in 'Swarm'/ Amazon Prime

The Star Of ‘Swarm’ Stings, Even When The Show Doesn’t

Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.

Nicholas Russell

‘Physical: 100’ Asks What A Body Is For

David Roth

Shohei Ohtani looking swole as hell during Samurai Japan's training before the 2023 World Baseball Classic, with The Distraction logo at upper left.

Podcasts

My Fabulous Vacation Home On Naboo, With Michael Schur

Ray Ratto

Richard Belzer during 55th Annual Writers Guild of America East Awards - Arrivals at The Pierre Hotel in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Jim Spellman/WireImage)

Richard Belzer Was An Old Crank To The End

Samer Kalaf

Giri Nathan

Maria Sakkari saying "Go to hell. Nothing goes in." during a match in Netflix's Break Point

Tennis

How Much Can Tennis Fans And Novices Learn From ‘Break Point’?

Felix Kent

A woman sits on the floor of her hotel room in her underwear, leaning against the bed and with a magnum of champagne turned up to her mouth. Her clothes are strewn about the bed and floor of the room. (Photo by Graphic House/Getty Images)

How To Drink Alone, The Madison Avenue Way

Maitreyi Anantharaman

‘Hard Knocks’ With The Cardinals Was A Dark Workplace Comedy Starring Kliff Kingsbury

<a href="https://twitter.com/petesegall?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pete Segall</a> lives in Chicago. His fiction has appeared in The Bennington Review, Conjunctions, The Drift, and elsewhere.

Pete Segall

The eponymous hospital in Lars Von Trier's supernatural soap "Kingdom"

After Two Decades Of Chaos, Lars Von Trier’s Supernatural Soap Opera ‘Kingdom’ Returns

Kelsey McKinney

Two Fans Of ‘The Mole’ Discuss How To Properly Be The Mole

If You Don’t Come Back To 10,000 B.C. With Me, Your Family Can’t Go Home

Tom Ley

I Can’t Fucking Believe How Good ‘Andor’ Is

Still image from the TV show 'Cunk on Earth.'

Philomena Cunk And The Wisdom Of Learning From The Dumbest Person On Earth

Sometimes You Just Need Ice Zombies

‘A League Of Their Own’ Is A Reminder Of How Little Women’s Baseball Still Has

<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">A Very Special 90210 Book: 93 Absolutely Essential Episodes From TV’s Most Notorious Zip Code</a>. Her byline has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, GQ, Vanity Fair, New York, Slate, Vulture, Salon, and The Awl, among many others. She lives in Austin.
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It's a photo of Tara Ariano. She has big sunglasses on.

Tara Ariano

The cast of Amazon's "A League Of Their Own" series, seen here looking determined in their Rockford Peaches uniforms.

The Future Of Television Looks A Lot Like The Past

Still image from the TV show, "The Bear."

‘The Bear’ Is Why We Must End The Reign Of TV’s Vibes Cartel

Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.

Dan McQuade

The animated Ray Jay Johnson as he appeared in a season 13 episode of The Simpsons.

TV