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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

Kelsey McKinney

elyse myers in a yellow shirt smiles at the camera

Arts And Culture

How Normal Is A Celebrity Allowed To Be? 

Alex Sujong Laughlin

painting of a girl reading a book on a sofa

Under The Influence

Learning Is More Than Just Collecting Facts

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

Corey Atad

Zohran Mamdani smiling with a megaphone in the park

Politics

Selling Zohran

A busy screenshot of text, with pink text superimposed over all, reading: "Pilates at 7:00, went home, changed, quick breakfast, and then I walked into work"

Taking The Life Out Of “Day In The Life”

TikTok Users Learn The Internet Isn’t Forever

Screenprinted black and white image of a woman looking at an older version of herself in fear.

My Favorite Influencer Is In Her 60s

Students observe a classroom demonstration in an old black-and-white photograph from the 1930s.

I Took A TikTok Class. What Happened Next Blew My Mind

A woman sticks her thumb down next to a skincare product and records the scene with an iPhone (posed scene). Product tips on Instagram or Tiktok are often paid advertising. "Deinfluencers" actively advise against buying if they are not convinced of the quality.

Local Girlbosses Lose Pyramid-Shaped Business Model

A trio of TikTok screenshots: "5 ways your FACE indicates Cortisol is High"; "4 SSIGNS YOUR BELLY FAT IS CAUSED BY A HORMONE IMBALANCE From a hormone nutritionist"; 6 SIGNS you may have HORMONAL IMBALANCE"

This Summer’s Hottest Ailment Is Hormone Anxiety

Heather Chen is a former Defector intern and the managing editor at the Columbia Daily Spectator. She loves hockey, photography, and the good ol’ state of Michigan.

Heather Wei-Xi Chen

bookstore window display for 'Fourth Wing'

Wings Week

I Love Trashy Fantasy Books, But I Cannot Condone TikTok’s Obsession With ‘Fourth Wing’

Singer JoJo Siwa on the red carpet entering the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards in Hollywood, wearing a black and silver sequins outfit reminiscent of Gene Simmons from the band Kiss.

When You Eat Poison Long Enough, It Starts To Taste Good

Luis Paez-Pumar

Victor Osimhen of Napoli looks on during the Serie A TIM match between Bologna FC and SSC Napoli at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara on September 24, 2023 in Bologna, Italy.

Soccer

Napoli Shitposted Its Way Into A War With Its Own Best Player

An illustration of several people, each one passing some juicy gossip on to the next one.

Podcasts

Let’s Play A Game Of Telephone

Laura Wagner

(From L to R) Roger Riffard, Lise Granvel, Armand Babel, Jean-Pierre Dutour, Catherine Sotha, Romain Bouteille, Leo Campion, Jacques Prevert and Jacques Barbier look at the IBM computer which will find the title of the new play written by Romain Bouteille (4thR with glasses), on November 13, 1965 in Paris. (Photo by - / AFP) (