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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.*