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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

Jack Hanson

Arts And Culture

The Torpor Of ‘Converts’

Mark Asch

Charli XCX Is Firmly In Her Cinephile Era

<p>E.Y. Zhao is a writer and editor from St. Louis. Her debut novel, <a href="https://astrapublishinghouse.com/product/underspin-9781662603266/"><i>Underspin</i></a>, set in the world of competitive table tennis, is out now. She holds a BA in history from Harvard College and an MFA from the University of Michigan.</p>


E.Y. Zhao

Berkeley's Sid Naresh hits a forehand on the move.

Table Tennis

The Biggest Tournament In Collegiate Table Tennis Is Underdog Utopia

<p>Ben Dowsett is a freelance technology and sports nerd based in Utah. His other recent work can be found at Wired, ESPN and elsewhere.</p>


Ben Dowsett

An illustration of a referee's shirt with an absurd number of military-style medals pinned to it

One Of The NBA’s Most Important Jobs May Be Headed Toward A Crisis

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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

Gwendoline Riley’s Phantom Lives

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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

Interviews

What’s Parenting Lily Yohannes Like? An Interview With Her Dad


<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.

‘The Rockford Files’ Remains One Of Television’s Greatest Hangs

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


John Semley

The merch table at the Rob Schneider comedy show

Life's Rich Pageant

A Rob Schneider Comedy Show May Be Long And Expensive, But At Least It’s Boring

Drew McQuade

A collage of some of Dan's bootleg T-shirts

Stories

What I Found Sorting Through 1,200 T-Shirts My Son Left Behind

Becca Young

The Fatherless Fantasy Of ‘Bridgerton’

The Block, As Remembered By The Guy Who Called It And The Guy Who Let It Be


<p>Corey Atad is a freelancer writer based in Toronto with an unhealthy Air Bud obsession.</p>


Corey Atad

Steven Soderbergh And Ed Solomon Talk About Their Best Collaboration Yet

Robert Pastore

Participant holding a sign at the rally. Survivors of solitary confinement

Politics

A Year After The Corrections Officer Strike, New York Is Still Failing Its Incarcerated Population

<p>Craig Fehrman last wrote for Defector about <a href="https://defector.com/it-never-ends-like-it-should" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://defector.com/it-never-ends-like-it-should&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1775741247521000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1R6Fh05yMdaM2z1ukPQtbb">the death of Iris</a>, his NBA-loving neighbor. His book <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/This-Vast-Enterprise/Craig-Fehrman/9781982174248"><i>This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis and Clark</i></a> comes out on April 21.</p>


Craig Fehrman

Map showing the route taken by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their first expedition from the Missouri River near St. Louis, Missouri, to the mouth of the Columbia River at the Pacific Ocean in Oregon and the return trip to St. Louis. The expedition took place from May 14, 1804 to September 23, 1806.

History

The Hardest Part Of History To Tell Is How It Felt

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


Nicholas Russell

Carolyn Swords Sees The WNBA Becoming The League She Hoped For

Annie Geng

‘The Drama’ Has More Going For It Than A Provocative Twist

<p>Owen Lewis is a former Defector intern and has written for The Guardian, The Second Serve, The Athletic, and other publications.</p>


Owen Lewis

A radar board at a tennis tournament showing a 149 mph serve

Tennis

Men’s Tennis Is, Once Again, Too Fast

<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

The New York Sirens and the Seattle Torrent shake hands following their game at Madison Square Garden

PWHL

What Comes After The Garden?

Rafaela Bassili

Anatomy Of A Gaucho

Eli Cugini

It’s Time To Grow Up

<p>Grace Byron is a critic, reporter, and novelist based in Queens. Her writing has appeared in <em>The New Yorker</em>, <em>Granta</em>, <em>Bookforum</em>, and elsewhere. Her debut novel <em>Herculine</em> is out now.</p>


Grace Byron

The Gentle Parenting Of Ben Lerner’s ‘Transcription’

<p>Mychal Denzel Smith is the author of <i>Stakes Is High</i>, winner of the Kirkus Prize for Non-Fiction.</p>


Mychal Denzel Smith

I Demand That Jay-Z Perform All Of ‘Kingdom Come’ At His Yankee Stadium Concert

Ben Wurgaft

RFK Jr.’s Offal Advice

Veronica de Souza

Three mirrors in vintage frames above console table with lots of decoration stuff in bright room.

Make It Nice

Make It Nice: Mirror Mirror On The Wall

<p>Brent Rose covers sports, science and tech, health and fitness, travel and adventure, and more for magazines and websites you have heard of and deeply respect. <a href="http://www.brentrose.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.brentrose.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1740705584988000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3nXxS34PFPs6s9xKFmyn-U">www.brentrose.com</a></p>


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