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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

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

Books

Claire Stapleton Helped Write The Myth Of Google, But Now She’s Trying To Tell The Truth

Patrick Redford

Capital

Tech Media Propaganda Operation Makes It Official, Goes In-House At OpenAI

Tech leaders, including Sam Altman (C), CEO of OpenAI, and Tim Cook (2nd L), CEO of Apple, attend a dinner hosted by US President Donald Trump with tech leaders in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 4, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

An Evening With Sam Altman And Steve Kerr

Israel Daramola

Listening Habits

The Case For A New MTV

David Roth

An Ai Me robot from Chinese company TCL is displayed during the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show CES in Las Vegas.

The Future Is Too Easy

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 Point B. Handsomest man in the world.

Drew Magary

A robot using artificial intelligence is displayed at a stand during the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, on May 30, 2024. Humanity is in a race against time to harness the colossal emerging power of artificial intelligence for the good of all, while averting dire risks, a top UN official said. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Funbag

AI Isn’t Intelligent Until You And I Say So

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 12: Sam Altman speaks onstage during A Year In TIME at The Plaza Hotel on December 12, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for TIME)

Sam Altman’s Scarlett Johansson Whoopsie Is The True Future Of AI

A guest wears new Apple Vision Pro outside Bora Aksu during London Fashion Week February 2024 on February 16, 2024 in London, England.

Podcasts

The Future Doesn’t Work, With Ed Zitron

SUN VALLEY, IDAHO - JULY 11: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, speaks to the media as he arrives at the Sun Valley Lodge for the Allen &amp; Company Sun Valley Conference on July 11, 2023 in Sun Valley, Idaho. Every July, some of the world's most wealthy and powerful businesspeople from the media, finance, technology and political spheres converge at the Sun Valley Resort for the exclusive weeklong conference. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

What The Shit Is Happening With OpenAI And Sam Altman? An Explainer

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 24: 'Cruise' driverless robot taxis are seen at a parking lot as California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) revokes its self-driving car permit and citing 'unreasonable risk to public safety' in San Francisco, California, USA on October 24, 2023. The self-driving service of 'Cruise', the autonomous vehicle company owned by General Motor, is thought to be a step towards wider commercial deployment of a long-promised autonomous alternative to ride-hailing services such as Uber or Lyft in the US. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

San Francisco’s Robotaxi Fleet Halved After Horror Crash

Santa Monica, CA - February 21: Passengers ride in an electric Jaguar I-Pace car outfitted with Waymo full self-driving technology in Santa Monica Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

San Francisco Takes First Step Towards The Grim, Autonomous Future Of Transportation

Alex Pareene

LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 02: People picket outside of FOX Studios on the first day of the Hollywood writers strike on May 2, 2023 in Los Angeles. Scripted TV series, late-night talk shows, film and streaming productions are being interrupted by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. In 2007 and 2008, a WGA strike shut down Hollywood productions for 100 days, costing the local economy between $2 billion and $3 billion.

The Machines

The Computers Are Coming For The Wrong Jobs

<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

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 10: A Brinks armored truck sits parked in front of the shuttered Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) headquarters on March 10, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. Silicon Valley Bank was shut down on Friday morning by California regulators and was put in control of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Prior to being shut down by regulators, shares of SVB were halted Friday morning after falling more than 60% in premarket trading following a 60% declined on Thursday when the bank sold off a portfolio of US Treasuries and $1.75 billion in shares to cover declining customer deposits. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The Collapse Of Silicon Valley Bank Is Testing Tech’s Loudest Evangelists

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 16: Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with WeWork Co-Founder and CEO Adam Neuman on May 16, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Hagen/Getty Images)

Barefoot Man Prepares To Set Another Massive Pile Of Money On Fire

A mechanic prepares the bicycles of Team Sky cycling team prior to a training session on July 4, 2018 in Saint-Mars-la-Reorthe, western France, three days prior to the start of the 105th edition of the Tour de France cycling race. (Photo by Jeff PACHOUD / AFP) (Photo credit should read JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images)

Cycling

A Mechanic On The Hidden Army That Propels Every Tour de France Rider

on September 22, 2012 in Ruesselsheim, Germany.

Parental Screen Angst Is A Disease

Clubhouse Is Loud, Incoherent, And Packed With Suckers

Spot competes at the DARPA Robotics Challenge Showcases Cutting Edge In Artificial Intelligence