succumbed to a classic prank (a teen pretended to vomit on me so he could take my subway seat)

felis hallwayfoodus

Just re-read this piece and -- odd as it is to say, given the nature of it -- I think it's my favorite thing I wrote this year in terms of style?

I asked the question on everyone's minds defector.com/what-would-y...

icymi @yuekaxu.bsky.social and I wrote about Heated Rivalry defector.com/fatal-battle...

We are SO CLOSE — we're just $33 away from making our matching goal this year! Thanks to matching donors like @sabs.bsky.social and many others for helping make this possible! www.theopennotebook.com/15thannivers...

showed my parents The Princess Switch for the first time and they absolutely loved it…my dad cried…my mom is convinced that Vanessa Hudgens is one of our generation’s finest actresses

I apologize to @izdaramola.bsky.social and @rayratto.bsky.social for making them watch MERV, a movie about Merv, with me defector.com/we-watch-a-c...

“I find that LLMs produce sentences that are smooth, glib, poreless, smiling, somewhat like a beluga whale. But every busted sentence written by a human is busted in its own way.” defector.com/presenting-t...

had a somewhat bewildering 30-minute conversation with my mom about poly people before I realized she was talking about polygamy

whenever people ask me how to become a science writer, I refer them to the @theopennotebook.bsky.social. it's the best guide to becoming a thoughtful, ethical science journalist. all donations will be matched through the end of the year, will you join me? www.theopennotebook.com/15thannivers...

just took sudafed for the first time in a decade and am feeling like I can See God

love to go on dates this time of year, when my silhouette can only be described as Lego Person

playing this in the morning alone in the apartment >>>>>>>> www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT_X...

is this the year I finally buy Envelope Crop Top from the USPS store....

come on up to the house......COME ON UP to the house...you gotta come on UP to the HOUSE......come ON UP to THE HOUSSEEEE 🗣️

I read American Canto and I think it’s wonderful. haha jk

I'm really honored by these kind words from @evaholland.bsky.social niemanstoryboard.org/2025/12/11/n...

loath to be too precious about this stuff but I want one lesson of defector to be "you can choose to not do stuff that sucks" even if "doing stuff that sucks" is the default

this is the year I finally accept that I am a small guy and should buy shirts made for small guys if I don't want to be mistaken for a middle schooler again in ballys atlantic city

I can't believe a story about a frog eating a hornet made me tear up. defector.com/is-this-the-...

honored to welcome A. Frog back to the pages of Defector for what might have been his final blog defector.com/is-this-the-...

truly the only time that AI has ever been helpful to me and I resent it.........

absolutely thrilled to share that I am, as of this week, will be seeing only one therapist 😌

calling for an immediate moratorium on "yap" and all its permutations on the apps (saw someone self-describe as being fluent in "yapanese")

Defector Watches a Christmas Movie is BACK with Dave and Leigh McKenna, who were very kind to watch another movie they hated defector.com/defector-wat...

I’m watching reindeer games for the first time

this is the best review of the worst production of the musical i have, for whatever reason, staked my academic career to. thank you @sabs.bsky.social for nailing it!!! defector.com/chess-the-mu...

I reviewed Chess, the musical about chess defector.com/chess-the-mu...

Olivia Nuzzi wrote an entire story based on unnamed sources about Biden's decline, reinvigorating calls for him to leave the race -- and the whole time, she was working on RFK Jr.'s behalf, according to her ex-fiance. newrepublic.com/article/2035...

how could your mood NOT be buoyed by this video of Snowball bobbing his head to "Everybody" by the Backstreet Boys! how could your heart not be lifted, your spirits not soar!

this is so embarrassing but I finally read Nevada and holy shit, what a book!!

lmao my aquarius friend who I have not seen in more than a year because they are so hard to schedule with just texted "third week of december hang?"

this might be the saddest story I've ever written, about a seal that I will be thinking about for a long, long time. defector.com/why-wont-nor...

saving my voice memos from my friends and replaying them like affirmations while I brush my teeth. I am doing great!! I am being brave and vulnerable!! I am a good parent to my high-maintenance cats!!

can anyone explain when/why so many people on dating apps began self-identifying as "a silly goose" or, in some cases "the silliest goose" ? this feels new and alarming

If you ever wanted to be edited by me, now's your chance. (More importantly: This internship pays well and can be remote.) defector.com/would-you-li...

wow we're hiring another intern!!! please come apply to work with us!!! we're fun and normal [ed note: source?]!!! defector.com/would-you-li...

if I could just hold one (1) seal tightly for about five minutes I think it could fix me 😭

the only montage I'm interested in!!!!!

man fuck the atlantic for this headline are you serious

if u missed Sex Change and the City book tour, now is a GREAT time to snag ur copies because you get our BIGGEST SALE of the year plus a FREE PRINT of beautiful mysterious artwork!!! :) :) :) girldadpress.bigcartel.com, use code THECITY

unironically using the My Favorite Things method method to feel better these days.... gossip in voice notes and the new rosalía, trader joes mangoes and a new cozy sweater, really fast wifi with a cool name, etc!

watching the sound of music and I forgot the dad’s name is pronounced gay org. everyone in here talking about Gay Org!!!

It’s real! It’s real! You can pre-order MY BAD: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE QUEER 90s AND BEYOND here: www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/hugh-...

the best thing about t4t dating is that everyone is feeling like the hottest, most embodied version of themselves and we're all just happy to be here 🙂 the worst thing about t4t dating is that everyone is solo poly 😔

About that exclusive, "closed-to-press" MAHA summit last week with RFK and JD Vance: I got in. Here's what I saw. 🧵 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

wrote about this shitbag again defector.com/vaccines-do-...

just learned that rosalía is saying “ti voy” and not “t-boy” 😢

just learned that rosalía is saying “ti voy” and not “t-boy” 😢