JD Shadel is Chief Editorial Officer at ESC KEY .CO — and yes, they're a team of one. Their work on tech and modern life appears in The Washington Post, Condé Nast Traveler, VICE, BBC News and others.
BTS @ ESC
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.
TL;DR Briefing
Your TL;DR Briefing on things worth tracking — and talking about over your next power lunch. *Wink.* This time the thing is the way climate change is tanking the world’s productivity, but venture capitalists would rather you not talk about actual productivity solutions.
TL;DR Briefing
Your TL;DR Briefing on things worth tracking — and talking about over your next power lunch. *Wink.* This time the thing is vastly improved GIF archaeology via the new GifCities search engine plus a short history of GeoCities cyber neighborhoods and the case for reclaiming the “netizen” label.
TL;DR Briefing
Your TL;DR Briefing on things worth tracking — and talking about over your next power lunch. *Wink.* This time the thing is post-rainbow capitalism and post-”sustainability,” and the big question we face: Where do we push it next?
BTS @ ESC
On Thursday, ESC KEY .CO brought our Clean Creatives reporting to life with a soft-launch event at Somerset House. We called out bullshit, mapped greenwashing tactics and took instant photos. Most importantly, we found our people. Turns out, community can be more than a buzzword.
World Wide Weird
Big agencies rake in cash from fossil fuel clients while brands delete climate and diversity commitments. But creativity can be a solution, too. The Clean Creatives movement’s playbook — plus a spoof wellness app called Oilwell that’s trolling an F-List PR firm — show workers some ways to push back.
TL;DR Briefing
In this extended briefing, “TL;DR” = “Totally Legit; Def. Read” because we review “The AI Con,” the spicy new book ready to rattle the broligarchy. Plus, the authors answer ESC KEY .CO’s questions about creative work — giving you something hot to talk about at your next power lunch, as ever. *Wink.*
World Wide Weird
When it comes to the art of judging people, who is more qualified than prolific photographer and Portland In Color founder Celeste Noche? It’s not a rhetorical question. We set the table in the midst of decisions, an austere creative economy and bad “AI” imagery, asking, “How is this still OK?!”
TL;DR Briefing
Your TL;DR Briefing on things worth tracking — and talking about over your next power lunch. *Wink.* This time the thing is workplace “AI” coercion and workers required to pretend the bosses’ wet dreams are true (even when they’re clearly not).
A Little Satire
Prompt engineering for writers! Tips on how to ensure your chatbot understands your very human voice! Plus, a bonus idea on how to use "Al" writing without anyone knowing so you can "quiet quit" your career and let this over-hyped tech take over your discipline! It's wildly helpful in 666 ways!
BTS @ ESC
This week the category is, reclaim your lunch! To mark ESC KEY .CO’s first Q1.3, we’re packaging nine crunchy-fresh ideas about our digital discontent into a big mental meal plan. But first, we present a monologue about the aspirational lunching lifestyle. It may be our most unhinged long-read yet.
TL;DR Briefing
Your TL;DR Briefing on things worth tracking — and talking about over your next power lunch. *Wink.* This time the thing is “The Right to Be Lazy,” a wildly timely 1883 book and the first selection for the new Public Domain Reading Club.