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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

10-minute-quarters-3-2-fix (1)

Live Event

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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.

bill and hillary clinton

Margin Of Error

The Era Of Meek Government Is Over

IMG_6025-800

Albert Burneko

robot guy

The Machines

Only Kevin Roose’s Editors Despise Him More Than I Do

A mugger approaches two victims, holding out his hat, ostensibly to beg, but carrying a large club in his other hand, circa 1790. The image is captioned: 'Honest friend, I'll borrow a little silver of you. He who hath gold hath fear. He who hath none hath sorrow'.

Beg, Borrow Or Steal

This Is So Stupid

Not Enough People Are Taking The Wallet Inspector Seriously

Journalists raise their hands in an attempt to ask a question of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on January 31, 2025 in Washington, DC.

white house press

Look For The Helpers

First responders wearing Hazmat gear investigate a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in front of the entrance to the Trump International Hotel & Tower Las Vegas on Jan. 01, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

burned cybertruck

How Crazy Was The Las Vegas Cybertruck Bomber?

AJSfPYY9_400x400-1

Kelsey McKinney

“It Ends With Us” UK Gala Screening – VIP Arrivals

Arts And Culture

The Narrative Is All That Matters

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth leaves a meeting with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) with his wife Jennifer Rauchet as he continues to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on December 5, 2024 in Washington, DC.

hegseth

What Makes A Scandal

Robert F. Kennedy looking like an old shrunken russet potato at some Trump rally.

RFK Jr. lookin real bad

Media Meltdowns

What The Fuck Is A “Vaccine Skeptic”?

Workers prepare US Capitol for 2025 inauguration.

capitol

Last Time Was Lucky

A big campaign sign that is just Kamala Harris's head, in front of a blue sky with scattered clouds.

GettyImages-2177885739 (1)

The Candidates Have Nothing Left To Tell You

Donald Trump makes a loony-eyed face while speaking at IAC.

trump crazy eyes

Where Racism Goes To Become Rhetoric

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton waits to speak at the annual convention of the Rainbow/Push Coalition June 24, 2003 in Chicago, Illinois. Clinton said Bush Administration policies make likely the need for affirmative action programs for years to come.

Clinton Speaks At Rainbow Coalition Convention

Can The Pundits Pivot Toward The Center?

IMG_3819

Tom Ley

Screenshot 2024-08-02 at 10.27.34 AM

Bigots Need Their Useful Idiots

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.

2024 Republican National Convention

Who Wants To Talk About The Issues

The New York Times building is seen on September 6, 2018 in New York. - A furious Donald Trump called September 5, 2018 for the unmasking of an anonymous senior official who wrote in the New York Times that top members of his administration were undermining the president to curb his "misguided impulses." Trump asked if the unsigned op-ed could be considered treasonous, assailed the newspaper for the "gutless" piece and questioned whether the senior official it was attributed to actually existed. "TREASON?" Trump posted in response to the article entitled "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration," which claimed the president's own staff see him as a danger to the nation."Does the so-called 'Senior Administration Official' really exist, or is (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

US-POLITICS-TRUMP-MEDIA

Journalismism

Why Did The New York Times Delete A Notorious Fraudster’s Election Take?

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.

joe-biden

What’s The Story With Joe Biden?

secondhand-books

Who Are These Big Book Lists For?

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

prezdebate

Debate Losers

justin

Justin Ellis

A photo of the scoreboard screen at the Target Center in Minneapolis displaying the words "Bring Ya Ass"

bringyaass

Whomst Has Brought The Ass?

"Motoman" robots from Japan's largest industrial robot maker Yasukawa Electric, beats a drum during a demonstration at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo, 29 November 2007.

JAPAN-INDUSTRY-ROBOT

If Kevin Roose Was ChatGPT With A Spray-On Beard, Could Anyone Tell?

An NYPD officer in riot gear looms over a student protestor on the ground and appears to be gripping her arm.

Columbia encampment

Going Off Script

VictorPortraitWClaw

David Roth

A group of Columbia University students, advocating for Palestinians, access the iconic Hamilton Hall building as they gather to stage a demonstration at the campus in New York, United States on April 30, 2024. Protests are sweeping college campuses across the US following a police attempt to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University, resulting in the arrest of over 100 students. Columbia University asked students on Monday to 'voluntarily disperse' amid stalled talks, threatening the students with suspension.

Columbia University students gather for Palestinians and enter iconic Hamilton Hall

They Are Insecure For A Reason

A big outdoor sign reading USC University of Southern California, with a student riding a skateboard in the background.

US-ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-CONFLICT-EDUCATION-USC

The Speech-Free Campus

headshot1

Patrick Redford

New York Times Managing Editor Joseph Kahn gives the keynote speech at the Andrew Olle lecture 2017 at ICC darling Harbour on October 27, 2017 in Sydney, Australia.

new york times