Unlocked Sunday Long Reads: SBF's Stanford Parent Experiment, and More

Also: Subscribe, don't "Follow"

Hello and happy Sunday. My spouse is days away from a big trip, so I’m committed to major family time this weekend. After that will be my first extended stretch of time entirely alone for close to eight years - a prospect I face with a mix of glee and terror. Either way, I’m sure it will all translate into a uniquely obsessive outpouring in these pages soon.

In the meantime, for this edition, I’ve unlocked two large pieces from recent months so that free subscribers can enjoy them. I’m going to do this a bit more often now that the archive has gotten increasingly rich.

Subscribe, Don’t “Follow”

First, I want to highlight an emerging issue with Substack (which I know has its share). I’m getting a good amount of “followers” on here, which I definitely appreciate!

But unfortunately, the “follow” feature on Substack is bad for writers. This is because you are only following me on the Substack app or website - your email is not added to my mailing list. The Wrap has a good rundown of the issues here.

In short, Substack “follows” erode one of the main reasons Substack is good - that it gives writers control over their connections. The ‘follow’ feature instead gives Substack control over my connection with you as a member of my audience. If I transition to another platform from Substack (which I might) I will have no way to make sure you keep receiving newsletters via the new service.

There are darker things to discuss here - it’s all part of Substack’s broader quest to become more of a social media site. But for now, if you’re enjoying Dark Markets, please be sure you’ve subscribed, rather than just following.

It makes a real difference.

Do Kwon, Philosopher

As a first dive into the archives, I want to highlight an older post that many of you may have missed. It was always free, because it was published before I started monetizing and promoting this newsletter - nearly two years ago.

Given the recent fraud judgment against Terraform Labs, it’s a good time to think about Do Kwon and his Rube Goldberg fake dollars. This essay puts them in the context of the larger economic transition away from productive activity, and towards the deployment of pure symbols.

I’m also unlocking one of my most popular posts, again from before a lot of current subscribers were on board - last October. Among other points, it discusses the major role Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents played in selecting Cohen and Everdell as a defense team, and seemingly, in guiding their strategy.

It’s also an early attempt to dig into how Sam Bankman-Fried’s upbringing shaped his ethics (or lack thereof).

Finally, I’ve also unlocked a more recent piece which summarized Federal prosecutors’ charging statements, including samples of victims’ statements, and five specific moments with Bankman-Fried knowingly chose to commit a crime.

Your subscription means a lot.

Enjoy these unlocks. These posts are made possible by premium subscribers, who get a major new post most Sundays. Until recently, these have been rough drafts of my Sam Bankman-Fried book, but we’re on the verge of going much broader. I’m still working to build a sustainable platform for my work following my departure from CoinDesk last year, so these subscriptions are truly important right now.

Most recently, premium subscribers got a deep dive into Toby Ord’s The Precipice, an ideological pillar of the Effective Altruist Movement that helped create Sam Bankman-Fried. Like most EA material, the book seems harmless at first glance, but contains some very scary, deeply authoritarian ideas just under the surface.

Premium subscribers also get bonus segments for episodes of the Dark Markets podcast. Last week we dropped my conversation with Pulitzer- and Emmy-winning journalist Dexter Thomas, and premium subscribers got to hear more details about the decline and fall of Vice News, where Dexter was a presenter for close to five years.

If you can’t swing a premium subscription right now, I definitely understand. If you feel so inclined, you can tell your friends and spread the word - that’s also very, very appreciated.

Thank you all very, very much.

-David