Jacob Ward
@byjacobward.bsky.social
Journalist at TheRipCurrent.com covering AI, surveillance, disinformation, platforms, the whole shebang. My book "The Loop" about AI mania is out in paperback. Former NBC, Al Jazeera, CNN, PBS.
You WANT the surprise, believe me. #citylife #travel
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
November 11, 2025 at 3:37 PM
You WANT the surprise, believe me. #citylife #travel
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
The cultural allergy to AI’s effect on the brain - and the lawsuits that will follow - are the first steps in pushing back effectively. #ai #llm #chatgpt #claude #technology
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
November 11, 2025 at 6:37 AM
The cultural allergy to AI’s effect on the brain - and the lawsuits that will follow - are the first steps in pushing back effectively. #ai #llm #chatgpt #claude #technology
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
There’s an art and strategy to holding out effectively, and unfortunately doing it wrong and giving up early erases the value you’ve created up to that point. That’s what the Dems seem to have done here. #democrats #politics
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at
November 10, 2025 at 8:36 PM
There’s an art and strategy to holding out effectively, and unfortunately doing it wrong and giving up early erases the value you’ve created up to that point. That’s what the Dems seem to have done here. #democrats #politics
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at
Shutdown air travel tips! Don’t fly if you don’t have to, fly on a Wednesday or Saturday, and snack up HARD before you get on board. #airport #travel #shutdown #airplane
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
November 8, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Shutdown air travel tips! Don’t fly if you don’t have to, fly on a Wednesday or Saturday, and snack up HARD before you get on board. #airport #travel #shutdown #airplane
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
These are high-quality problems, I know. If you don’t surf feel free to keep scrolling. #surfing #surf #beach #beachvibes
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
November 8, 2025 at 5:36 AM
These are high-quality problems, I know. If you don’t surf feel free to keep scrolling. #surfing #surf #beach #beachvibes
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
The Djerassi art hike is an incredible and haunting experience. (And as my Mom pointed out “it should be a feminist pilgrimage site.”) 10/10 would recommend. #art #artist #nature #mentalhealthmatters
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
November 6, 2025 at 7:37 AM
The Djerassi art hike is an incredible and haunting experience. (And as my Mom pointed out “it should be a feminist pilgrimage site.”) 10/10 would recommend. #art #artist #nature #mentalhealthmatters
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
See you in Oakland at Mad Oak for Pub Scholar on Monday November 10th at 6:30pm. Get your tickets on Eventbrite. Hope to see you there!
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
November 5, 2025 at 12:36 AM
See you in Oakland at Mad Oak for Pub Scholar on Monday November 10th at 6:30pm. Get your tickets on Eventbrite. Hope to see you there!
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
How I spotted AI early and began writing The Loop: How AI is Creating a World without Choices and How to Fight Back, from a recent episode of Futures Podcast with Damiani. #ai #llm #tech #psychology
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
November 4, 2025 at 6:36 PM
How I spotted AI early and began writing The Loop: How AI is Creating a World without Choices and How to Fight Back, from a recent episode of Futures Podcast with Damiani. #ai #llm #tech #psychology
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
Subscribe to the podcast and newsletter for free at TheRipCurrent.com!
Am I addicted? Episode 8 of The Rip Current with Jacob Ward grapples with the big questions we all seem to have right now about our habits and our self control. (And I tell the story of my own twisted path away from alcohol.) Please listen, like and share wherever you get your podcasts!l
May 7, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Am I addicted? Episode 8 of The Rip Current with Jacob Ward grapples with the big questions we all seem to have right now about our habits and our self control. (And I tell the story of my own twisted path away from alcohol.) Please listen, like and share wherever you get your podcasts!l
Today I’m recording an episode of The Rip Current with Toomas Ilves, former president of Estonia, who helped turn it into one of the most technologically sophisticated democracies in the world. Taxes paid in two minutes on your phone. Voting done that way too. What questions do you have for him?
May 2, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Today I’m recording an episode of The Rip Current with Toomas Ilves, former president of Estonia, who helped turn it into one of the most technologically sophisticated democracies in the world. Taxes paid in two minutes on your phone. Voting done that way too. What questions do you have for him?
Democracy vs The Illusion of Democracy
April 27, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Democracy vs The Illusion of Democracy
@noupside.bsky.social on why the craziest folks get all the attention online, while reasonable voices and choices get ignored. Listen to the full episode of The Rip Current wherever you get your podcasts!
April 22, 2025 at 5:15 PM
@noupside.bsky.social on why the craziest folks get all the attention online, while reasonable voices and choices get ignored. Listen to the full episode of The Rip Current wherever you get your podcasts!
The relentless gaslighting you see everywhere in political discourse right now? It's called DARVO — Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender. It's a term coined by psychology professor Jennifer Freyd. Listen to my interview with her on The Rip Current, wherever you get your podcasts.
April 22, 2025 at 5:30 AM
The relentless gaslighting you see everywhere in political discourse right now? It's called DARVO — Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender. It's a term coined by psychology professor Jennifer Freyd. Listen to my interview with her on The Rip Current, wherever you get your podcasts.
We’re in the upside-down, where lying has no cost. How did we get here? @jjfreyd.bsky.social knows. Since the 90s she’s tracked the misbehavior of public figures and the ways that institutions betray us. Her work on DARVO changed my life.
Paid subscribers can watch at TheRipCurrent.com now!
Paid subscribers can watch at TheRipCurrent.com now!
March 26, 2025 at 4:46 PM
We’re in the upside-down, where lying has no cost. How did we get here? @jjfreyd.bsky.social knows. Since the 90s she’s tracked the misbehavior of public figures and the ways that institutions betray us. Her work on DARVO changed my life.
Paid subscribers can watch at TheRipCurrent.com now!
Paid subscribers can watch at TheRipCurrent.com now!
Tonight I won’t be just shouting at the television. For a change I’ll be shouting at my camera with Don Lemon @donlemonofficial.bsky.social as part of his post-speech coverage on YouTube. See you after Trump finishes, whenever that is!
youtube.com/@thedonlemon...
youtube.com/@thedonlemon...
March 5, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Tonight I won’t be just shouting at the television. For a change I’ll be shouting at my camera with Don Lemon @donlemonofficial.bsky.social as part of his post-speech coverage on YouTube. See you after Trump finishes, whenever that is!
youtube.com/@thedonlemon...
youtube.com/@thedonlemon...
Insiders at CFPB walked me through all the bad scams and schemes coming our way in a world without them protecting us, and it's pretty alarming. Even legit companies won't have enough reason to treat you fairly. Catch the whole thing on my YT channel, and subscribe at TheRipCurrent.com!
February 20, 2025 at 6:39 AM
Insiders at CFPB walked me through all the bad scams and schemes coming our way in a world without them protecting us, and it's pretty alarming. Even legit companies won't have enough reason to treat you fairly. Catch the whole thing on my YT channel, and subscribe at TheRipCurrent.com!
This week at The Rip Current I try to unpack the insidious shift from a dodging of responsibility for racism to an outright embracing of it. Here's how to spot it and call it out.
open.substack.com/pub/theripcu...
open.substack.com/pub/theripcu...
February 6, 2025 at 3:59 AM
This week at The Rip Current I try to unpack the insidious shift from a dodging of responsibility for racism to an outright embracing of it. Here's how to spot it and call it out.
open.substack.com/pub/theripcu...
open.substack.com/pub/theripcu...
Sometimes Substack really comes through.
January 26, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Sometimes Substack really comes through.
Billionaire rivalries, totally unregulated AI, and the ridiculous name they chose for a $500B project are all in the latest post at TheRipCurrent.com.
January 24, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Billionaire rivalries, totally unregulated AI, and the ridiculous name they chose for a $500B project are all in the latest post at TheRipCurrent.com.
I get into all sorts of meaningful analysis about Taiwan’s example and public-private partnerships and billionaire rivalries, but fuck it here’s the petty thing that occurred to me first. Read and subscribe at TheRipCurrent.com!
January 24, 2025 at 5:58 PM
I get into all sorts of meaningful analysis about Taiwan’s example and public-private partnerships and billionaire rivalries, but fuck it here’s the petty thing that occurred to me first. Read and subscribe at TheRipCurrent.com!
From avian flu to Chinese dominance of raw materials, Trump’s got his work cut out for him. The easy wins are already over. Read more at TheRipCurrent.com. #technology #science #china
January 22, 2025 at 5:30 AM
From avian flu to Chinese dominance of raw materials, Trump’s got his work cut out for him. The easy wins are already over. Read more at TheRipCurrent.com. #technology #science #china
TikTok’s ban screen just went live and specifically mentions Trump turning it around. This moment is a new kind of weird, and about to be new kinds of weirder.
January 19, 2025 at 4:24 AM
TikTok’s ban screen just went live and specifically mentions Trump turning it around. This moment is a new kind of weird, and about to be new kinds of weirder.
There it is. Anybody else?
January 19, 2025 at 1:59 AM
There it is. Anybody else?
I grew up the son of a doting stay-at-home Dad, and even I had to learn to rebalance who does what in our home. Here’s a holiday meditation on how men can and must make marriage better. open.substack.com/pub/theripcu...
December 20, 2024 at 5:55 PM
I grew up the son of a doting stay-at-home Dad, and even I had to learn to rebalance who does what in our home. Here’s a holiday meditation on how men can and must make marriage better. open.substack.com/pub/theripcu...