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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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Defector

NYC: Come To Our WNBA Comedy Show On May 16

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Live Event

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Rafaela Bassili

Nicolas Cage on a beach holding a surfboard.

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Arts And Culture

‘The Surfer’ Mostly Sputters And Flails


<p>Jasper Hutson is a lapsed journalist.</p>


Jasper Hutson

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Fitness

Any “Halfway Decent Person” Can Join And Own Ireland’s Oldest Gym

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Ben Goldfarb

A bulldozer moves a pile of dirt, which features two hoofs sticking out of the top

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Capital

An Abundance Of Concrete

Author Photo_Stratis_Credit Alysha Haugen

Niko Stratis

Jakob Dylan, in 1997, singing in front of a microphone. He has short curly hair, maybe has a little beard, and he's in a long sleeve collared button-front shirt. He's playing guitar. In the corner there's an image of a book cover: The Dad Rock That Made Me A Woman, by Niko Stratis

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Book Excerpts That Don't Suck

Got To Be Something Better Than In The Middle

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Kate Wagner

Zuck-House

Mark Zuckerberg Still Can’t Buy Taste

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Jack Hanson

Curzio-Malaparte

The Perfect Fascist

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Soraya Roberts

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Music

Tunde Adebimpe’s Solo Debut Channels The Gift Of The Mixtape

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<div class="p-rich_text_section">Tom Scocca is the editor of <a href="http://indignity.net">Indignity</a>, a subscription-supported newsletter of news, essays, and commentary.</div>
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Tom Scocca

President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton attend the White House State Dinner for the President of Ukraine on November 22, 1994 in Washington, D.C.

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Margin Of Error

The Era Of Meek Government Is Over

<p>Abigail Segel is a writer based in Montreal.</p>


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Abigail Segel

The Vermillion Vanguard prepares to march

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Soccer

The Vermilion Vanguard Is On The March

<p>Alex Shultz is a journalist based in Brooklyn.</p>


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Alex Shultz

A tabloid style Sports Illustrated cover in the checkout line

Journalismism

Horny Sports Blogging Makes A Bewildering Return To Sports Illustrated

<p>Jake Romm is a New York City-based writer and the Associate Editor of Protean Magazine.</p>


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Jake Romm

October8

Politics

The Paranoid Fantasies Of ‘October 8’

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


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Nicholas Russell

: A COVID face mask dangles from the rear-view mirror of a car

As the omicron variant’s stunning infectiousness¬†sends case counts soaring, some glass-half-full experts opine it may push us more swiftly from pandemic to endemic

Life Lessons

Why I Keep Masking

<p>Eva Holland is a freelance writer and editor based in Whitehorse, Yukon. She&#8217;s a correspondent for Outside magazine and the author of the books <i>Nerve </i>and <i><a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/no-sleep-til-fairbanks#/">No Sleep &#8216;Til Fairbanks</a>.</i></p>


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Eva Holland

North of North

‘North Of North’ Is An Arctic Comedy That Will Warm Your Heart

Post-Postdoc

AI Gig Work

How I Became Highly Educated Grist For The AI Mill

<div>Rick Paulas is a writer in Brooklyn who made <i><a href="http://www.theladyingreenpoint.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.theladyingreenpoint.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1693673714100000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mdrn4_mwbI7boyzf49u2G">The Lady in Greenpoint</a></i>, a 3-mile walking audio ghost story starting at the Pulaski Bridge, and <i>The Palmer Hotel</i>, a collection of spooky short stories set over a century in a downtown hotel, which has sold out.</div>
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Rick Paulas

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Why Is This So Good?

The Best Thing I Own Is My Tiny TV/VCR

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.

“All In: Comedy About Love By Simon Rich” Gala Performance

How Meeting Richard Kind Changed The Course Of My Life

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer looks on as US President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on April 9, 2025 in Washington, DC.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP

The Bargain Vs. The Boot

Meghann Fahy as Violet in Drop, directed by Christopher Landon.

Drop

‘Drop’ Is Not A ’90s Thriller Because The ’90s Are Unfortunately Over

<p>John Semley is a writer and researcher based in Philadelphia.</p>


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John Semley

People queue outside indie record store Flashback Records to shop for vinyls on Record Store Day in London on April 20, 2024.

BRITAIN-CULTURE-MUSIC-RECORD STORE DAY

How Record Store Day Became The Stupidest Day In Music

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


Lindsey Adler

NEW ORLEANS, LA - OCTOBER 28: Jesse Lacey of Brand New performs during the 2017 Voodoo Music + Arts Experience at City Park on October 28, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

2017 Voodoo Music + Arts Experience – Day 2

Brand New Tour, Same Old Question

<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400">Dan Brooks writes essays and fiction from Missoula, Montana.</span></i></p>


Dan Brooks

U.S. Vice President JD Vance (L) shoots with U.S. Marines at a gun range during a visit to Marine Corps Base Quantico

Vice President Vance Visits Marine Corps Base Quantico

American Freedom

<div>Paola Rosa-Aquino is a freelance journalist covering science, space and the environment. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, she now lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her canine co-worker Cece.</div>
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Paola Rosa-Aquino

Flames are seen after Starship's Super Heavy Booster splashed down for a water landing off the coast of, Texas, on its sixth flight test on November 19, 2024. SpaceX aborted an attempt to catch the first stage booster of its Starship megarocket in the "chopstick" arms of its launch tower, opting instead for an ocean splashdown, a live feed showed November 19. The hitch came as President-elect Donald Trump joined SpaceX chief Elon Musk at the company's Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas to watch the test flight, the latest sign of the budding bromance between the two billionaires. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)

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Science

We’re Littering The Earth With Space Trash

Screenshot 2025-03-03 at 5.14.33 PM

Mark Asch

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

<p>John Loeppky is a freelance writer and theatre artist currently based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. His work has appeared for outlets such as FiveThirtyEight, CBC, and <em>Maclean’s</em>.</p>


John Loeppky Headshot

John Loeppky

CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 07: Wheelchair basketball athletes Natalie Schneider of Team USA, Zoie Voris of the Arlington Lady Movin' Mavs, Hayley Nielsen #20 of Arizona and and Josie Aslakson #7 of Team USA compete at halftime during the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament National Championship between the Iowa Hawkeyes and South Carolina Gamecocks at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on April 07, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

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