Rebooting the Silverman Content Farm

A new podcast, articles, interviews -- real stuff!

Hello. I’m going to be using Substack more to send out regular updates about my work and whatever else I’m up to. There might be the occasional essay or article here, but I don’t have plans for a paywall. I’m still trying to get paid the old-fashioned way, which, given the general trajectory of journalism as an industry, may be a mistake! I’ll forever be on Twitter and one day soon I’ll redo my website, but this is the new broadcast center.

Earlier this year, I worked with CBC to make “The Naked Emperor,” a four-episode limited series podcast about the veritiginous rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX, and his larger crypto empire. It’s hosted and co-written by me, with the real heavy-lifting done by producer Imogen Birchard and her team at CBC.

Three episodes have been released so far, with the final one due next Monday, April 3. It’s a tour through the Effective Altruist beginnings of Alameda to the blast crater of the FTX bankruptcy, and it’s for everyone — no crypto knowledge required. It was really fun to make (the first of more podcasts for me, hopefully).

You can listen to it here, or on the podcast platform of your choice.

I did a ton of interviews with Canadian media, so perhaps you heard me on The Current or on CBC radio in Yellowknife.

I’m continuing to report and write about FTX, crypto, politics, and whatever else seems interesting. Please feel free to reach out with tips or disputations. Contact info continues to be:

• Signal/WhatsApp: 1-310-713-2739

• jacobsilverman@gmail.com

In The New Republic, I wrote about Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who’s prosecuting SBF and other FTX executives, along with other major cases. This piece is online and in print.

In the Globe and Mail, I wrote about how the fall of Silicon Valley Bank is both a cultural and economic crisis for the tech industry. I expanded on what SVB means for the dysfunctional relationship between VCs and the broader public in a recent episode of Tech Won’t Save Us.

On CNBC, I talked about how a recent crypto rally is likely to be fleeting and reflects typical market manipulation, especially the printing of billions of dollars worth of stablecoins by offshore firms like Tether and TUSD (which is connected to Justin Sun, the target of new civil fraud charges from the SEC).

I was also thrilled to go on TrueAnon, where they allowed me to talk at generous length about SBF, FTX, Binance, CZ, the crypto cartel, and much more.