In October and November 2019, all writers at Deadspin quit en masse following an edict from the blog's owner, G/O Media, to "stick to sports" and the firing of editor-in-chief Barry Petchesky.

In an interview with Slate, co-founder Maitreyi Anantharaman, while discussing how the writers worked out the logistics of starting the site, said "[e]veryone had the same priorities, which were editorial independence and worker stake, and we did come to a consensus that this model was the best way to do this thing."

"[8] As a way of enticing readers to subscribe, the site offers multiple incentives from the ability to comment on articles to personalized birthday videos by staff.

The show uses names as an entry point to discuss cultural topics such as religion, family, gender, and other forms of identity.

[21] In January 2022, Defector premiered the Normal Gossip podcast, hosted by staff writer Kelsey McKinney and produced by Alex Sujong Laughlin.

[24] In December 2024, McKinney and Sujong Laughlin left the podcast, replaced by Defector staff writer Rachelle Hampton as host and Se'era Spragley-Ricks as lead producer.