Chris Thompson

1 week ago | defector.com | Chris Thompson

William Langewiesche died Sunday. He was a damn titan. Langewiesche hit his stride in longform magazine journalism round about 1998, applying the concept of system accidents to the downing of ValueJet Airlines Flight 592, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 aircraft that had crashed into the Florida Everglades in 1996. Langewiesche had been doing international affairs essays for The Atlantic—those were also good, and he kept at this work for the rest of his career—but here was a story in his true wheelhouse.

2 weeks ago | defector.com | Chris Thompson

By at least one measure, the Boston Red Sox of 2025 are doing just fine. They've outscored their opponents on the season, modestly, but at a better clip than that of, say, the Philadelphia Phillies, who are presently nine games over .500 and slotted into the final National League wild card spot.

2 weeks ago | defector.com | Chris Thompson

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was, during the competitive portion of a not-very-competitive Game 2, about as good as it is possible to be at the sport of basketball. There was an insanely cool sequence in the first half where he seemed to take a horse-hair bow and go fiddle-mode on the superstrings of reality. It started with a glaring mismatch.

3 weeks ago | defector.com | Chris Thompson

You, the savvy baseball fan, are almost certainly wise to imagine what Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes will look like someday wearing some other team's uniform. If you are a fan of one of six particular franchises, you might even sensibly dare to imagine what Skenes might look like wearing your team's uniform. The odds are heavily against Skenes playing the back half of his career in Pittsburgh.

3 weeks ago | defector.com | Chris Thompson

The Kansas City Royals advised minor-leaguer Jac Caglianone, their first pick in the 2024 draft and top overall prospect, that he could accelerate his path to the majors by focusing his development on mastery of the art of socking huge dingers. I realize that this is pretty much exactly what every organization is saying to every player in the minors at every opportunity.