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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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<p>Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.</p>


Nicholas Russell

Interviews

How The U.S. Military Rots American Masculinity

Patrick Redford

Cubans gather in front of their houses during a blackout in Havana on March 16, 2026. Cuba suffered a widespread power cut on March 16, 2026, according to the national electricity company, against the backdrop of a severe crisis on the island caused by the US energy blockade. (Photo by ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP)

Politics

Donald Trump Is Strangling Cuba To Death

Albert Burneko

Trump To World: Please Help Me Un-Shoot My Own Leg Off

<p>Séamus Malekafzali is a New York-based journalist and writer primarily focusing on the politics of the Middle East.</p>


Séamus Malekafzali

Donald Trump looks on as Lindsey Graham talks in the foreground.

Lindsey Graham Has Waited Decades For The Chance To Obliterate Iran

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<div>Casey Taylor is a writer living and working in Pittsburgh. He is currently writing a book for St. Martin&#8217;s Press about cannabis religions, Haile Selassie I, and the Cold War in the Caribbean. He also writes a free newsletter called <a href="https://weedchurch.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://weedchurch.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1709306863919000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1mVH2xiID6S0zvlyj6yHco">Weed Church</a> covering foolish spiritual things that occur to him. His work has appeared in The New Republic, WIRED, New York Magazine, and a sports blog he can’t currently recall the name of. You can <a href="mailto:caseyt7@gmail.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">email</a> him if you’d like.</div>
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Casey Taylor

Having escaped a raging war at home, Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia face more conflict and insecurity as the border region of Amhara is plagued by unrest and clashes that sees the Ethiopian National Defense Force battling an ethnic Amhara militia known as 'Fano'. According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) over 100,000 people have crossed into Ethiopia from Sudan since April 2023. Sudanese and other refugees in the border camps in Amhara lament a lack of security, difficult communication with the outside world - the Ethiopian government has disrupted access to mobile internet in the region since August 2023 - and a general sense of abandonment, raising the question if they fled a dire situation to end up in similar one. (Photo by )

Journalismism

How Do You Get Americans To Care About A War?

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<p class="sc-77igqf-0 bOfvBY">Vince Guerrieri is an award-winning journalist and author in the Cleveland area. He likes Lake Erie perch sandwiches, Jim Traficant and long walks on the field at League Park. His website is <a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="http://vinceguerrieri.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;http://vinceguerrieri.com/&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]">vinceguerrieri.com</a>, and you can follow him on Twitter <a class="sc-1out364-0 hMndXN sc-145m8ut-0 kGbjEv js_link" href="https://twitter.com/vinceguerrieri" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-ga="[[&quot;Embedded Url&quot;,&quot;External link&quot;,&quot;https://twitter.com/vinceguerrieri&quot;,{&quot;metric25&quot;:1}]]">@vinceguerrieri</a>.</p>
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Vince Guerrieri

An American soldier stands in the Zeppelin stadium and looks towards a Nazi swastika, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945. The stadium, along with two others, was used by Adolf Hitler to hold many Nazi rallies. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

They Almost Played An All-Star Game At Nuremberg


<p>Luisa Rollenhagen is a German-Argentinian freelance journalist based in Berlin. She&#8217;s written for publications such as <em>The Guardian</em>, BuzzFeed News, Deutsche Welle, and <em>GQ</em>. </p>


Luisa Rollenhagen

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY - MARCH 25: Ukrainian refugees queue at Immigration and Border Control, after arriving from Moldova at Frankfurt Airport on March 25, 2022 in Frankfurt, Germany. Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe, has taken in over 100,000 refugees from Ukraine. Germany is providing assistance to ease the burden. (Photo by Ronald Wittek - Pool/Getty Images)

Who Is The “Right” Kind Of Refugee?

Jack Crosbie

Media Meltdowns

The Ukraine Crisis Continues To Make People Go Insane


<p>Patrick Wyman is the host of the <em>Tides of History</em> podcast, which is currently covering prehistory from the dawn of humanity to the Bronze Age. Prior to that, he was the host of the <em>Fall of Rome</em> podcast, which you might remember from Deadspin back in the day, where he also contributed pieces on mixed martial arts. In previous lives, he wrote about MMA for Bleacher Report and the <em>Washington Post</em>, and completed a PhD in History at the University of Southern California.</p>


war