CULTURE

Footer Column 2

Footer Legal

Footer Main

Nav Bar

OTHER

SPORTS

Subscribe, at any level, to play

Thanks for your interest in Defector Crosswords!

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Plans start at $8/month.

Subscribers enjoy unlimited, ad-free browsing.

Register to continue

Or click here to subscribe for unlimited, ad-free access!

Our gift to you: This year's post is unlocked. Register your email to get even more free articles.

Welcome to the 2025 Hater's Guide!

Just register your email:

This blog is free to read.

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

<p>Hamilton Nolan is a journalist based in New York City. Subscribe to his work at <a href="https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1687350200913000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0naFbUVOe-5ZgtPDtIM3gz">HamiltonNolan.com</a>.</p>


Hamilton Nolan

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 19: Delegates from Florida chant "Lock him up," as Hillary Clinton talks about former President Donald Trump's criminal convictions during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 19, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.

Politics

A Night With The Party Animals

<div id="1695913206.579009" class="c-virtual_list__item c-virtual_list__item--initial-activeitem" role="listitem" data-qa="virtual-list-item" data-item-key="1695913206.579009">
<div class="c-message_kit__background c-message_kit__background--hovered p-message_pane_message__message c-message_kit__message" role="presentation" data-qa="message_container" data-qa-unprocessed="false" data-qa-placeholder="false">
<div class="c-message_kit__hover c-message_kit__hover--hovered" role="document" data-qa-hover="true">
<div class="c-message_kit__actions c-message_kit__actions--above">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter c-message_kit__gutter--compact">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter__right" role="presentation" data-qa="message_content">
<div class="c-message_kit__indent">
<div class="c-message_kit__blocks c-message_kit__blocks--rich_text c-message_kit__blocks--inline">
<div class="c-message__message_blocks c-message__message_blocks--rich_text c-message__message_blocks--inline" data-qa="message-text">
<div class="p-block_kit_renderer p-block_kit_renderer--inline" data-qa="block-kit-renderer">
<div class="p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper--first">
<div class="p-rich_text_block p-rich_text_block--inline" dir="auto">
<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>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="1695913224.677889" class="c-virtual_list__item" role="listitem" data-qa="virtual-list-item" data-item-key="1695913224.677889">
<div class="c-message_kit__background p-message_pane_message__message c-message_kit__message" role="presentation" data-qa="message_container" data-qa-unprocessed="false" data-qa-placeholder="false">
<div class="c-message_kit__hover" role="document" data-qa-hover="true">
<div class="c-message_kit__actions c-message_kit__actions--above">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter c-message_kit__gutter--compact">
<div class="c-message_kit__gutter__left" role="presentation"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>


Tom Scocca

A flyer with information about Project 2025's plan to expand oil drilling inside the United States, stapled to a pole on a city street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Margin Of Error

Who Wants To Talk About The Issues

<p>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 <em>Point B</em>. Handsomest man in the world.</p>


Drew Magary

President Joe Biden returns to the White House with first lady Jill Biden on July 7, 2024 in Washington, DC. Members of Congress return to Washington this week as pressure for Biden to withdraw as the Democratic nominee for the presidency continues to mount.

Funbag

The Gerontocracy Loosened Its Death Grip

Tom Ley

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 15: U.S. President Joe Biden departs the White House on July 15, 2024 in Washington, DC. Biden is traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada to deliver remarks at the NAACP National Convention and the UnidosUS Annual Conference.

It’s Joever!

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 16: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at the 115th NAACP National Convention at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on July 16, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Biden returned to the campaign trail, delivering remarks at the NAACP convention today, and will tomorrow to the UnidosUS Annual Conference during a visit to the battleground state of Nevada.

BidenWatch: We’re In The Take Zone [Update]

US President Joe Biden speaks as he hosts a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (out of frame) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 10, 2024.

What’s The Story With Joe Biden?

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 05: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks during an event on the South Lawn of the White House August 5, 2021 in Washington, DC. Biden delivered remarks on the administration’s efforts to strengthen American leadership on clean cars and trucks. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Podcasts

Joe Biden Should GTFO, With Rohan Nadkarni

Alex Sujong Laughlin

New Yorkers watch the 2024 Presidential Debate between Trump and Biden in New York City, United States on June 27, 2024.

Without Fact-Checking, A Presidential Debate Is Just TV

Donald Trump and Joe Biden, looking like a couple of brain-ruined old mummies during their presidential debate.

Debate Losers

Samer Kalaf

Palestinian children are standing next to a bombed-out WCK vehicle in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.

The Exchange Rate On Palestinian Life

A Palestinian checks a damaged vehicle after Israeli strikes in central Gaza Strip city of Deir el-Balah, on April 2, 2024.

Voting For Gaza

The rostrum of the U.S. House of Representatives, with the entire chamber empty.

My Fellow Americans

In this photograph a group of townsfolk descend on a disciple after it was discovered that the ritual he participated in left a person dead during an Epoch Event in Toronto on August 6, 2011

Fantasy Convention

CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 06: Migrants cross the border to USA through Gate 36 and to be received by elements of the Border Patrol and the Texas National Guard for the processing of their request to migrate, captured from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on February 06, 2024.

The Crisis Keeps Migrating

A male blue jay, perched on a branch with green foliage in the fore- and background.

The Omens Are Bad

Justin Ellis

In this photo illustration, pages are viewed from the government’s released version of the F.B.I. search warrant affidavit for former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on August 27, 2022 in California. The 32-page affidavit was heavily redacted for the protection of witnesses and law enforcement and to ensure the ‘integrity of the ongoing investigation’.

This Is So Stupid

Enough With The Fucking Secret Memos Already

David Roth

Joe Biden speaks at a rally in Wisconsin, with The Distraction logo in there.

The State Of The Union Is Oof, With Jason Zengerle

Kelsey McKinney

A tattered American flag flies outside a tornado-damaged home in Joplin, Missouri.

Back To Normal Isn’t Enough


<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.</p>


Dan McQuade

Which U.S. Presidents Could Parallel Park? An Investigation

Zillowing Out

A $1.6 Million House Made Of Headaches And Terror

Albert Burneko

This Is Why Everybody Hates The Democrats

It’s Always The Same Lie

34 Times I Would Have Liked To Call My Senator

Joe Biden photographed outside the White House, which he is now inside.

Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Catastrophe

the US capitol shot from low near the ground and decorated with american flags