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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

Kathryn Xu

A LA Metro shuttle bus transports fans after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between USA and Paraguay.

Soccer

A Shockingly Positive Review Of World Cup Public Transit In Los Angeles

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

Grace Byron

Neatly Arranged Scalpels Repetition Pattern on Purple Background Directly Above View.

Arts And Culture

‘New Skin’ Offers A Fresh Take On Body Horror

Sohini Desai

Politics

Washed-Up Clown Spencer Pratt Will Not Be The Mayor of Los Angeles

Patrick Redford

Food

Erewhon Is Not A Grocery Store

Lauren Theisen

Protests Big

Tom Ley

(L-R) U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) react during the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 16, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Delegates, politicians, and the Republican faithful are in Milwaukee for the annual convention, concluding with former President Donald Trump accepting his party's presidential nomination. The RNC takes place from July 15-18.

This Party Sucks

Striking Touchstone route setters demonstrate in front of a California climbing gym.

Climbing

There’s No Climbing Without Route Setters, And They’re On Strike

Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99

Diana Moskovitz

An aerial view of a street in the Eaton fire. The entire street is burned and decimated. It looks like a bomb went off. A sole person walks down the empty steet.

Journalismism

We Need A New Deal To Save Local Journalism

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 7: Flames from the Palisades Fire burn a home on January 7, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

Climate

The Future Of Fire Cannot Look Like Its Present

Israel Daramola

Kendrick Lamar at Life Is Beautiful 2023 on September 23, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Kendrick Lamar Gets His Curtain Call

<a href="https://www.caseyjohnston.website/">Casey Johnston</a> is a writer who lives in Los Angeles.

Casey Johnston

A screenshot of notifications from the author's FindMy app

Stories

Into Thin AirPods

Barry Petchesky

Animals

Free P-22!

Kelsey McKinney

Zillowing Out

A $3.7 Million Home I Will Accept Out Of The Goodness Of My Heart

los angeles