“Here are the main things you need to know about the Resident Evil games,” I explained to my friend Liz over the nonsense of the Digger trailer. “There’s a big outbreak of some kind of mutagenic virus...

Let me take you Behind the Blog™ for a moment. The Defector staff is currently assembled in a top-secret location, and a bunch of us were crammed into Lauren’s room to watch the end of Yankees–Red Sox...

When I called up my grandfather Irwin Miller last fall, I asked him if he felt his age. “Uh, no, probably 94,” he said, laughing as he shaved off three years. “The body feels 97, the head doesn’t, tha...

It takes an open mind to engage with China Miéville’s work. A writer for whom the already cliched phrase “genre-bending” is even more banal, Miéville has never opposed the designation of genre writer....

Colson Whitehead essay about when he first defined himself as New Yorker through memories of riding subway; says New Yorkers always see city through eyes of first glimpse; each person defines it for h...

Name an iconic scene from the first Spider-Man movie, the one directed by Sam Raimi that came out in 2002. You’re saying it’s the upside-down kiss? Yeah, that’s fair. Let me ask my question in a…

Go ahead and listen to this. (For the real perverts, use this one; you just know you’re about to stay up until 1:00 a.m. for a particularly shitty Sharks–Mighty Ducks game.) What does it evoke? What d...

A not-insignificant part of my job is fielding phone calls from freelance writers who have questions. The questions can vary—Have you heard of any job openings? Are you interested in this pitch? An ed...

It’s nearly impossible to relay a single fact about former Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott that does not stop an unfamiliar recipient dead in their tracks. For example: This is just a small…

For as long as baseball’s All-Star Game has been played—almost every year since 1933, including twice a year from 1959 to 1962—it’s been the ultimate in wish fulfillment for fans. Want to see a team o...