Sign the petition: JD Shadel launches campaign to convince JD Vance to change his name
It's for the good of JDs everywhere that today ESC KEY .CO, the only lifestyle newsletter on the internet, simply asks you to share your email address.
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Anti-hustle culture but can’t stop hustling? Paul Lafargue would like a word with you
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.
“The Right to Be Lazy” by Paul Lafargue: Read the 1883 polemic that pierces productivity porn
The inaugural selection in the Public Domain Reading Club: Marx's son-in-law's witty pamphlet on the paradox of technological advancement and automation: despite the promises otherwise, it never frees us from work. Presented in the original translation — once deemed too dangerous for U.S. mail.
How do you walk away from a dream? This ex-Spotify producer, ex-restaurateur finds out (again)
In 2021, Tiara Darnell, a producer at Spotify, relocated to Mexico City. She soon opened its first Black soul food restaurant, the diaspora-connecting and now-closed Blaxicocina. We set the table at this intersection, discussing everything from “overnomadism” to burnout and finding new purpose.
The state of nightlife: No-phone clubs? Brand mascots in the DJ booth? Who can afford to resist?!
The British nightlife trade group recently announced all the clubs could close by 2030 without urgent action. ESC KEY .CO speaks with longtime music journalist and cultural insights agency founder Andy Crysell about his new book, “Selling the Night,” and the big forces reshaping club culture today.