The Distraction: A Defector Podcast

Defector’s own Ray Ratto joins Drew & Roth once again! First up, the NYC mayoral race, and whether New York mayors are a special breed all their own, or if all mayors all across the country are just Like That. Will Zohran Mamdani, fresh off a trouncing of Andrew Cuomo in this week’s primary, be any different? Then, speaking of huge paradigm shifts, they talk the NBA Championship. The OKC Thunder are the 7th champion in...

Drew is off doing important things, so Roth is joined by co-host Kelsey McKinney and guest Megan Greenwell, author of Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream to talk about how old men with too much money destroy companies and people’s lives through private equity. Then, they dive into the Funbag, answering real questions from real listeners, like you!

Do you want to hear your question answered on the...

The Ringer staff writer Alan Siegel drops by to talk about his new book, Stupid TV, Be More Funny: How the Golden Era of The Simpsons Changed Television-and America-Forever. He reveals perhaps too much information about Operation Dizzy Fox, Los Angeles’ lost utopian monorail future, and exactly how gross the Simpsons Writers’ Room (like, the physical room) actually was. And then of course, they dive into the Funbag, answer...

New York Magazine contributing editor, Washington Post columnist, and Deadspin founder Will Leitch joins Drew and Roth to talk about the creative writing process, the NBA finals, the Stanley Cup finals, and the Cardinals dropping the ball with their fans once again. His new novel, Lloyd McNeil’s Last Ride, is out now!

Do you want to hear your question answered on the pod? Well, give us a call at 909-726-3720. That is 909-PA...

It’s just Drew and Roth this week, and guess what? They’re gonna talk NBA playoffs, because Drew actually knows what he’s talking about this year! For real! He has thoughts on these teams! Then, they open up the funbag to answer real questions from real listeners like you!

Do you want to hear your question answered on the pod? Well, give us a call at 909-726-3720. That is 909-PANERA-0!

Stuff We Talked About

• Knicks/Pac...

Jason Steinhauer, public historian and author of History, Disrupted: How Social Media and the World Wide Web Have Changed the Past, lays out for Drew & Roth whether the current system is actually Fascism or merely sparkling Authoritarianism, and if historical precedent can even predict our modern times at all. And then after that, somehow, they also turn their attention to the NBA finals! You might be surprised at how ...

Defector’s Culture Editor Brandy Jensen doesn’t follow any sports, so she joins Drew and Roth to talk about other topics! Should Drew continue watching Reacher if episode one didn’t hook him? Can Brandy save the state of modern design in America? Would any of them accept a $400 million 747 from Qatar, no questions asked? Then, they open up the Funbag to answer questions from you! 

Do you want to hear your question answ...

CEO of The Onion Ben Collins joins Roth to talk about running The Onion. How does a private citizen actually buy a long-standing-and-at-the-time-languishing satirical newspaper? Do you just sit there and clap your hands as they make jokes? How do you stand back up beloved bits and programs in the media landscape of 2025? And Ben shares two important pieces of information: how he got flown out to Dallas and interviewed Edua...

Defector’s own and basketball podcaster Patrick Redford joins Drew and Roth to talk about the NBA playoffs! What teams are zagging with Hyperball? How capital-G Good are the Cavs and the Thunder? Should Steve Ballmer just come out as a ball-knower? And in the back half of the show, Patrick has to respond to breaking Sacramento Kings news and they dive into the Funbag, answering real questions from real listeners.

Do you wan...

National football reporter and writer of the Too Deep Zone substack Mike Tanier joins Drew and Roth to get excited about the NFL Draft. How do teams come up with a coherent draft board… or do they? Is everyone watching the same Shedeur Sanders tape? And how many Twitch streams do they need to grind tape on? And as always, they dive into the Funbag, answering real questions from real listeners.

Do you want to hear your quest...

Here’s what Drew wrote for the agenda for this episode:

- I bitch about spring break

- Roth and I shoot the shit

That’s what will happen. 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? Well, give us a call at 909-726-3720. That is 909-PANERA-0!

Sponsors

- Factor, where you can use promo code distraction50off at https://factormeals...

Director of politics, security, and science at Wired Tim Marchman joins Drew and Roth to explain what the hell is going on with DOGE. What exactly are they doing? How has Wired been able to investigate what’s been going? And what can Americans do to fight back? In the back half of the show, Marchman gets a chance to talk about the White Sox and they dive into the Funbag, answering real questions from real listeners.

Do you ...

Defector’s own Maitreyi Anantharaman joins Drew and Roth to talk hoops and baseball! Who should we be rooting for in the women’s final four tournament? What’s going on with Paige Bueckers and does it have anything to do with Nico Harrison? Do we like the MBB Duke team now? And is the torpedo bat cheating or do we want the Yankees not to succeed? And as always, they dive into the Funbag, answering real questions from real l...

Musician Bob Mould joins Drew and Roth to talk about his newest album, Here We Go Crazy, as well as life in general! They discuss how his recent marriage has changed his songwriting, what sort of magic goes into that whole arcane process, and what keeps bringing a world-touring musician back to America, even in 2025.

Do you want to hear your question answered on the pod? Well, give us a call at 909-726-3720. That is 909...

College basketball metrics analyst Ken Pomeroy joins Drew and Roth for his annual preview of this year’s March Madness tournament! They answer your burning college basketball questions: How does Ken feel about being quoted by the governor of West Virginia? Does the fact that some players are wandering ronin affect the quality of play? What’s going on with Gonzaga’s high KenPom ranking and low NCAA seed? Is High Point Unive...

Defector’s own Jasper Wang joins Drew and Roth to share the true crime story that happened to him. Can you solve the mystery of the burst pipes in Montana? Speaking of, these NFL teams are busted, as revealed by their free agency performance! In the second half of the episode, they explore the possibilities of the MLB forcing Tamba Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg to sell. And they listen to some voicemail Funbag questions,...

Editor of the Bad Faith Times Denny Carter joins Drew and Roth to talk about everything that’s happening. They know what happened the last time Denny was on. That’s what they’re talking about.

But don’t worry, they’re pivoting about something much more sunny in the second half of the podcasts: the Dallas Mavericks! Is this team cursed, rigged, or just plain bad? And are there other sports teams that have painted themsel...

Nathan Grayson, co-founder of Aftermath and author of the new book Stream Big: The Triumphs and Turmoils of Twitch and the Stars Behind the Screen, talks to Drew and Roth about game streaming. Is Twitch a healthy company? Do the streamers like being on it? And how does this all feel in contrast to creating their worker-owned-journalism outfit? And as always, they dive into the Funbag, answering real questions from real lis...

NBC News’ Rohan Nadkarni joins Drew and Roth to tell us what’s going on in the NBA after the All Star break. Who are three most interesting teams to watch in the East and the West? And in the second half of the show, they give you the sandwich talk that you’re craving, kicked off by a homemade vegan Double Down in Drew’s own home. And as always, they dive into the Funbag, answering real questions from real listeners.

Do...