Your TL;DR Briefing on things worth tracking — and talking about over your next power lunch. *Wink.* This time the thing is absurd: Edelman profits on fossil fuel cash while representing U.N. climate talks in Brazil. Plus, we dig into new research into the creative industry’s reliance on Big Oil.
The day after our resident street photographer landed in Portland, Oregon, the President of the United States declared it a "war zone," intending to send in troops following absurd occupations in D.C. and Chicago. But a long walk in Northeast revealed the vibe on the street was, well, not that.
This London Fashion Week has been a dazzling display of global design talent in the U.K. capital. Emerging designers turned heads. There was that upcycled parachute gown. And street style for days. But this recap is about an anxiety attack I had. Before the one show that, ultimately, gave me chills.
Between “The AI Con” book tour and marking three years of her “accidental” hit podcast, she still has time for Power Lunch. The director of research at DAIR — and ex-senior research scientist at Google — talks “AGI” silliness, the power of imagining possible futures and, of course, roller derby.
Your TL;DR Briefing on things worth tracking — and talking about over your next power lunch. *Wink.* This time the thing is the Back Indie Media Drive, Project C’s newsletter merger and the new new media ecosystem emerging beyond Substack’s walled garden.
My hand hurts. Ouch! I take a break to read research about handwriting’s much-publicized (alleged) death spiral. I then proceed to finish drafting the latest in the experimental BTS @ ESC series entirely with a pen — leaving you with something poetic to talk about at your next power lunch. *Wink*
She sold her first book on a lie. The lie? That she cared about tech burgers. Now, in the middle of a move back to New York City, a move off Substack, and her memoir, we set the table to discuss the mess of media work— covering everything from Carrie Bradshaw’s per word rates to martini tattoos.
Your TL;DR Briefing on things worth tracking — and talking about over your next power lunch. *Wink.* This time the thing is engagement casinos, attention slot machines and the fediverse rebels hustling for a social web no lone billionaire can own.
Silicon Valley’s sharpest critic, Paris Marx marks 5 years of Tech Won’t Save Us, telling ESC KEY .CO how he pushed through early anxiety to make the essential podcast on the subject. We set the table to discuss exiting U.S. tech, the state of criticism and one guest who made him a little nervous.
Last week, I got a creepy notification nudging me to follow an ex — on Substack. Then I realized how comprehensively the app had scraped my phone's contacts, a la the dark patterns of the monopoly-chasing social platforms that came before. My first question was, when had I ever consented to this?!
For her second graphic novel, “Simplicity,” this acclaimed cartoonist and a former editor at The Nib tried a new approach: save any idea that intuitively seemed to “fit.” She did that for more than a year. We set the table to talk her process, a literal vision and making trans culture right now.
For the latest in the experimental BTS @ ESC series, we mark our six-month anniversary by rounding up six books that got you talking. But this wouldn't be ESC KEY .CO unless we turned a listicle into an exploration of why book lists have such cultural power — and why lists will outlive the internet.