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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

charismatic megafauna (they/them)

Sabrina Imbler

a still from an AI video showing four killer whales moving under the ice

Creaturefector

AI Animal Videos Are Ruining One Of The Internet’s Last Good Things

Patrick Redford

The peloton rides past a kangaroo road sign during the Tour Down Under UCI Men's Cycling in Adelaide on January 25, 2026.

Cycling

Double Kangaroo Chaos Will Reverberate Across The Cycling Season

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

Jamboroo

Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal

David Roth

A traveler is reflected in a pane of glass with a paper snowman behind it during travel on Christmas Day at Frankfurt Airport.

Podcasts

Emergency Christmas Protocols And Underwater Hotels, With Sabrina Imbler

This photo illustration created on December 11, 2023 shows emojis on a smartphone screen in Washington, DC. Too many cats, not enough crustaceans: The current emoji catalog doesn't accurately represent the breadth of biodiversity seen in nature -- and that hurts conservation efforts, according to scientists. An analysis published on December 11, 2023 in the journal iScience found that while animals are well represented by the current emoji catalog, plants, fungi, and microorganisms get short shrift. (Photo by)

⚖️🌏➖🐻‍❄️🐻🐼🔀🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲⁉️

Every Animal On The Wikipedia Page For “Apparent Death,” Ranked By How Dead They Appear

Lauren Theisen

Rally Bird Thwarted By Phillies Bullpen

This Is So Stupid

Check Out Defector’s New Mixed-Reality Dugong

Barry Petchesky

BERLIN - MAY 23: Three days old nameless elephant baby plays with his fellow "Tana" in his enclosure at the Zoological Garden (Tierpark) Berlin on May 23, 2007 in Berlin, Germany. The Zoological Garden presented today the new born elephant for the public. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Defector Up All Night

The Sports Highlight Of The Day Is This Newborn Elephant Trying To Walk

Rohan Nadkarni

WASHINGTON: A hungry ground squirrel that looks pretty well fed hunts for food in Lafayette Park across from the White House early 10 April, 2002 as the sun starts to rise over the Washington, DC, area. AFP PHOTO Paul J. Richards (Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Funbag

What’s The Largest Squirrel You Could Beat In A Fight?

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

A cartoon possum, raccoon, and skunk huddle around a table.

The Great Outdoors

Trash Animals Send Delegates To Landmark Council Of Garbage Feasters

This Beaver’s Really Going To Town On That Cabbage

Kayaker Gets Owned By Whale

Here Are Some Birds That We Like

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

Dan McQuade

A title card. It has a man (Dan McQuade) holding a giant fat cat. He's wearing a Garfield hoodie (the man, not the cat). The header says "DEFECTOR: Dan McQuade in Cats Love Me. Episode 1: Lasagna."