Escape the Technocracy

Ten clips from ten episodes of the podcast: the best of 2022.

Episode Links (in chronological order) → Episode 29 – Childhood's End and Surveillance → Episode 33 – Seth for Privacy: The Case for Monero and Digital Privacy → Episode 19 – Mikkel Thorup: Privacy and Internationalisation → Episode 23 – Lubomir Arsov: Finding the Private Self → Episode 34 – Edward Snowden's Permanent Record → Episode 41 – Rough Living: Learning Privacy from Homelessness → Episode 39 – Uncomfortable Truths about the VPN Industry with Viktor Vecsei → Episode 46 – Jayant Bhandari: The Reality of the Third World → Episode 36 – When Privacy Fails: Jon Fitch on Self-Defense → Episode 21 – Michael Snyder on Economic Collapse

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Gabriel Custodiet speaks with contrarian cultural thinker Jayant Bhandari. Bhandari views politics as subsidiary to culture, and thus culture as the first principle from which to begin one's analysis. He explains the rarely-acknowledged unchanging depravities of the Third World which are leading it toward collapse: all stemming from a lack of reason and thus moral consciousness. Bhandari also gives his thoughts on a variety of other matters, such as the 2016 Indian banknote demonetisation, the prevalence of Indian scammers, and how to cultivate fearlessness as a speaker.

Guest Links → https://jayantbhandari.com → https://twitter.com/JayantBhandari5 → https://www.youtube.com/@CapitalismAndMorality

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Timeline

0:00 – Beginning 1:32 – What is the truth of the "Third World"? 7:37 – India has no concept of reason, trust, and moral consciousness 13:05 – Depravity, not spirituality, in India 18:51 – Are you proud of Indian-heritage UK prime minister? 22:59 – Prevalence of Indian-heritage CEOs in Western companies 25:59 – Views on Indian scam industry; moral consciousness in India 34:59 – Self-flagellation of the West and the problem with apologizing 40:59 – Is privacy a Western value? 43:12 – How to see the authentic view of a country 47:31 – Is it unwise to pick South America as home for next decade? 52:02 – The 2016 Indian Banknote Demonetisation 58:02 – China taking over Africa? 1:01:02 – Rapid fire questions 1:02:02 – How to cultivate fearlessness 1:05:12 – Jayant's experience with Cancel Culture 1:08:22 – Final thoughts

Gabriel Custodiet talks to Aaron Zar, founder of SLNT signal-blocking pouches. They discuss the origin and definition of Faraday bags, their uses for privacy seekers, and some of the ins-and-outs of the industry. A (good) Faraday bag is a covering that blocks most signals—GPS, cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, RFID, EMP, EMF—and thus allows its user to have situational privacy.

Guest Links → https://slnt.com → https://twitter.com/goslnt → https://slnt.com/pages/faq → https://slnt.com/pages/slnt-testing

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Gabriel Custodiet talks to the creator of MyDataRemoval.com about people search websites and other data brokers. These are websites that collect, buy, and otherwise acquire the ample data that we expose on a daily basis: from social media posts to public housing records to mobile phone behavior. This episode covers all of the basics about these websites, including where they get their data, how they operate, and how to remove oneself from them. This is a definitive introduction to one of the biggest but least examined privacy dangers that we face today.

Guest Links → https://www.mydataremoval.com → https://www.mydataremoval.com/blog

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Timeline

0:00 – Beginning 2:01 – Where do they get their data? 4:51 – How does website "scraping" work? 6:19 – The three types of data brokers 9:00 – How is all of this legal? 10:23 – Disturbing personal data on websites 13:02 – Dangers of having information on people search sites 17:50 – How many people search websites are there? 18:30 – What are their motivations? 20:13 – Are these sites primarily targeting Americans? 20:48 – Getting off of call lists and mailing lists 21:48 – Other insight into data brokers 23:48 – How can we prevent future data exposure? 25:42 – Particularly offensive companies 26:12 – Solutions for VPN blocks 26:57 – Should we opt out ourselves? 31:36 – Details of MyDataRemoval.com 33:50 – Pricing and plans 36:52 – What information does MyDataRemoval ask for? 39:20 – Do people search websites truly opt you out? 41:20 – How does MyDataRemoval protect customer data? 43:03 – Background of the founder 44:49 – James' cybersecurity and privacy advice

Gabriel Custodiet speaks with Max Hillebrand about the philosophy behind Bitcoin, as well as proper techniques for using it as it was intended. Along the way they discuss Monero, Max's appreciation for German economist-philosopher Ludwig von Mises, and Max's interest in Qubes OS. This conversation at times gets into the depths of Bitcoin, tackling the nature of UTXOs, Bitcoin taint, coin control, privacy holes in the Lightning Network, crossing borders with Bitcoin, and the Wasabi Wallet controversy.

Guest Links → https://twitter.com/HillebrandMax → https://towardsliberty.com (Max's website) → https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters → https://bitcoinaudible.com

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Timeline

0:00 – Beginning 7:27 – Why not use Monero? 10:14 – Underlying world view of Max Hillebrand 13:22 – How does Bitcoin solve the world's problems? 16:03 – Naming the enemies of Bitcoin privacy 24:03 – Erasing Bitcoin taint 27:59 – What is a UTXO? 31:20 – How confident can we be in CoinJoin? 37:44 – How to accumulate large amounts of Bitcoin privately 41:57 – Lighting Network for privacy? 45:21 – Rapid fire digital privacy tools 52:04 – Max's favorite Bitcoin resources 52:50 – Crossing borders with Bitcoin 56:46 – Wasabi Wallet controversy response by Max Hillebrand 1:04:39 – Gabriel thoughts on "aiding evil people with privacy" 1:11:17 – Final thoughts

Gabriel Custodiet speaks with Dallas, the creator of the privacy-focused South Dakota virtual mailbox service PrivacyPost.io. They discuss the benefits of virtual mailboxes and the process of South Dakota nomad residency. Becoming an international nomad or even a nomad within the USA is possible for most people, and can provide privacy and security benefits as well as tax and freedom benefits. Dallas, who has been aware of South Dakota's desirable program for nearly a decade, is the perfect guide in this episode.

Links → https://privacypost.io → https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-party_doctrine

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Timeline

0:00 – Beginning 1:35 – Basic privacy benefits of virtual addresses 4:20 – Other benefits of virtual mailboxes 8:13 – Nomad residency in the USA (South Dakota) 13:45 – What data do we give out to have a virtual mailbox? 16:15 – Using PrivacyPost.io as an address for South Dakota residency 18:00 – South Dakota for trusts and LLCs 26:04 – Longevity of South Dakota nomad residency (in wake of Pandora Papers) 30:45 – How to avoid getting claimed by other states 35:40 – How does PrivacyPost.io differentiate itself from other services? 43:13 – How does PrivacyPost.io scan and send client mail? 44:40 – Running a business with privacy as a core value 51:15 – Other services PrivacyPost.io offers 57:27 – What are we required to provide to Privacy Post to use service? 1:06:50 – Car insurance as a South Dakota nomad 1:13:05 – Other details about PrivacyPost.io 1:17:40 – Who is Dallas? 1:21:30 – How Dallas avoids credit; consequences of no credit score 1:26:40 – Portugal residency 1:29:46 – Will PrivacyPost.io be around in 5-10 years? 1:32:02 – Final thoughts

Gabriel Custodiet speaks with CD, who wrote his book 'Rough Living' about choosing to be homeless for multiple years. They discuss how to blend in in public, how to purchase and use cars privately, where to sleep without attracting attention, and how to acquire one's necessities without swiping a credit card and without stealing. There is much to learn about privacy from homelessness.

Links → https://twitter.com/vagobond → Rough Living: An Urban Survival Manual: https://ia601302.us.archive.org/19/items/militia_training_book_collection/Rough_Living.pdf → Rough Living: Tips and Tales of a Vagabond: https://www.vagobond.com/RoughLiving2003.pdf → https://vagobond.com (Current website) → https://vagobond.cent.co → http://chrisdamitio.com (background on CD)

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Timeline

0:00 – Beginning 5:44 – Why did you choose to be homeless? 8:04 – How did you escape the rate race? 11:14 – Proper ID most essential piece of homeless equipment 12:12 – Where to park overnight 17:43 – How did you get food? 22:27 – Best places in USA to be homeless 27:01 – Dumpster diving basic strategies 29:00 – Homeless shelters an option? 30:02 – Homeless campsites 33:22 – How to blend in in public 35:22 – Private car transaction and 'registration' 37:42 – Regularly hiring cash jobs 39:15 – Trouble getting back on the grid 43:02 – Being homeless in 2022 vs 2010 46:38 – Final thoughts

Gabriel Custodiet speaks with Don Jeffries, a historian and investigator who does not shy away from looking into conspiracies and challenging the dominant interpretations of world events. They discuss disturbing little known facts about America's past: from the Constitution to the twentieth century.

Links → https://twitter.com/DonJeffries → https://www.donaldjeffries.media → https://www.amazon.com/Donald-Jeffries/e/B004T6NFAS → https://www.rokfin.com/americaunplugged

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Timeline

0:00 – Beginning 4:23 – Why is it so important to study history? 10:04 – Was the American Constitution a good thing for privacy and decentralization? 14:21 – Abraham Lincoln role in centralization: the first American dictator? 22:09 – A pivotal period: 1900-1920 26:38 – Woodrow Wilson: government as mother and father 33:09 – Why do Court Historians exist? 40:50 – How can we know what is true in history? 47:20 – Why do so many historical figures not have autopsies? 51:06 – What happened to John McAfee 53:30 – Are you afraid of getting knocked off? 57:52 – Escaping cancel culture

Gabriel Custodiet speaks with Viktor Viksei from IVPN. This candid and wide-ranging conversation covers some of the dirty secrets of the VPN industry, fundamental questions about how VPNs work and how we can trust them, and pretty much everything else you wanted to know about VPNs. They explore whether IVPN is a good option (hint: it is).

Links → https://twitter.com/vonthedock (Viktor Viksei) → https://www.ivpn.net/ → Article Viktor mentions: https://www.ivpn.net/blog/who-owns-your-vpn-you-should-find-out/ → https://www.eff.org/pages/cover-your-tracks → https://www.privacyguides.org/ → https://www.youtube.com/c/techlore → https://www.ivpn.net/blog/

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Timeline

0:00 – Beginning

3:01 – What does a VPN do?

6:46 – How your ISP can harm you

10:12 – The other ways you are tracked online; VPNs not silver bullet

15:13 – Tor vs VPN

21:03 – How can we trust a VPN company?

26:05 – Explosive VPN industry growth: good or bad?

31:16 – Dirty secrets of the VPN industry

35:28 – Affiliate programs and paying for reviews

42:42 – Importance of VPN jurisdiction

48:30 – What does IVPN have to give to law enforcement?

51:00 – Can local governments attack VPN servers?

54:24 – Rapid fire IVPN question: logging, audit, open-source, etc

57:00 – Consequences of paying with a credit card

59:38 – IVPN server count; does it matter?

1:00:55 – Bare metal servers vs. virtual servers

1:02:03 – How many devices for IVPN?

1:02:32 – Router-level VPN; P2P torrenting discrimination

1:04:21 – Speed of IVPN

1:07:44 – Any services that IVPN has trouble with?

1:09:48 – Small needle in a haystack VPN argument

1:11:57 – Will IVPN still be around in 5 years?

1:15:50 – IVPN prices

1:18:08 – Multi-hop for VPNs

1:20:39 – Viktor final thoughts

Gabriel Custodiet talks to Zelko and S2l1, co-founders of RoninDojo, a privacy-focused Bitcoin node project. This comprehensive discussion covers the origins of the company, the benefits of full nodes, the nuances of running a RoninDojo with a hardcore privacy focus, whirlpooling, the Lightning Network, and Bitcoin privacy broadly.

Please watch the previous episode first → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5NMOQp-YMI

RoninDojo Links → https://ronindojo.io → https://twitter.com/BTCxZelko (Zelko) → https://twitter.com/GuerraMoneta (aka s2l1) → https://twitter.com/RoninDojoNode → https://code.samourai.io/ronindojo/RoninDojo → https://bitcoiner.guide

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html