Yesterday at the finish of the Tour de France, I ran into and then interviewed three Italian backpackers who walked over the Pyrenees and didn’t know the Tour was there. Here is their story: defector.com/an-interview...

this damn @redford.bsky.social is firing off a daily Tour de France tour de force, read them all 🚴 defector.com/tag/2026-tou...

Torstein Træn was briefly and ecstatically the story of the Tour de France, until his time in the yellow jersey came to a sudden, sad end. This is his story: defector.com/meet-torstei...

Yesterday’s Tour de France stage was the hottest in recorded history. What sort of future does the race have in the face of climate change? defector.com/the-tour-de-...

Isaac Del Toro’s Tour de France stage win was the first by a Mexican rider in 36 years. I hung out with the fans who came to watch and party: defector.com/gifts-gritos...

First Tour de France dispatch! 🇪🇸🌞🥵💀🚵‍♂️🌊 On Jonas Vingegaard taking the yellow jersey and reigniting cycling’s best rivalry, and the vibes in Barcelona: defector.com/jonas-vingeg...

There is an ongoing youth movement across all of sports, with various children succeeding way earlier than ever before. I wrote about how the 2026 Tour de France explains the trend: defector.com/the-tour-de-...

losing 2-6, 2-6 here >>>>

Some neato personal news: I'm joining the folks at @defector.com (as a spreadsheet guy, not an editor; I haven't the constitution for blogging). It's going to be fun!

I went to an A's game and all I got was this psychic damage: defector.com/the-athletic...

My goodness, @defector.com is on a real heater this week, even by their extremely high standards. Threading below some pieces published just over the last few days. Read and share and subscribe, make sure these folks get the love they deserve and the support they need for the work they're doing.

congrats @owensports.bsky.social !!! itwa.org/owen-lewis-w...

Tèmítọ́pẹ́ Fágbénlé Okikiola Iriafen Eziyoda Magbegor Nnemkadi Ogwumike I spoke with WNBA players of African descent about their relationship with their names and how they present themselves as pros. Some shorten for comfort. Others, for preservation. andscape.com/features/wnb...

a dispatch from Game 5… they were Eddy Curry jersey at the Alamo [gift link] defector.com/the-circus-c...

Giri has been killing it on the knicks beat defector.com/one-euphoric...

@girinathan.bsky.social nailed it. defector.com/one-euphoric...

The State Of Sportswashing: a proposal for a new definition of the term defector.com/the-state-of...

The State Of Sportswashing: a proposal for a new definition of the term defector.com/the-state-of...

The World Cup for nobody is almost here: defector.com/the-world-cu...

Incredible answer from KAT about not being nervous before game one but having a calmness that he felt came from his Mom

Knicks in 6, why not be a romantic

Jonas Vingegaard rides free: defector.com/jonas-vingeg...

The long, sad, and totally fucked-up tale of Timmy the whale's trip to Germany: defector.com/the-long-sad...

Freelancing is hard enough already, and inflation sucks. Defector is raising our base freelance rates by 20 percent. Great time to pitch us. Email me or [email protected]

The president of Cornell hit two students with his car, lied about what happened, and got away with it. The story illustrates an under-reported crisis in higher education: administrators and the trustees they answer to are increasingly hostile to the idea of college itself. I wrote about it here:

The latest episode of Nothing But Respect features the great Noah Kulwin and is out now: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/k...

I wrote about some people who need to have some self- (and for that matter, species-) respect:

"for all practical purposes, this money has been awarded to Trump himself, by Trump himself, to distribute as he sees fit." - @redford.bsky.social defector.com/donald-trump...

Has anyone here gone up to the Sierras/Tahoe in the last few weeks? How much snow is there still?

not unrecognizable but he does look like if Belgium had a dictator

Very good time talking about Wemby, the lead paint-scented Cavs/Pistons series, and outdoor music venues with our California Lifestyle Bureau Chief this week: defector.com/the-too-larg...

Even a bad Valkyries game is a pretty great time:

Time to go knuckle deep into NBA playoff talk, with @redford.bsky.social! art19.com/shows/the-di...

the valkyries may have lost but Kiah Stokes and i have agreed on a deal to collectivize rim protection

I still don’t think the Valkyries are big enough to really win stuff that matters but Nakaseball is legit, they’re gonna be able to score on anyone

Joel Embiid doesn’t dunk directly anymore but he has learned to remotely pilot Kelly Oubre to the rim so he can dunk for him

Over at defector, I wrote about what it means to be a great American songwriter defector.com/what-makes-a...

The stuff the @oaklandreviewofbooks.org has been pumping out has been incredible. Subscribe now!

a couple weeks ago my friend and I journeyed all the way around the bay on public transit only. i wrote about the things we saw, for @oaklandreviewofbooks.org:

The WNBA is back, and so is @defector.com's TEN MINUTE QUARTERS at Littlefield in Brooklyn on Monday May 18. We’ll have giveaways, games, goofs, and as always a lineup of hilarious comics. Go to defector.com/wnbashow for tickets, use code LETSGOLIBS for 10% off

the celtics went out like chumps because they faced away from the holy truth that basketball is about doing Cool Moves. they geared their whole shit away from anything Cool, thus they deserve their fate

We are currently in production of Only If You Get Caught's second season! It will drop later this year, giving you a few months to get caught up on the first season 👇 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...

Fun backstory here. Sabs blogged about how much they hated those Grammarly commercials. The actor, Jude, turned out to be a Defector reader and was down to make this ad happen. defector.com/vindicated-a...

It is always extremely fun to read Mark Asch. Here he is on two movies starring Charli XCX

OR ELSE

My book is debuting at #6 on the NYT nonfiction best seller list. I am stunned and so grateful that readers are embracing not just Lewis + Clark but York, Ordway, Black Buffalo, and more. This goes especially for @defector.com readers -- the response to my dog attack essay has been incredible.

Somehow a professional sports front office is poaching from @defector.com's business team, so I need to hire a new Director of Revenue. Apply here: apply.workable.com/defector-med...

The playoff crew chief is the most important and prestigious role in NBA officiating, one only entrusted to a select few refs. And it could be headed toward a crisis. For @defector.com: defector.com/one-of-the-n...

the unexpected intersection of climate change and tennis court surface! spoke to two geoscientists doing fascinating work defector.com/how-much-goo...