The Distraction: A Defector Podcast

Executive producer of Harley Quinn and Abbott Elementary Justin Halpern returns to Drew and Roth to talk about the Dodgers making baseball into capitalism-shaped-like-a-baseball! In the wake of even more free agent signings, they explain how the Dodgers are running their team like a company with McKinsey consultants and they’re blowing everyone else outta the water. In the second half, our group d...

Better Offline ’s Ed Zitron joins Drew and Roth for a doubleheader of British accents and Trump impressions. The first half is all about what pits of despair NFL coaches would walk into if they joined the Raiders, the Cowboys, or the Jags. In the second half, Ed and Roth recap the 2025 CES Conference in Las Vegas and how everyone there is smooshing AI into their product because it’s the hot thing...

Defector’s very own Diana Moskovitz joins Drew and Roth to preview the NFL playoffs! They interrogate why the Steelers are the way that they are, the ethics of rooting for the Packers, and who they think will win it all in their heart of hearts. And the show wraps up with the Funbag, answering real questions from real listeners. Do you want to hear your question answered on the pod? Well, give us...

Christmastimeeee is hereeeeee and so is the 2024 Hater’s Guide To The Williams-Sonoma Catalog. For your last Distraction of the year, enjoy Drew lead Roth through the wonders of the ridiculous catalogue and follow along at home by guessing the prices with your loved ones. Programming Note: we’re taking next Thursday off, see you on January 9th, 2025! Do you want to hear your question answered on t...

Co-host of The Kicker: The Unraveling of Ozy Media Susie Banikarim joins Drew and Roth to unravel the story of Carlos Watson and the fraud of OZY Media. Why did so many rich people invest in this media company? Was the stuff that Watson did uniquely terrible or was he the one who got punished? Why would you name your company after the poem Ozymandius? And since Susie worked with Drew and Roth, the...

Producer of The Distraction and co-host of Attach Your Résumé Eric Silver joins Drew and Roth to celebrate 100 episodes in the new era of the show. What is different about the media industry since we started? Have Drew and Roth gotten better on the mic? Is there a petition to bring back the mashups? In the second half, they make their picks for the college football playoff based on information fro...

Writer of the Man, Free newsletter Rivers McCown joins Drew and Roth to talk all things NFL as we head into the tailend of the season. But first, Rivers describes his experience restarting on Substack after taking more than a year off from media. After that, we get into burning football questions: What’s going on with the Texans and CJ Stroud? Why are the Chiefs so boring to watch? Are coaches bec...

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours! Take a break from watching the terrible games on Thursday and Friday to hear Drew and Roth talk about those games. And it’s better because there’s a 50% better chance for a good accent or impression. And the second half is an overflowing cornucopia of the Funbag, as they answer written and voicemail questions from real listeners. Do you want to hear you...

Defector’s own and author of How Far the Light Reaches Sabrina Imbler joins Drew and Roth to talk about obscure marine life! Sabrina contains multitudes, so they hash out which animal do they wish could be miniaturized, what do they like the most about the impending jingling bells of Christmas, and how much does a non-sports person know about what went down in Week 11. And, as always, the show wra...

Wide Left’s Arif Hasan joins Drew and Roth to talk about sports gambling. Although Drew and Roth have obligations to Bareback Sportsbook, Arif walks them through his personal experience with gambling and how society treats this particular vice stranger than all the others. In the second half, Arif turns his thoughtful considerations to Football, as they break down the collapsing Bears, the lucky C...

Defector’s Very Own Ray Ratto joins Drew and Roth to talk only about sports and bagels and not about the election. We promise. First, they run through a game of How Fucked Is This NFL Team? It turns out, a lot of them are fucked. And in the second half, we have a heaping helping of Funbag questions, as they answer both written and voicemail questions from real listeners. Do you want to hear your q...

Editor of the Bad Faith Times Denny Carter joins Drew and Roth to preview the 2024 Presidential Election. Drew has a bold prediction he wants to share with all of you and it makes sense if you’re watching the game. But don’t worry, election coverage is just the first half of the show. In the second half, they’re mostly talking about how Jayden Daniels absolutely rips. And as always, they dive into...

Drew and Roth are podcasting from Atlantic City, so this episode is extra impressive considering they’re glued to slot machines for the whole recording. In the first half, they’re previewing the World Series, giving a final eulogy for the 2024 Mets, and wondering how Yankees-y are these Yankees when they pick off other teams’ best players. In the second half, they wrestle with the immortal debate...

NBC News’ Rohan Nadkarni joins Drew and Roth for Sandwich Talk, Chicago and The Bear edition! After that, they continue to wrestle with the ethics of Tua returning to the Dolphins because the AFC is all messed up and most QBs are either bad or ok and expensive. In the second half, Roth opines on the scrappy Mets…but Rohan doesn’t think they're all that scrappy. And as always, they dive into the Fu...

Jason Schreier, Bloomberg journalist and author of the new book Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment , joins Roth to talk about what’s been going on with the company that makes Warcraft and Overwatch. Along with Defector comrade Luis Paez-Pumar , they discuss what the story of Blizzard means for the story of gaming as a whole and the similarities between media companies...

We’re just some NFL guys, watching the players run around like miniatures in a Warhammer 40k game. In the first half, Drew revels in his incredible mood because the Vikings are the main characters of this football season and Roth is taking considered interest in how good Aaron Rogers could be as a color commentator. In the second half of the show, Drew and Roth reflect on two historic entities in...

Defector’s own Maitreyi Anantharaman joins Drew and Roth for a September sports roundup. They discuss NFL Week 2: are the Lions bad, is Sam Darnold the MVP, and are we genuinely concerned about Tua’s brain? Onto baseball, as we’re on How Are You Doing? Watch for Maitreyi as they talk about the on-the-cusp Tigers. Finally, they preview the WNBA playoffs and dive into the Funbag, answering real ques...

Defector’s own Israel Daramola joins Drew and Roth to ring in the college football and pro football seasons. And that means it’s also is-college-football-falling-apart-with-the-NIL-and-12-team-playoff season and pro-athletes-getting-harassed-by-cops season. And as always, they dive into the Funbag, answering real questions from real listeners. Do you want to hear your question answered on the pod?...

Former comrade and now ESPN’s own Kalyn Kahler joins Drew and Roth to preview the NFL season with the fastest ever recorded game of GOOD/BAD. As you can see by the run time, “fastest” still means you’ll get your money’s worth. But before they dive in, Kalyn previews her new podcast Spiraled , which is like Hard Knocks meets Serial meets the Duggar family. If you want to hear ex-NFL players say thi...

It’s the dawwwwg days of summer, so Drew and Roth hanging out by the podcast pool! First off, it turns out when everything isn’t terrible, they actually like talking politics. Drew and Roth discuss if Trump merch will ever become ironic and if the Democrats actually get it. Then, baseball! Which is more impressive: Ohtani joining the 40/40 Club or the White Sox losing their 100th game the 2nd fast...

Best-Friend-of-the-Pod Rohan Nadkarni joins Drew to bounce back from the dark place they were in when he was last on the podcast. Now there’s a new Democratic nominee, JD Vance is constantly beefing it, and college football is on the horizon! That’s so much to be excited about (and do a Hater’s Guide to College Football). But first, Rohan has some opinions on Why Your Team Sucks and there’s always...

Defector’s own Rachelle Hampton joins Drew and Roth to welcome her into the Defector family of content! But Rachelle explains why she’s hanging her Blue Yeti up in the rafters. After Media Talk, they turn to the Olympics, where they decide if they have to hand it to the IOC for doing a good job in Paris. In the back half of the show, Drew runs a thrilling game of Which GOP Hearthrobs Will Go Woke...

Chris Nashawaty, author of The Future Was Now: Madmen, Mavericks, And the Epic Sci-Fi Summer of 1982 , joins Drew and Roth to talk about movies in the 80s! They ask Chris about the unifying idea underneath ET, Blade Runner, Wrath of Khan, Conan The Barbarian, Poltergeist, The Thing, and The Road Warrior: moist monsters are moist monsters are better than dry monsters. And looking back on 1982, they...

Defector’s own Patrick Redford joins Drew and Roth to put on Peacock and fully emerse themselves in the Olympic games. The Opening Ceremonies were A Lot of Drama, but is reenacting Marie Antoniette’s beheading with metal music more dramatic than Steve Kerr benching Jayson Tatum? Speaking of TV, drama, and NBA, Drew, Roth, and Patrick decide who to root for in the entire NBA TV rights situation and...

Pablo Torre, of Pablo Torre Finds Out, joins Drew and Roth to talk about the Olympics! In the first half, Pablo walks them through the most corrupt sport in Olympics history. And in the second half, they determine if we’re having a 90s timewarp with breakdancing, kayak cross and USA men’s basketball. And as always, they dive into the Funbag, answering real questions from real listeners. Do you wan...