As digital lawlessness holds center stage in the national political drama, doesn’t this seem like a good time to revisit the first generation of internet outlaws?

So let’s set the WABAC machine for Feb. 5, 1995, original airdate for my interview with Michelle Slatalla and Joshua Quittner — authors of the seminal hacking story Masters of Deception: The Gang That Ruled Cyberspace.

(Quittner, by the way, also holds the historic distinction of being the person who first bought the domain McDonalds.com. What he demanded from McDonald’s Corp. in exchange for giving it up is a tale he shares at the end of this interview.)

Enjoy this? You’ll want to hear my 1993 interview with the man who coined the phrase “cyberspace,” science fiction author William Gibson. And many more tech-oriented interviews here.