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Defector

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<p>Robert Rubsam writes fiction and nonfiction. His work has appeared in the NYT Magazine, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, the Baffler, and Liberties. He is a contributing writer for Commonweal Magazine.</p>
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Robert Rubsam

Arts And Culture

Gwendoline Riley’s Phantom Lives

Jonah Walters

Stephen Fishbach’s Reality-TV Novel Is More Reality TV Than Novel

Lewis Pullman and Danielle Brooks announce the nominees for Original Score

The Academy Missed Some Of 2025’s Best Film Scores

James Webster

Elisa Shua Dusapin Is The Real Deal

<p>Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.</p>


Nicholas Russell

Interviews

Natan Last Has Thought A Lot About Crosswords

Brandy Jensen

American Cant

Jack Hanson

Patricia Lockwood’s Inexhaustible Mind

Nick Sturm

Good Riddance To ‘The Best American Poetry’

Soraya Roberts

To Artistic Freedom: The Cause Of, And Solution To, All Of Life’s Problems

English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian Melvyn Bragg

Thank You, Melvyn Bragg

Sarah Jessica Parker in 'And Just Like That...'

And Just Like That… It’s Over

Craig Finn attends "A New York Evening With Margo Price" at The Greene Space on June 16, 2023 in New York City.

Craig Finn Can Write A Great Song, But Can He Write A Good Short Story?

Tom Ley

Defector Reads A Book: The Art of Fielding

Defector Reads A Book

Defector Reads A Baseball Book

Ray Ratto

Sure, We Gained Our Independence, But We Lost The Ability To Make Anything As Good As ‘Taskmaster’

Kathryn Xu

Brad Pitt, star of the upcoming Formula One based movie, Apex, and Damson Idris, co-star of the upcoming Formula One based movie, Apex, stand for thr national anthem on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain.

Defector At The Movies

‘F1: The Movie’ Is Great If Your Favorite Part Of Racing Is All The Corporate Logos

Promo still from the 1961 Film The Children's Hour

Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back: Michael Koresky On Hollywood’s Queer History

Sarah Brouillette

The Plight Of The White Male Novelist

Defector Staff

In the shadows, c.1920. Private Collection. Creator: Cucuel, Edward (1875-1954).

Books We Think You Should Read This Summer

Jen Vafidis

Richard Kind poses at a gala celebrating "All In: Comedy About Love" opening night on Broadway at The Hudson Theatre on December 16, 2024 in New York City.

Life Lessons

How Meeting Richard Kind Changed The Course Of My Life

Mark Asch

In Praise Of ‘The Pitt,’ The Most Normal Show On Television

<p>Leah Finnegan is the former editor-in-chief of Gawker and the Outline. She has written and edited for the <em>New York Times</em>, <em>New York</em> magazine, the <em>New Republic</em>, the <em>Baffler</em>, and others.</p>


Leah Finnegan

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s ‘Dream Count’ Is Stuck In The Past

A collage of covers of books. A Court of Thorns and Roses, Barbarian Lover, Fourth Wing, Ice Planet Barbarians, The Serpent and the Wings of Night, and The Games Gods Play

Alien Pleasures

<p>Lindsey Adler is a writer based in Brooklyn. She exclusively covered sports for a decade but has other interests, too.</p>


Lindsey Adler

A woman stands in front of the Yoko Ono, »Cut Piece«, 1965, during a press preview at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Duesseldorf, western Germany on September 26, 2024. In cooperation with the Tate Modern, the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen is presenting the influential work of artist and activist Yoko Ono in a comprehensive solo exhibition taking place from September 28, 2024 to March 6, 2025.

My Weekend With Yoko

Israel Daramola

A screenshot of Nick Nolte facing a giant canvas in his loft in Martin Scorsese's segment of "New York Stories."