JD Shadel
@jdshadel.com
💌 Join the only lifestyle newsletter on the internet ;-) www.esckey.co
Chief Editorial Officer at new media outlet ESC KEY .CO — also the only employee
Work in Condé Nast Traveler (ex-Future of Travel columnist), WaPo, Them, BBC, Vice, more
They/etc
Chief Editorial Officer at new media outlet ESC KEY .CO — also the only employee
Work in Condé Nast Traveler (ex-Future of Travel columnist), WaPo, Them, BBC, Vice, more
They/etc
Pinned
JD Shadel
@jdshadel.com
· May 19
Do you believe in hope after “AI” hype? Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna make the case
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 abo...
www.esckey.co
“If they couldn’t be bothered to write this, why should we be bothered to read it?” ‼️
In their cathartic, broligarchy-rattling new book, “The AI Con,” @emilymbender.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social are handing out needles so you, too, can burst the hype bubble.
www.esckey.co/do-you-belie...
In their cathartic, broligarchy-rattling new book, “The AI Con,” @emilymbender.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social are handing out needles so you, too, can burst the hype bubble.
www.esckey.co/do-you-belie...
Reposted by JD Shadel
Online's been so sad and boring lately OH MY GOD
November 18, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Online's been so sad and boring lately OH MY GOD
Reposted by JD Shadel
"But for people who have a drive to be working writers, they will succeed in large part based on their metabolism for change, for evolution, for reinvention." - @jdshadel.com
www.esckey.co/the-death-of...
www.esckey.co/the-death-of...
RIP freelance journalism: Candid advice to the young writers the world needs to read
Every year, freelance journalism pays less. A typical gig today pays 80% less than the same assignment in 2001. It is no longer a sustainable career. It is, more often, a side-hustle, or the domain of...
www.esckey.co
November 17, 2025 at 1:50 AM
"But for people who have a drive to be working writers, they will succeed in large part based on their metabolism for change, for evolution, for reinvention." - @jdshadel.com
www.esckey.co/the-death-of...
www.esckey.co/the-death-of...
Reposted by JD Shadel
I feel ike this is a law of physics: things don't get easier.
But we're at a point in time where we have to show up anyway to do the things we yap on about, and do what we believe in, despire...
"we have an opportunity to build a different kind of writing career"
www.esckey.co/the-death-of...
But we're at a point in time where we have to show up anyway to do the things we yap on about, and do what we believe in, despire...
"we have an opportunity to build a different kind of writing career"
www.esckey.co/the-death-of...
November 17, 2025 at 1:44 AM
I feel ike this is a law of physics: things don't get easier.
But we're at a point in time where we have to show up anyway to do the things we yap on about, and do what we believe in, despire...
"we have an opportunity to build a different kind of writing career"
www.esckey.co/the-death-of...
But we're at a point in time where we have to show up anyway to do the things we yap on about, and do what we believe in, despire...
"we have an opportunity to build a different kind of writing career"
www.esckey.co/the-death-of...
Reposted by JD Shadel
Can we please stop using the phrase "the advent of LLMs"? They are not something that arrived on the scene of their own accord and the religious connotations are also extremely icky.
November 17, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Can we please stop using the phrase "the advent of LLMs"? They are not something that arrived on the scene of their own accord and the religious connotations are also extremely icky.
You’re mildly dyslexic despite having previously worked as a copyeditor (imagine that). You spend four hours reading and rereading a newsletter before you mail it. You make one edit in the 60 seconds before sending. That edit is actually the insertion of the typo. 💀
November 16, 2025 at 10:35 PM
You’re mildly dyslexic despite having previously worked as a copyeditor (imagine that). You spend four hours reading and rereading a newsletter before you mail it. You make one edit in the 60 seconds before sending. That edit is actually the insertion of the typo. 💀
I commented “👃❄️🤡” on a LinkedInfluencer’s post promoting ways to “humanize” synthetic text drivel (comment yada yada for the link), and anyway he blocked me.
November 16, 2025 at 7:36 PM
I commented “👃❄️🤡” on a LinkedInfluencer’s post promoting ways to “humanize” synthetic text drivel (comment yada yada for the link), and anyway he blocked me.
“Is it okay if our poems have orgies in our dreams so they can feel alive? I will say yes, it’s fine; it is glorious! Let them figure it out their way.” —CAConrad in “Listen to the Golden Boomerang Return”
November 15, 2025 at 4:13 PM
“Is it okay if our poems have orgies in our dreams so they can feel alive? I will say yes, it’s fine; it is glorious! Let them figure it out their way.” —CAConrad in “Listen to the Golden Boomerang Return”
Reposted by JD Shadel
Stop the fashion slop: Fake “AI” campaigns destroy creative work -
“The real motivation seems crystal clear: avoiding paying humans.” | JD Shadel for anxiety.eco
www.anxiety.eco/p/stop-the-a...
“The real motivation seems crystal clear: avoiding paying humans.” | JD Shadel for anxiety.eco
www.anxiety.eco/p/stop-the-a...
Stop the fashion slop: Fake “AI” campaigns destroy creative work. Greenwashing makes it worse.
No, replacing creatives with “AI” generated slop is not a climate solution. It obviously does not “increase diversity.” But that’s exactly what brands from Benetton to Levi’s are claiming. The real mo...
www.anxiety.eco
November 15, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Stop the fashion slop: Fake “AI” campaigns destroy creative work -
“The real motivation seems crystal clear: avoiding paying humans.” | JD Shadel for anxiety.eco
www.anxiety.eco/p/stop-the-a...
“The real motivation seems crystal clear: avoiding paying humans.” | JD Shadel for anxiety.eco
www.anxiety.eco/p/stop-the-a...
If a brand only shows fake clothes on fake people, then there’s a good chance their clothes are only fit for fake people and worth Monopoly money.
Today on anxiety.eco: “Stop the fashion slop: Fake “AI” campaigns destroy creative work. Greenwashing makes it worse.”
www.anxiety.eco/p/stop-the-a...
Today on anxiety.eco: “Stop the fashion slop: Fake “AI” campaigns destroy creative work. Greenwashing makes it worse.”
www.anxiety.eco/p/stop-the-a...
Stop the fashion slop: Fake “AI” campaigns destroy creative work. Greenwashing makes it worse.
No, replacing creatives with “AI” generated slop is not a climate solution. It obviously does not “increase diversity.” But that’s exactly what brands from Benetton to Levi’s are claiming. The real mo...
www.anxiety.eco
November 15, 2025 at 2:04 PM
If a brand only shows fake clothes on fake people, then there’s a good chance their clothes are only fit for fake people and worth Monopoly money.
Today on anxiety.eco: “Stop the fashion slop: Fake “AI” campaigns destroy creative work. Greenwashing makes it worse.”
www.anxiety.eco/p/stop-the-a...
Today on anxiety.eco: “Stop the fashion slop: Fake “AI” campaigns destroy creative work. Greenwashing makes it worse.”
www.anxiety.eco/p/stop-the-a...
Reposted by JD Shadel
In the past, the tech religions were satirical. Now they’re just fooling people into believing the tech really is God to prey on them.
November 15, 2025 at 1:49 PM
In the past, the tech religions were satirical. Now they’re just fooling people into believing the tech really is God to prey on them.
Reposted by JD Shadel
When self-professed defenders of workers’ rights turn to chatbots for “research”, we’ve got a problem.
Join us for the next Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 live stream, in which @alexhanna.bsky.social & I investigate some recent disappointments in labor research w/ Sophie Song:
Mon, Nov 17, noon PT,
Join us for the next Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 live stream, in which @alexhanna.bsky.social & I investigate some recent disappointments in labor research w/ Sophie Song:
Mon, Nov 17, noon PT,
dair_institute - Twitch
Twitch account for The Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR).
twitch.tv
November 14, 2025 at 8:01 PM
When self-professed defenders of workers’ rights turn to chatbots for “research”, we’ve got a problem.
Join us for the next Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 live stream, in which @alexhanna.bsky.social & I investigate some recent disappointments in labor research w/ Sophie Song:
Mon, Nov 17, noon PT,
Join us for the next Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 live stream, in which @alexhanna.bsky.social & I investigate some recent disappointments in labor research w/ Sophie Song:
Mon, Nov 17, noon PT,
Reposted by JD Shadel
New on the Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 newsletter: @deccamuldowney.bsky.social and I write about OpenAI's transparent attempt to shift accountability.
buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch...
buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch...
OpenAI Tries to Shift Responsibility to Users
OpenAI is trying to shift the blame for bad legal and medical advice from its chatbot away from the company and onto users. We agree that no chatbot should be used for medical or legal advice.
buttondown.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:32 PM
New on the Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 newsletter: @deccamuldowney.bsky.social and I write about OpenAI's transparent attempt to shift accountability.
buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch...
buttondown.com/maiht3k/arch...
Reposted by JD Shadel
There's something really funny about a graphic that just reads "GREW UP PRIVILEGED"
November 12, 2025 at 11:47 PM
There's something really funny about a graphic that just reads "GREW UP PRIVILEGED"
I'm so proud of what we're building with anxiety.eco, the first worker-owned fashion publication of its kind.
And we have a speciual issue dropping to mark our soft-launch this Saturday, which I'm certain will, let's say, ✨ spark conversations ✨
Subscribe to be the first to get it! Share if u cool
And we have a speciual issue dropping to mark our soft-launch this Saturday, which I'm certain will, let's say, ✨ spark conversations ✨
Subscribe to be the first to get it! Share if u cool
anxiety.eco
anxiety.eco is the first worker-owned media outlet covering fashion through the lens of, well, reality on Earth. Go behind the seams weekly with JD Shadel and Amy Miles, editors at Good On You.
www.anxiety.eco
November 12, 2025 at 6:49 PM
I'm so proud of what we're building with anxiety.eco, the first worker-owned fashion publication of its kind.
And we have a speciual issue dropping to mark our soft-launch this Saturday, which I'm certain will, let's say, ✨ spark conversations ✨
Subscribe to be the first to get it! Share if u cool
And we have a speciual issue dropping to mark our soft-launch this Saturday, which I'm certain will, let's say, ✨ spark conversations ✨
Subscribe to be the first to get it! Share if u cool
Reposted by JD Shadel
in Paris, I had to see a same-day doctor & I found one. was gravely warned that, as a foreigner, I’d have to pay 32 euros & I laughed & laughed
a friend there said “make sure you get X kind of doctor, not Y, because the Y kind charges 74 WHOLE EUROS” & once again I bitterly, bitterly laughed 😭
a friend there said “make sure you get X kind of doctor, not Y, because the Y kind charges 74 WHOLE EUROS” & once again I bitterly, bitterly laughed 😭
My ACA current plan is going from $385/mo to $821/mo.
November 12, 2025 at 12:48 AM
in Paris, I had to see a same-day doctor & I found one. was gravely warned that, as a foreigner, I’d have to pay 32 euros & I laughed & laughed
a friend there said “make sure you get X kind of doctor, not Y, because the Y kind charges 74 WHOLE EUROS” & once again I bitterly, bitterly laughed 😭
a friend there said “make sure you get X kind of doctor, not Y, because the Y kind charges 74 WHOLE EUROS” & once again I bitterly, bitterly laughed 😭
Reposted by JD Shadel
when you wear a size 9.5 shoe but the 8.5 was on sale
November 11, 2025 at 9:54 PM
when you wear a size 9.5 shoe but the 8.5 was on sale
The three sluttiest things you can safely tell a stranger:
1. You’re so funny hahaha 🫦
2. You smell good. What fragrance are you wearing? *leans in to smell you like Sheryl Sandberg*
3. My favorite Anne Carson book is “The Beauty of the Husband.” [instantly follows you to the dark room]
1. You’re so funny hahaha 🫦
2. You smell good. What fragrance are you wearing? *leans in to smell you like Sheryl Sandberg*
3. My favorite Anne Carson book is “The Beauty of the Husband.” [instantly follows you to the dark room]
November 11, 2025 at 11:02 PM
The three sluttiest things you can safely tell a stranger:
1. You’re so funny hahaha 🫦
2. You smell good. What fragrance are you wearing? *leans in to smell you like Sheryl Sandberg*
3. My favorite Anne Carson book is “The Beauty of the Husband.” [instantly follows you to the dark room]
1. You’re so funny hahaha 🫦
2. You smell good. What fragrance are you wearing? *leans in to smell you like Sheryl Sandberg*
3. My favorite Anne Carson book is “The Beauty of the Husband.” [instantly follows you to the dark room]
I do sometimes wonder how effective The Guardian’s membership messaging is …
Because, my dude, have a little more self confidence?!
Excite me!
Give me a reason to rally around you!
Like, I’m sorry, am I supposed to feel sorry for your copywriter?
Because, my dude, have a little more self confidence?!
Excite me!
Give me a reason to rally around you!
Like, I’m sorry, am I supposed to feel sorry for your copywriter?
November 11, 2025 at 10:41 PM
I do sometimes wonder how effective The Guardian’s membership messaging is …
Because, my dude, have a little more self confidence?!
Excite me!
Give me a reason to rally around you!
Like, I’m sorry, am I supposed to feel sorry for your copywriter?
Because, my dude, have a little more self confidence?!
Excite me!
Give me a reason to rally around you!
Like, I’m sorry, am I supposed to feel sorry for your copywriter?
Reposted by JD Shadel
There’s a flood of (well meaning!) influencers doing splashy shopping trips for pantries and I recall what an abortion provider said: orgs need money, but donors give only what they want to, not necessarily what’s needed. Hence the offers for a couch to crash on post-abortion and not $ for a hotel.
spoke with the executive director of my local food bank today and got this really incredible line: "if you donate 1 can of green beans, we can give away 1 can of green beans. but if you donate a dollar, we can give away 6 cans of green beans"
November 11, 2025 at 9:40 PM
There’s a flood of (well meaning!) influencers doing splashy shopping trips for pantries and I recall what an abortion provider said: orgs need money, but donors give only what they want to, not necessarily what’s needed. Hence the offers for a couch to crash on post-abortion and not $ for a hotel.
is being a non-binary bisexual insufferable and ... confusing??? DO I HAVE A RIGHT TO BE INSUFFERABLE AND CONFUSING??? ummmm, darling, shut up and flirt with me omfg
November 11, 2025 at 7:34 PM
is being a non-binary bisexual insufferable and ... confusing??? DO I HAVE A RIGHT TO BE INSUFFERABLE AND CONFUSING??? ummmm, darling, shut up and flirt with me omfg
Reposted by JD Shadel
Those white residents of South Africa that Trump is trying to paint as victims?
Have this to say: "Singling us out as victims of multiracialism alienates us from our fellow South Africans and harms relationships that have been fostered over the past 30 years."
Have this to say: "Singling us out as victims of multiracialism alienates us from our fellow South Africans and harms relationships that have been fostered over the past 30 years."
Prominent Afrikaners refuse to be 'pawns,' and hit back at Trump's claims about South Africa
Prominent Afrikaners are pushing back after President Trump announced no U.S. officials will attend the G20 in Johannesburg, rejecting his claims of "white persecution" in South Africa as false.
www.npr.org
November 11, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Those white residents of South Africa that Trump is trying to paint as victims?
Have this to say: "Singling us out as victims of multiracialism alienates us from our fellow South Africans and harms relationships that have been fostered over the past 30 years."
Have this to say: "Singling us out as victims of multiracialism alienates us from our fellow South Africans and harms relationships that have been fostered over the past 30 years."
Reposted by JD Shadel
New from 404 Media: people are 3D-printing whistles to warn each other about the presence of ICE. Some people make designs and upload them; others are given a design and are printing hundreds and hundreds of whistles at home. It's been effective in Chicago
www.404media.co/the-latest-d...
www.404media.co/the-latest-d...
The Latest Defense Against ICE: 3D-Printed Whistles
Chicagoans are making, sharing, and printing designs for whistles that can warn people when ICE is in the area. The goal is to “prevent as many people from being kidnapped as possible.”
www.404media.co
November 11, 2025 at 1:56 PM
New from 404 Media: people are 3D-printing whistles to warn each other about the presence of ICE. Some people make designs and upload them; others are given a design and are printing hundreds and hundreds of whistles at home. It's been effective in Chicago
www.404media.co/the-latest-d...
www.404media.co/the-latest-d...
i enjoyed a delicious serving of exposure for lunch, and paid my landlord with record page views
should freelance writers get paid more than minimum wage?
it's a wild question, i know, but a lot of people seem to think it's OK that freelancer's rates have FALLEN every year
and when indie pubs try to pay even average rates, y'all complain about paywalls, which tells me your answer is "no!"
it's a wild question, i know, but a lot of people seem to think it's OK that freelancer's rates have FALLEN every year
and when indie pubs try to pay even average rates, y'all complain about paywalls, which tells me your answer is "no!"
November 11, 2025 at 6:30 PM
i enjoyed a delicious serving of exposure for lunch, and paid my landlord with record page views
should freelance writers get paid more than minimum wage?
it's a wild question, i know, but a lot of people seem to think it's OK that freelancer's rates have FALLEN every year
and when indie pubs try to pay even average rates, y'all complain about paywalls, which tells me your answer is "no!"
it's a wild question, i know, but a lot of people seem to think it's OK that freelancer's rates have FALLEN every year
and when indie pubs try to pay even average rates, y'all complain about paywalls, which tells me your answer is "no!"
November 11, 2025 at 6:26 PM
should freelance writers get paid more than minimum wage?
it's a wild question, i know, but a lot of people seem to think it's OK that freelancer's rates have FALLEN every year
and when indie pubs try to pay even average rates, y'all complain about paywalls, which tells me your answer is "no!"
it's a wild question, i know, but a lot of people seem to think it's OK that freelancer's rates have FALLEN every year
and when indie pubs try to pay even average rates, y'all complain about paywalls, which tells me your answer is "no!"