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.
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 how making a whole bunch of people feel like you “get” each other is inarguably the key to success and fatigue online.
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 cognitive dissonance in fashion around “AI.” It won’t stop the climate crisis but it might take your photographer pal's next gig.
World Wide Weird
What are red flags for spotting the spin? Award-winning investigative reporter and co-creator of the Pulitzer Center’s AI Spotlight Series, Karen Hao reveals a simple framework for readers who want to embrace skeptical curiosity and hit, well, the ESC key on the hype.
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 tens of thousands of words of reporting and research we read so, well, you don’t have to.
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 a year-long study into the design principles behind trans tech, from the researcher who more or less defined the field.
World Wide Weird
Or, at least, the best of ’em do. Oliver Haimson’s new book, “Trans Technologies” from MIT Press, boldly asks what tech could look like reimagined as a tool of liberation. He sat down with ESC KEY .CO for a (very long) chat to reveal a (very timely) bit of the answer.
World Wide Weird
A weird revolution is making group travel arguably “cool,” as content creators turn algorithmically curated audiences into IRL travel companions. These digital collectives show us the shifting paradigms — and income disparity prevalent — across the fragmenting social web.
BTS @ ESC
Each week, we deliver your TL;DR Briefing on the things worth tracking. This week we’re not doing that. Instead, we’re diving into the “why” behind the soft launch of ESC KEY .CO and the 32,140 words we’ve published so far. (But we are following the TL;DR template because we couldn't be bothered.)
The Hype Ball
Download Grindr and you might get the clap. But this promised “AI wingman” certainly won’t give you rizz. In this Hype Ball column, we judge the dystopian drag of modern dating. And whatever your sexuality or lack thereof, you’re screwed.
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 systematic erasure of public knowledge and the archivists fighting our slide into digital darkness.
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 recent surge in popularity for Bluesky, the darling du jour of the “decentralized” social web.
World Wide Weird
The Xodous. The TikTok ban. The leftist netizens’ search for bluer skies on the “fediverse.” What’s the sanest way to approach this brave social world? Katherine Cross has the answer in her lucid first book, aptly titled “Log Off.”