In this episode of the newly rebranded Becoming Sovereign podcast, Brandon Karpeles sits down with Seth, an OG Nostr developer and the creator of Zap.Cooking. They discuss the origins of Zap.Cooking as a simple, ad-free alternative to bloated legacy recipe websites and how Nostr's decentralized protocol enables true value-for-value interactions.

They explore the profound importance of home cooking as an act of sovereignty, the stark contrast between freedom tech and surveillance tech, and why the Nostr community is unmatched when it comes to authentic engagement.

In this episode, we cover:

• The Becoming Sovereign Rebrand: Why the podcast is shifting its name to reflect a broader focus on individual sovereignty, self-reliance, and personal finance.
• The Power of Home Cooking: Why knowing how to cook and smoke meat is an underappreciated life skill that saves money, improves health, and builds community.
• Zap.Cooking: How Seth built a normie-friendly Nostr web app that skips the 15-minute blog stories and gets straight to the recipe, allowing users to tip creators directly with zaps.
• Freedom Tech vs. Surveillance Tech: The philosophical difference between traditional advertising that spies on your data and Nostr's privacy-preserving, lightning-based ecosystem.
• Nostr Culture & NostraValley: A look back at early Nostr hashtags like #Foodstr, and the announcement of NostraValley 3.0 coming to State College, PA in October 2026.

Connect with Seth & Zap.Cooking:

• Website: zap.cooking
• Nostr: Search "Seth" (Look for the guy with the hat over his eyes) / NPUB
• Other Projects: gratefulday.space, nostravalley.com

Connect with Brandon & Sovreign:

• Website: sovreign.io
• LinkedIn: Brandon Karpeles
• Nostr: @plebiAnon
• X: @sovreignX