Welcome to Dystopia, Inc.
Where Corporate Horror Meets Corporate Disclosure
Remember when we thought cyberpunk was fiction?
I do. I spent years writing about monsters, magic, and mayhem. Dragons burning down cities. Vampires stalking the streets. Ancient evils awakening from millennium-long slumbers.
But somewhere along the way, I noticed something: the real monsters weren't hiding in ancient tombs or dark alleys. They were filing quarterly earnings reports.
Welcome to Dystopia, Inc. – a newsletter about how corporations are reshaping our world in ways that would make science fiction writers blush.
You might know me from my fantasy novels. (If you don't, hello! I'm J.A. Cipriano, and I've written a few New York Times bestsellers about things that go bump in the night.) But today, I'm writing about something scarier than any supernatural threat: the quiet corporate takeover of human civilization.
What is this?
Dystopia, Inc. is a weekly dispatch from the frontier where corporate power meets human reality. Each week, we'll examine how companies are reshaping our world, usually without us noticing until it's too late. Think of it as cyberpunk journalism, minus the neon and plus a lot more SEC filings.
What to Expect
Deep dives into how corporations are quietly changing the rules of society
Analysis of tech regulation, antitrust, and corporate power that doesn't put you to sleep (I hope)
Regular doses of dark humor because sometimes you have to laugh to keep from screaming
Plenty about how AI is being used to generate corporate profits
No corporate sponsorship (seems a bit contradictory, doesn't it?) (I also haven’t been approached. I can be bought.)
Why Subscribe?
Because somewhere between the quarterly earnings calls and the regulatory filings, between the press releases and the patent applications, the future is being written. And it's starting to look less like Star Trek and more like Blade Runner.
If you're tired of reading tech coverage that feels like it was written by PR firms, financial analysis that ignores the human cost, or corporate criticism that's all rage and no insight, this newsletter is for you.
The Plan
Free subscribers get:
Weekly analysis of corporate shenanigans
Regular updates on the slow-motion apocalypse
The occasional existential crisis
Paid subscribers get:
Additional deep dives into specific companies and industries
Behind-the-scenes looks at corporate power plays
Monthly "What I'm Reading" lists for fellow corporate dystopia enthusiasts
The satisfaction of supporting independent journalism about our corporate overlords
Comment section access (where we can all commiserate about the state of things)
Why Now?
Because while we've been arguing about whether AI will take our jobs, corporations have been quietly rewriting the rules of human society. While we've been debating the future of democracy, private companies have been building their own governance systems. While we've been worried about science fiction scenarios, we've missed the corporate fiction becoming our reality.
A Personal Note
I've spent years writing about fictional monsters. But the more I looked at our world, the more I realized that the real monsters don't hide under beds or in shadows. They hide in plain sight, behind terms of service agreements and corporate charters.
This newsletter is my attempt to chronicle their activities, explain their methods, and maybe, just maybe, help us figure out how to fight back.
Or at least help us understand what we're up against.
Welcome to Dystopia, Inc. The corporate apocalypse will be monetized.
Let's watch it burn together.
J.A. Cipriano
NYT Bestselling Author
Chief Dystopia Correspondent
P.S. To celebrate this launch, founding members get 20% off the annual subscription price. Because even in the apocalypse, we love a good deal.
P.P.S. If you're wondering why a fantasy author is writing about corporate power... well, let's just say that after years of writing about dragons hoarding gold, modern corporations started looking eerily familiar.