<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:podcast="https://podcastindex.org/namespace/1.0"><channel><title>Cypherpunk Notes</title><link>https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/</link><description>Privacy, security, and cryptography for the rest of us.</description><language>en-us</language><copyright>Cypherpunk School</copyright><itunes:author>Cypherpunk School</itunes:author><itunes:summary>Privacy, security, and cryptography for the rest of us.</itunes:summary><itunes:owner><itunes:name>Cypherpunk School</itunes:name><itunes:email>podcast@cypherpunkschool.com</itunes:email></itunes:owner><itunes:image href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/images/podcast-cover.jpg"/><itunes:category text="Technology"/><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><item><title>Episode 1: What Is a Cypherpunk?</title><link>https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-01/</link><description>&lt;h1 id="episode-1-what-is-a-cypherpunk"&gt;Episode 1: What Is a Cypherpunk?&lt;/h1&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~12 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Awakener (Philosophy)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In 1993, a mathematician named Eric Hughes wrote nine words that would define a movement:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;ldquo;Cypherpunks write code. Privacy is necessary for an open society.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Three decades later, those words matter more than ever. But what exactly is a cypherpunk? And why should you care?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode covers:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The surveillance state we live in today&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The cypherpunk movement&amp;rsquo;s origins in the 1980s-90s&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Eric Hughes and the Cypherpunk Manifesto&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The core philosophy: code, not laws&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;What the cypherpunks actually built (PGP, Tor, Bitcoin)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;What it means to be a cypherpunk in 2025&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Privacy isn&amp;rsquo;t about hiding. Privacy is about &lt;em&gt;power&lt;/em&gt;. When you have no privacy, you have no autonomy.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;The cypherpunks looked at the trajectory of technology and said: &amp;lsquo;This ends in a surveillance state unless we do something about it.&amp;rsquo; So they did something about it.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Cypherpunks don&amp;rsquo;t ask permission. They don&amp;rsquo;t petition governments. They write code that makes surveillance impossible—or at least expensive.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="learn-more"&gt;Learn More&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode introduces the philosophy behind the entire course. Ready to put it into practice?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Start here:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-01/"&gt;Privacy 101 Week 1: Why Privacy Matters&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read the original:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/docs/cypherpunk-manifesto.html"&gt;A Cypherpunk&amp;rsquo;s Manifesto (1993)&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="transcript"&gt;Transcript&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Coming soon&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/"&gt;← Back to All Episodes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><itunes:summary>&lt;h1 id="episode-1-what-is-a-cypherpunk"&gt;Episode 1: What Is a Cypherpunk?&lt;/h1&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~12 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Awakener (Philosophy)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In 1993, a mathematician named Eric Hughes wrote nine words that would define a movement:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;ldquo;Cypherpunks write code. Privacy is necessary for an open society.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Three decades later, those words matter more than ever. But what exactly is a cypherpunk? And why should you care?&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary><pubDate>Sat, 13 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-01/</guid><enclosure url="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-01.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" length="8484813"/><itunes:duration>12:00</itunes:duration><itunes:episode>1</itunes:episode><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit></item><item><title>Episode 2: Nothing to Hide? Really?</title><link>https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-02/</link><description>&lt;h1 id="episode-2-nothing-to-hide-really"&gt;Episode 2: Nothing to Hide? Really?&lt;/h1&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~8 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Myth Buster&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;I have nothing to hide.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It&amp;rsquo;s the most common response when privacy comes up. And it&amp;rsquo;s completely wrong.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode dismantles the &amp;ldquo;nothing to hide&amp;rdquo; argument by exploring:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The Snowden quote that reframes privacy as a right, not a privilege&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Who decides what&amp;rsquo;s &amp;ldquo;wrong&amp;rdquo; to hide (and how that changes)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;How harmless data aggregates into a surveillance profile&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The chilling effect: how surveillance changes behavior&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Why the burden of proof should be on the watcher, not the watched&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Arguing that you don&amp;rsquo;t care about privacy because you have nothing to hide is like arguing you don&amp;rsquo;t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.&amp;rdquo; — Edward Snowden&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Today&amp;rsquo;s legal activity might be tomorrow&amp;rsquo;s crime. Today&amp;rsquo;s majority opinion might be tomorrow&amp;rsquo;s dissent. History is full of examples.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;You don&amp;rsquo;t get to decide what future governments, future employers, or future algorithms will find suspicious.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="the-real-question"&gt;The Real Question&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The episode ends by flipping the script:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;The question isn&amp;rsquo;t &amp;lsquo;What do you have to hide?&amp;rsquo; The question is: &amp;lsquo;Why should anyone be watching in the first place?&amp;rsquo;&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="learn-more"&gt;Learn More&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Ready to build your threat model and understand what &lt;em&gt;you&lt;/em&gt; need to protect?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Start here:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-01/"&gt;Privacy 101 Week 1: Why Privacy Matters&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Real examples:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/why-privacy-matters/"&gt;Why Privacy Matters: Documented Cases&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="transcript"&gt;Transcript&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Coming soon&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/"&gt;← Back to All Episodes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><itunes:summary>&lt;h1 id="episode-2-nothing-to-hide-really"&gt;Episode 2: Nothing to Hide? Really?&lt;/h1&gt;
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&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~8 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Myth Buster&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;I have nothing to hide.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It&amp;rsquo;s the most common response when privacy comes up. And it&amp;rsquo;s completely wrong.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode dismantles the &amp;ldquo;nothing to hide&amp;rdquo; argument by exploring:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The Snowden quote that reframes privacy as a right, not a privilege&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Who decides what&amp;rsquo;s &amp;ldquo;wrong&amp;rdquo; to hide (and how that changes)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;How harmless data aggregates into a surveillance profile&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The chilling effect: how surveillance changes behavior&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Why the burden of proof should be on the watcher, not the watched&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Arguing that you don&amp;rsquo;t care about privacy because you have nothing to hide is like arguing you don&amp;rsquo;t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.&amp;rdquo; — Edward Snowden&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary><pubDate>Sun, 14 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-02/</guid><enclosure url="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-02.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" length="5084952"/><itunes:duration>8:00</itunes:duration><itunes:episode>2</itunes:episode><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit></item><item><title>Episode 3: Your Phone Is a Tracking Device</title><link>https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-03/</link><description>&lt;h1 id="episode-3-your-phone-is-a-tracking-device"&gt;Episode 3: Your Phone Is a Tracking Device&lt;/h1&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~10 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Awakener (Philosophy + Practical)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Your phone knows more about you than your closest friends. Where you sleep, where you work, who you meet, what you buy, what you search for at 2 AM.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode reveals:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What your phone knows:&lt;/strong&gt; Location history, app usage, contacts, biometrics, and more&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Who sees that data:&lt;/strong&gt; App developers, advertisers, data brokers, governments&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The metadata problem:&lt;/strong&gt; Why &amp;ldquo;just metadata&amp;rdquo; is more revealing than content&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The permissions illusion:&lt;/strong&gt; How &amp;ldquo;deny&amp;rdquo; doesn&amp;rsquo;t always mean no&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Real examples:&lt;/strong&gt; Location data selling, period tracker apps, and surveillance capitalism in action&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;One thing you can do:&lt;/strong&gt; A single actionable step to start taking back control&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Your phone isn&amp;rsquo;t a phone that happens to have tracking capabilities. It&amp;rsquo;s a tracking device that happens to make calls.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;When you tap &amp;lsquo;Allow&amp;rsquo; on a permission request, you&amp;rsquo;re not just allowing the app. You&amp;rsquo;re allowing everyone the app sells data to.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Metadata is often more revealing than content. The NSA&amp;rsquo;s former director once said: &amp;lsquo;We kill people based on metadata.&amp;rsquo;&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="the-takeaway"&gt;The Takeaway&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;At the end of each episode, one concrete action. This week:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Review your app permissions.&lt;/strong&gt; Go to Settings → Privacy → Location Services (iOS) or Settings → Location (Android). Revoke location access from any app that doesn&amp;rsquo;t absolutely need it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You&amp;rsquo;ll be surprised how many apps are tracking you that have no reason to.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="learn-more"&gt;Learn More&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Want to understand the full picture of what&amp;rsquo;s tracking you and how to stop it?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Start here:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-01/"&gt;Privacy 101 Week 1: Why Privacy Matters&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Go deeper:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-03/"&gt;Privacy 101 Week 3: Browser Privacy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="transcript"&gt;Transcript&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Coming soon&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/"&gt;← Back to All Episodes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><itunes:summary>&lt;h1 id="episode-3-your-phone-is-a-tracking-device"&gt;Episode 3: Your Phone Is a Tracking Device&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~10 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Awakener (Philosophy + Practical)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Your phone knows more about you than your closest friends. Where you sleep, where you work, who you meet, what you buy, what you search for at 2 AM.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode reveals:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What your phone knows:&lt;/strong&gt; Location history, app usage, contacts, biometrics, and more&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Who sees that data:&lt;/strong&gt; App developers, advertisers, data brokers, governments&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The metadata problem:&lt;/strong&gt; Why &amp;ldquo;just metadata&amp;rdquo; is more revealing than content&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The permissions illusion:&lt;/strong&gt; How &amp;ldquo;deny&amp;rdquo; doesn&amp;rsquo;t always mean no&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Real examples:&lt;/strong&gt; Location data selling, period tracker apps, and surveillance capitalism in action&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;One thing you can do:&lt;/strong&gt; A single actionable step to start taking back control&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Your phone isn&amp;rsquo;t a phone that happens to have tracking capabilities. It&amp;rsquo;s a tracking device that happens to make calls.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary><pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-03/</guid><enclosure url="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-03.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" length="7329769"/><itunes:duration>10:00</itunes:duration><itunes:episode>3</itunes:episode><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit></item><item><title>Episode 4: What Snowden Revealed</title><link>https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-04/</link><description>&lt;h1 id="episode-4-what-snowden-revealed"&gt;Episode 4: What Snowden Revealed&lt;/h1&gt;
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&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~9 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Awakener (Philosophy + Practical)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In June 2013, a 29-year-old NSA contractor walked out of a secure facility in Hawaii with the most explosive intelligence leak in American history. The Snowden revelations changed everything—not because they told us something we didn&amp;rsquo;t suspect, but because they proved it. With documents. With code names. With PowerPoint slides from the surveillance state itself.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode breaks down what those documents actually said—and why it&amp;rsquo;s not history, but a window into how power thinks about your data.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;PRISM:&lt;/strong&gt; Data collected directly from the servers of major American tech companies&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Upstream:&lt;/strong&gt; Tapping the fiber optic cables that carry internet traffic itself&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;XKeyscore:&lt;/strong&gt; The NSA&amp;rsquo;s search engine for &amp;ldquo;nearly everything a typical user does on the internet&amp;rdquo;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The metadata problem:&lt;/strong&gt; Why &amp;ldquo;we&amp;rsquo;re just collecting metadata&amp;rdquo; is more revealing than content&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;International reach:&lt;/strong&gt; MUSCULAR, GCHQ, and the Five Eyes alliance&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why it still matters:&lt;/strong&gt; Section 702 reauthorized through 2024 and the explosion of the data broker industry&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Snowden revealed wasn&amp;rsquo;t a surveillance program. It was a surveillance infrastructure. A global architecture designed to capture, store, and search the digital lives of billions of people.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;As former NSA Director Michael Hayden admitted: &amp;lsquo;We kill people based on metadata.&amp;rsquo;&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;What Snowden revealed wasn&amp;rsquo;t a bug to be fixed. It was the system working as designed.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="the-takeaway"&gt;The Takeaway&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Learn who your adversaries actually are.&lt;/strong&gt; For most people, it&amp;rsquo;s not the NSA specifically. It&amp;rsquo;s the data broker who sells your location history. The social media company that profiles your psychology. The future employer who googles you. Assume you&amp;rsquo;re being collected—not because you&amp;rsquo;re important, but because collection is cheap and everyone is being collected—then figure out which threats actually apply to you.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="learn-more"&gt;Learn More&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Start here:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-01/"&gt;Privacy 101 Week 1: Why Privacy Matters&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="transcript"&gt;Transcript&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Coming soon&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/"&gt;← Back to All Episodes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><itunes:summary>&lt;h1 id="episode-4-what-snowden-revealed"&gt;Episode 4: What Snowden Revealed&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~9 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Awakener (Philosophy + Practical)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In June 2013, a 29-year-old NSA contractor walked out of a secure facility in Hawaii with the most explosive intelligence leak in American history. The Snowden revelations changed everything—not because they told us something we didn&amp;rsquo;t suspect, but because they proved it. With documents. With code names. With PowerPoint slides from the surveillance state itself.&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary><pubDate>Tue, 16 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-04/</guid><enclosure url="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-04.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" length="7906212"/><itunes:duration>9:08</itunes:duration><itunes:episode>4</itunes:episode><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit></item><item><title>Episode 5: You Are the Product</title><link>https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-05/</link><description>&lt;h1 id="episode-5-you-are-the-product"&gt;Episode 5: You Are the Product&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~8 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Awakener (Philosophy + Practical)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You&amp;rsquo;ve probably heard the phrase: &amp;ldquo;If you&amp;rsquo;re not paying for the product, you are the product.&amp;rdquo; But it&amp;rsquo;s not just that Facebook shows you ads. It&amp;rsquo;s that Facebook built the most sophisticated psychological profiling system in human history—and you volunteered all the data.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Where the last episode covered government surveillance, this one covers something arguably more pervasive: commercial surveillance, and the machine that runs on your attention.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The &amp;ldquo;free&amp;rdquo; illusion:&lt;/strong&gt; How targeted ads, not eyeballs, are the real product&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The attention economy:&lt;/strong&gt; Why algorithms optimize for outrage, not your wellbeing&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Data brokers:&lt;/strong&gt; The industry you&amp;rsquo;ve never heard of, selling profiles to anyone who&amp;rsquo;ll pay&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;From prediction to manipulation:&lt;/strong&gt; Personalized pricing, emotional targeting, Cambridge Analytica&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The permanent record:&lt;/strong&gt; How total recall creates a chilling effect on behavior&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The connection:&lt;/strong&gt; How private surveillance feeds public surveillance&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;The product isn&amp;rsquo;t the app. The product is you—or more precisely, your attention and your data.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;The business model doesn&amp;rsquo;t optimize for your wellbeing. It optimizes for engagement—and often, what engages us most is what&amp;rsquo;s worst for us.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;You&amp;rsquo;re not just the product. You&amp;rsquo;re the evidence.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="the-takeaway"&gt;The Takeaway&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Recognize the trade, then be intentional about it.&lt;/strong&gt; &amp;ldquo;Free&amp;rdquo; services aren&amp;rsquo;t free—you&amp;rsquo;re paying with your data, your attention, and your privacy. You don&amp;rsquo;t have to quit the internet. But every app asking for location access, every service asking for your real name, every website asking for cookies is a decision you can make consciously. Where good alternatives exist, use them: DuckDuckGo instead of Google Search, ProtonMail instead of Gmail, Signal instead of SMS.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="learn-more"&gt;Learn More&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Start here:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-01/"&gt;Privacy 101 Week 1: Why Privacy Matters&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="transcript"&gt;Transcript&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Coming soon&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/"&gt;← Back to All Episodes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><itunes:summary>&lt;h1 id="episode-5-you-are-the-product"&gt;Episode 5: You Are the Product&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~8 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Awakener (Philosophy + Practical)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You&amp;rsquo;ve probably heard the phrase: &amp;ldquo;If you&amp;rsquo;re not paying for the product, you are the product.&amp;rdquo; But it&amp;rsquo;s not just that Facebook shows you ads. It&amp;rsquo;s that Facebook built the most sophisticated psychological profiling system in human history—and you volunteered all the data.&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary><pubDate>Wed, 17 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-05/</guid><enclosure url="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-05.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" length="7305266"/><itunes:duration>8:28</itunes:duration><itunes:episode>5</itunes:episode><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit></item><item><title>Episode 6: Building Your Threat Model</title><link>https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-06/</link><description>&lt;h1 id="episode-6-building-your-threat-model"&gt;Episode 6: Building Your Threat Model&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~10 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Privacy&amp;rdquo; isn&amp;rsquo;t one thing. Protecting yourself from advertisers is different from protecting yourself from hackers. Protecting yourself from an abusive ex is different from protecting yourself from a government. The tools are different, the tradeoffs are different—and if you don&amp;rsquo;t know what you&amp;rsquo;re defending against, you&amp;rsquo;ll either do too little or exhaust yourself doing too much.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This is the practical turn after the first five episodes. Before any specific tool, you build a threat model.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The four questions:&lt;/strong&gt; What to protect, who from, the consequences, and what you&amp;rsquo;ll trade&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The common adversaries:&lt;/strong&gt; Advertisers, hackers, employers, governments, and personal threats—and what each actually wants&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why most advice is wrong:&lt;/strong&gt; It&amp;rsquo;s written for worst-case scenarios, not real people&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Three worked examples:&lt;/strong&gt; The Casual User, the Security-Conscious Professional, the At-Risk Individual&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A pen-and-paper exercise&lt;/strong&gt; to build your own threat model right now&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;If you don&amp;rsquo;t know what you&amp;rsquo;re defending against, you&amp;rsquo;ll either do too little—or exhaust yourself doing too much.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;For these adversaries, you don&amp;rsquo;t need to be perfect. You need to be better than default—harder to track, harder to hack, less exposed.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Privacy is about raising the cost of surveillance to the point where you&amp;rsquo;re not worth the effort. For most adversaries, that bar is surprisingly low.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="the-takeaway"&gt;The Takeaway&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Build your threat model right now—on paper.&lt;/strong&gt; List three to five things you want to protect. For each, list who might realistically want access (it&amp;rsquo;s probably not the CIA). Rate the consequences if they succeeded: low, medium, or high. Then, for your highest-risk combinations, note just one action you could take. We&amp;rsquo;re not solving everything today—we&amp;rsquo;re starting. Keep it somewhere you can reference as you add tools episode by episode.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="learn-more"&gt;Learn More&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Start here:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-11/"&gt;Privacy 101 Week 11: Operational Security&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Go deeper:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-01/"&gt;Privacy 101 Week 1: Why Privacy Matters&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="transcript"&gt;Transcript&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Coming soon&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/"&gt;← Back to All Episodes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><itunes:summary>&lt;h1 id="episode-6-building-your-threat-model"&gt;Episode 6: Building Your Threat Model&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~10 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Privacy&amp;rdquo; isn&amp;rsquo;t one thing. Protecting yourself from advertisers is different from protecting yourself from hackers. Protecting yourself from an abusive ex is different from protecting yourself from a government. The tools are different, the tradeoffs are different—and if you don&amp;rsquo;t know what you&amp;rsquo;re defending against, you&amp;rsquo;ll either do too little or exhaust yourself doing too much.&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary><pubDate>Thu, 18 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-06/</guid><enclosure url="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-06.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" length="8377062"/><itunes:duration>9:53</itunes:duration><itunes:episode>6</itunes:episode><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit></item><item><title>Episode 7: Password Managers</title><link>https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-07/</link><description>&lt;h1 id="episode-7-password-managers"&gt;Episode 7: Password Managers&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~9 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Most people use the same password—or a minor variation of it—across dozens of accounts. Their email, their bank, their social media, all protected by &amp;ldquo;Fluffy2019!&amp;rdquo; with a few symbols thrown in. When one database gets breached, and databases get breached constantly, attackers don&amp;rsquo;t get one account. They get the keys to everything.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This is where the toolkit begins. If you do nothing else after listening to this podcast, do this one thing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The problem:&lt;/strong&gt; Password reuse, credential stuffing, and why &amp;ldquo;P@ssword123&amp;rdquo; isn&amp;rsquo;t clever&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What a password manager is:&lt;/strong&gt; A secure vault that remembers everything so you remember one master passphrase&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KeePassXC:&lt;/strong&gt; The local-first, sovereignty-minded option—your passwords on your hardware&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bitwarden:&lt;/strong&gt; The open-source, cloud-synced option with zero-knowledge encryption&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The verdict on 1Password and LastPass&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A five-step setup walkthrough&lt;/strong&gt; plus the two-factor bonus&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;When one database gets breached—and databases get breached constantly—attackers don&amp;rsquo;t just get one account. They get the keys to everything.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Your &amp;lsquo;P@ssword123&amp;rsquo; isn&amp;rsquo;t clever. It&amp;rsquo;s predictable.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;KeePassXC is perfect for the sovereignty-minded. Your passwords live on your hardware, encrypted with your key. Nobody else has access.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="the-takeaway"&gt;The Takeaway&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Set up a password manager today.&lt;/strong&gt; Pick one—Bitwarden if you want open source and easy sync, KeePassXC if you want maximum control. Choose a strong master passphrase of four or more random words, write it down somewhere physically secure, and start with your most important accounts: email, banking, anything with two-factor. Let it generate new random passwords, then migrate the rest gradually over the coming weeks. Consistency beats speed.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="learn-more"&gt;Learn More&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Start here:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-04/"&gt;Privacy 101 Week 4: Password Managers&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="transcript"&gt;Transcript&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Coming soon&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/"&gt;← Back to All Episodes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><itunes:summary>&lt;h1 id="episode-7-password-managers"&gt;Episode 7: Password Managers&lt;/h1&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~9 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Most people use the same password—or a minor variation of it—across dozens of accounts. Their email, their bank, their social media, all protected by &amp;ldquo;Fluffy2019!&amp;rdquo; with a few symbols thrown in. When one database gets breached, and databases get breached constantly, attackers don&amp;rsquo;t get one account. They get the keys to everything.&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary><pubDate>Fri, 19 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-07/</guid><enclosure url="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-07.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" length="7722928"/><itunes:duration>8:55</itunes:duration><itunes:episode>7</itunes:episode><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit></item><item><title>Episode 8: Browsers That Don't Spy on You</title><link>https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-08/</link><description>&lt;h1 id="episode-8-browsers-that-dont-spy-on-you"&gt;Episode 8: Browsers That Don&amp;rsquo;t Spy on You&lt;/h1&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~8 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="-correction"&gt;📝 Correction&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode recommends the &lt;strong&gt;HTTPS Everywhere&lt;/strong&gt; browser extension. The EFF retired HTTPS Everywhere at the end of 2022 — every modern browser now enforces HTTPS automatically. Instead of installing it, just turn on your browser&amp;rsquo;s built-in &lt;strong&gt;HTTPS-Only Mode&lt;/strong&gt; (Settings → Privacy). Everything else in the episode stands.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Your browser knows more about you than your closest friends — every site you visit, every search, what you read at 2 AM. If that browser is Chrome, all of it flows straight to Google. This episode breaks down why Chrome is built for data collection and walks through the browsers that actually respect you.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode covers:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Chrome problem:&lt;/strong&gt; Default history sync, Incognito tracking, and Manifest V3 gutting ad blockers&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Firefox:&lt;/strong&gt; Enhanced Tracking Protection, container tabs, and real extension support&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Brave:&lt;/strong&gt; Built-in Shields, fingerprinting protection, and Tor windows with zero configuration&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mullvad Browser:&lt;/strong&gt; Hardened, anti-fingerprinting, designed for use with a VPN&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Essential extensions:&lt;/strong&gt; uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger — and why more isn&amp;rsquo;t better&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A six-step migration&lt;/strong&gt; you can finish in ten minutes&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Your browser knows more about you than your closest friends.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Using Chrome while trying to be private is like hiring a private investigator to follow you and then asking them not to take notes. They work for someone else.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="the-takeaway"&gt;The Takeaway&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Download Firefox or Brave, import your bookmarks and passwords from Chrome, install uBlock Origin, and set the new browser as your default.&lt;/strong&gt; The critical step is making it your default — if Chrome stays default, you&amp;rsquo;ll keep using it. The switch takes ten minutes, and you won&amp;rsquo;t notice the difference except in the data that&amp;rsquo;s no longer being harvested.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="learn-more"&gt;Learn More&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Start here:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-03/"&gt;Privacy 101 Week 3: Browser Privacy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="transcript"&gt;Transcript&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Coming soon&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/"&gt;← Back to All Episodes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><itunes:summary>&lt;h1 id="episode-8-browsers-that-dont-spy-on-you"&gt;Episode 8: Browsers That Don&amp;rsquo;t Spy on You&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~8 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="-correction"&gt;📝 Correction&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode recommends the &lt;strong&gt;HTTPS Everywhere&lt;/strong&gt; browser extension. The EFF retired HTTPS Everywhere at the end of 2022 — every modern browser now enforces HTTPS automatically. Instead of installing it, just turn on your browser&amp;rsquo;s built-in &lt;strong&gt;HTTPS-Only Mode&lt;/strong&gt; (Settings → Privacy). Everything else in the episode stands.&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary><pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-08/</guid><enclosure url="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-08.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" length="7120942"/><itunes:duration>8:20</itunes:duration><itunes:episode>8</itunes:episode><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit></item><item><title>Episode 9: Search Engines That Don't Track You</title><link>https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-09/</link><description>&lt;h1 id="episode-9-search-engines-that-dont-track-you"&gt;Episode 9: Search Engines That Don&amp;rsquo;t Track You&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~6 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Google processes over 8 billion searches a day, and every one teaches Google something about the person asking — what you worry about, what you want, what you fear. Even with a private browser, using Google Search undermines everything. This episode covers the search engines that don&amp;rsquo;t build a profile on you.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode covers:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Google problem:&lt;/strong&gt; Logged, timestamped, identity-linked queries and a personalized &amp;ldquo;filter bubble&amp;rdquo;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;DuckDuckGo:&lt;/strong&gt; No tracking, no filter bubble, and handy &amp;ldquo;bang&amp;rdquo; shortcuts&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Startpage:&lt;/strong&gt; Google-quality results delivered anonymously through a proxy&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Brave Search:&lt;/strong&gt; A truly independent index with no third-party dependence&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SearXNG:&lt;/strong&gt; The self-hosted metasearch option for maximum control&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A two-step switch&lt;/strong&gt; — and how to use bangs for the rare Google-only query&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Search queries are a window into your mind. Do you really want Google looking through that window?&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;You&amp;rsquo;re not searching the internet — you&amp;rsquo;re searching Google&amp;rsquo;s version of the internet, curated for you based on everything they know about you.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="the-takeaway"&gt;The Takeaway&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Change your browser&amp;rsquo;s default search engine to DuckDuckGo, Startpage, or Brave Search.&lt;/strong&gt; In Firefox: Settings → Search → Default Search Engine. In Brave: Settings → Search Engine. That&amp;rsquo;s it — same search bar, same workflow. Give it two weeks to beat the muscle memory, and use the &lt;code&gt;!g&lt;/code&gt; bang only for the rare query that truly needs Google.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="learn-more"&gt;Learn More&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Start here:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-03/"&gt;Privacy 101 Week 3: Browser Privacy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="transcript"&gt;Transcript&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Coming soon&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/"&gt;← Back to All Episodes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><itunes:summary>&lt;h1 id="episode-9-search-engines-that-dont-track-you"&gt;Episode 9: Search Engines That Don&amp;rsquo;t Track You&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~6 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Google processes over 8 billion searches a day, and every one teaches Google something about the person asking — what you worry about, what you want, what you fear. Even with a private browser, using Google Search undermines everything. This episode covers the search engines that don&amp;rsquo;t build a profile on you.&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary><pubDate>Sun, 21 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-09/</guid><enclosure url="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-09.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" length="5632131"/><itunes:duration>6:34</itunes:duration><itunes:episode>9</itunes:episode><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit></item><item><title>Episode 10: Escaping Gmail</title><link>https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-10/</link><description>&lt;h1 id="episode-10-escaping-gmail"&gt;Episode 10: Escaping Gmail&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~8 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Gmail has over 1.8 billion users, and Google processes every message you send or receive — encrypted in transit and at rest, but with Google holding the keys. That means Google can read your mail, hand it to law enforcement, or expose it in a breach. This episode covers the email services that make a fundamentally un-private medium private anyway.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode covers:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Gmail problem:&lt;/strong&gt; Content access, legal compulsion, and email as the central node of your digital identity&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ProtonMail:&lt;/strong&gt; Swiss-based, end-to-end encrypted, with a usable free tier&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tuta (formerly Tutanota):&lt;/strong&gt; German-based, encrypts the subject line too, more generous free tier&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SimpleLogin aliasing:&lt;/strong&gt; A unique forwarding address per service so you control who can reach you&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Custom domains:&lt;/strong&gt; Owning your address so you can switch providers without changing it&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A gradual six-step migration&lt;/strong&gt; built around forwarding and habit, not a sprint&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Your inbox is a map of your life. And you handed Google the keys.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Your email address is also your identity online. It&amp;rsquo;s how you log into everything.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="the-takeaway"&gt;The Takeaway&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sign up for ProtonMail or Tuta today and use it for all new accounts going forward.&lt;/strong&gt; Set Gmail to forward to your new address so you miss nothing, update your critical accounts (banking, healthcare, 2FA) first, then gradually move everything else over the coming months. A year from now you&amp;rsquo;ll barely remember you had Gmail — and your inbox will actually be yours.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="learn-more"&gt;Learn More&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Start here:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-05/"&gt;Privacy 101 Week 5: Email Privacy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="transcript"&gt;Transcript&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Coming soon&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/"&gt;← Back to All Episodes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><itunes:summary>&lt;h1 id="episode-10-escaping-gmail"&gt;Episode 10: Escaping Gmail&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
&lt;audio controls preload="metadata" style="width: 100%; max-width: 600px;"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~8 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Gmail has over 1.8 billion users, and Google processes every message you send or receive — encrypted in transit and at rest, but with Google holding the keys. That means Google can read your mail, hand it to law enforcement, or expose it in a breach. This episode covers the email services that make a fundamentally un-private medium private anyway.&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary><pubDate>Mon, 22 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-10/</guid><enclosure url="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-10.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" length="7547465"/><itunes:duration>8:41</itunes:duration><itunes:episode>10</itunes:episode><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit></item><item><title>Episode 11: Why Signal Is the Answer</title><link>https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-11/</link><description>&lt;h1 id="episode-11-why-signal-is-the-answer"&gt;Episode 11: Why Signal Is the Answer&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
&lt;audio controls preload="metadata" style="width: 100%; max-width: 600px;"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~8 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Your text messages aren&amp;rsquo;t private. SMS travels in plaintext, iMessage only protects iPhone-to-iPhone (and not your iCloud backups), and WhatsApp encrypts content while Meta harvests your metadata. This episode maps the messaging landscape honestly and explains why Signal stands alone.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode covers:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The landscape:&lt;/strong&gt; SMS, iMessage, WhatsApp, Messenger, and the widely misunderstood Telegram&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Signal wins:&lt;/strong&gt; End-to-end encryption by default, open source, and minimal metadata&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Head-to-head:&lt;/strong&gt; Signal vs WhatsApp, vs Telegram, vs iMessage&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The honest downside:&lt;/strong&gt; Network effects — Signal only works with people who also have Signal&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A seven-step start,&lt;/strong&gt; including disappearing messages and getting your contacts on board&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;When subpoenaed by the government, Signal has provided the only data they have: the date an account was created and the last connection time. That&amp;rsquo;s it.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Every person you convince to use Signal is another person you can communicate with privately.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="the-takeaway"&gt;The Takeaway&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Install Signal today, register with your phone number, and message someone you care about.&lt;/strong&gt; Set a PIN, turn on disappearing messages for sensitive conversations, and start asking yourself before every text: could this be a Signal message instead? Then evangelize — the more people in your network using Signal, the more useful it becomes. That&amp;rsquo;s one more conversation the surveillance economy can&amp;rsquo;t touch.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="learn-more"&gt;Learn More&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Start here:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-06/"&gt;Privacy 101 Week 6: Secure Messaging&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="transcript"&gt;Transcript&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Coming soon&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/"&gt;← Back to All Episodes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><itunes:summary>&lt;h1 id="episode-11-why-signal-is-the-answer"&gt;Episode 11: Why Signal Is the Answer&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
&lt;audio controls preload="metadata" style="width: 100%; max-width: 600px;"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~8 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Your text messages aren&amp;rsquo;t private. SMS travels in plaintext, iMessage only protects iPhone-to-iPhone (and not your iCloud backups), and WhatsApp encrypts content while Meta harvests your metadata. This episode maps the messaging landscape honestly and explains why Signal stands alone.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode covers:&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary><pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-11/</guid><enclosure url="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-11.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" length="7198621"/><itunes:duration>8:19</itunes:duration><itunes:episode>11</itunes:episode><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit></item><item><title>Episode 12: The Truth About VPNs</title><link>https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-12/</link><description>&lt;h1 id="episode-12-the-truth-about-vpns"&gt;Episode 12: The Truth About VPNs&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
&lt;audio controls preload="metadata" style="width: 100%; max-width: 600px;"&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~8 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Myth Buster&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;VPNs are probably the most oversold privacy tool on the internet. Every YouTuber is sponsored by one, every podcast has a promo code, and most of what they tell you is either exaggerated or flat-out wrong. This episode cuts through the noise.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode reveals:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What a VPN actually does:&lt;/strong&gt; Shifts who can see your traffic from your ISP to the VPN provider&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The real (narrow) benefits:&lt;/strong&gt; Untrusted networks, hiding browsing from your ISP, bypassing geo-restrictions&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Myths busted:&lt;/strong&gt; &amp;ldquo;Protect from hackers,&amp;rdquo; &amp;ldquo;anonymity,&amp;rdquo; &amp;ldquo;military-grade encryption,&amp;rdquo; &amp;ldquo;no-logs&amp;rdquo;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;When you actually need one:&lt;/strong&gt; Public WiFi, untrusted ISPs, censorship, IP-sensitive work&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Choosing wisely:&lt;/strong&gt; Why Mullvad and ProtonVPN earn trust, and why free VPNs don&amp;rsquo;t&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;That&amp;rsquo;s it. That&amp;rsquo;s what a VPN does. It shifts who can see your traffic from your ISP to the VPN provider.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;You&amp;rsquo;re not anonymous—you&amp;rsquo;ve just shifted your trust.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;If the VPN is free, you&amp;rsquo;re the product.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="the-takeaway"&gt;The Takeaway&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Don&amp;rsquo;t let a VPN be a substitute for the fundamentals: good passwords, private browsers, encrypted messaging, and thoughtful threat modeling. If you do decide you need one, Mullvad or ProtonVPN are the trustworthy options—both independently audited.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="learn-more"&gt;Learn More&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Start here:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-07/"&gt;VPNs Done Right&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="transcript"&gt;Transcript&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Coming soon&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/"&gt;← Back to All Episodes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><itunes:summary>&lt;h1 id="episode-12-the-truth-about-vpns"&gt;Episode 12: The Truth About VPNs&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
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&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-12.mp3" download&gt;Download MP3&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~8 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Myth Buster&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;VPNs are probably the most oversold privacy tool on the internet. Every YouTuber is sponsored by one, every podcast has a promo code, and most of what they tell you is either exaggerated or flat-out wrong. This episode cuts through the noise.&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary><pubDate>Wed, 24 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-12/</guid><enclosure url="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-12.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" length="6882038"/><itunes:duration>7:53</itunes:duration><itunes:episode>12</itunes:episode><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit></item><item><title>Episode 13: Your First Encrypted Files</title><link>https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-13/</link><description>&lt;h1 id="episode-13-your-first-encrypted-files"&gt;Episode 13: Your First Encrypted Files&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
&lt;audio controls preload="metadata" style="width: 100%; max-width: 600px;"&gt;
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&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-13.mp3" download&gt;Download MP3&lt;/a&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~9 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A stolen laptop. A failed hard drive sent for recovery. A breached cloud account. A border agent demanding your device. In every one of these scenarios, what happens to your files comes down to one thing: are they encrypted? This episode shows you how to make sure they are.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode reveals:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why encrypt:&lt;/strong&gt; Device theft, cloud storage, border crossings, data recovery and disposal&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;VeraCrypt:&lt;/strong&gt; The gold standard for local encrypted containers, step by step&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cryptomator:&lt;/strong&gt; Per-file encryption built for syncing to cloud storage&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A practical workflow:&lt;/strong&gt; VeraCrypt for local-only files, Cryptomator for the cloud, plain text for the rest&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The warnings:&lt;/strong&gt; Lose the password and the files are gone—back it up, and start small&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;An encrypted file is unreadable without the key. It looks like random garbage to anyone who doesn&amp;rsquo;t have the password.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Your cloud provider becomes a dumb storage locker—they hold your stuff but can&amp;rsquo;t peek inside.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;If you lose your password, your files are gone. There&amp;rsquo;s no recovery, no reset, no &amp;lsquo;forgot password&amp;rsquo; link. That&amp;rsquo;s the point.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="the-takeaway"&gt;The Takeaway&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You don&amp;rsquo;t need to encrypt everything today. Pick your most sensitive files—financial documents, personal journals, whatever keeps you up at night—and encrypt those first. Build the habit gradually, and make secure password backups.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="learn-more"&gt;Learn More&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Start here:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-09/"&gt;Encrypted Storage&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="transcript"&gt;Transcript&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Coming soon&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/"&gt;← Back to All Episodes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><itunes:summary>&lt;h1 id="episode-13-your-first-encrypted-files"&gt;Episode 13: Your First Encrypted Files&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
&lt;audio controls preload="metadata" style="width: 100%; max-width: 600px;"&gt;
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&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-13.mp3" download&gt;Download MP3&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~9 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A stolen laptop. A failed hard drive sent for recovery. A breached cloud account. A border agent demanding your device. In every one of these scenarios, what happens to your files comes down to one thing: are they encrypted? This episode shows you how to make sure they are.&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary><pubDate>Thu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-13/</guid><enclosure url="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-13.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" length="7713010"/><itunes:duration>8:59</itunes:duration><itunes:episode>13</itunes:episode><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit></item><item><title>Episode 14: Your Daily Privacy Workflow</title><link>https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-14/</link><description>&lt;h1 id="episode-14-your-daily-privacy-workflow"&gt;Episode 14: Your Daily Privacy Workflow&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
&lt;audio controls preload="metadata" style="width: 100%; max-width: 600px;"&gt;
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&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-14.mp3" download&gt;Download MP3&lt;/a&gt;
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&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~9 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You&amp;rsquo;ve got the tools—password manager, private browser, encrypted messaging, secure email, file encryption. But are you actually using them every day, or defaulting back to Chrome and Gmail because it&amp;rsquo;s easier? This episode builds a privacy workflow that sticks.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode reveals:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why tools fail:&lt;/strong&gt; It&amp;rsquo;s a systems problem, not a willpower problem&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A day with privacy integrated:&lt;/strong&gt; Morning routine and work day, all on defaults&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The communication hierarchy:&lt;/strong&gt; Inner circle, professional contacts, casual services&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Weekly maintenance:&lt;/strong&gt; Five minutes of hygiene that keeps it sustainable&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The privacy 80/20:&lt;/strong&gt; The 20% of changes that deliver 80% of the protection&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A six-week migration plan:&lt;/strong&gt; One change per week, no overwhelm&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;The solution isn&amp;rsquo;t trying harder. It&amp;rsquo;s making private choices the default.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;You don&amp;rsquo;t decide to lock your door every time you leave the house. It&amp;rsquo;s automatic. That&amp;rsquo;s what we&amp;rsquo;re building for your digital life.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;You don&amp;rsquo;t need to be perfect. You need to be consistent.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="the-takeaway"&gt;The Takeaway&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you&amp;rsquo;re starting from scratch, don&amp;rsquo;t try to change everything today. Make one change per week—password manager, then browser, then search, then messaging, then email, then file encryption. Six weeks, six changes, and you have a complete privacy workflow without ever feeling overwhelmed.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="learn-more"&gt;Learn More&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Start here:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-12/"&gt;Putting It All Together&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="transcript"&gt;Transcript&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Coming soon&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/"&gt;← Back to All Episodes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><itunes:summary>&lt;h1 id="episode-14-your-daily-privacy-workflow"&gt;Episode 14: Your Daily Privacy Workflow&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
&lt;audio controls preload="metadata" style="width: 100%; max-width: 600px;"&gt;
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&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-14.mp3" download&gt;Download MP3&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~9 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You&amp;rsquo;ve got the tools—password manager, private browser, encrypted messaging, secure email, file encryption. But are you actually using them every day, or defaulting back to Chrome and Gmail because it&amp;rsquo;s easier? This episode builds a privacy workflow that sticks.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode reveals:&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary><pubDate>Fri, 26 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-14/</guid><enclosure url="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-14.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" length="7782093"/><itunes:duration>9:12</itunes:duration><itunes:episode>14</itunes:episode><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit></item><item><title>Episode 15: Why Linux?</title><link>https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-15/</link><description>&lt;h1 id="episode-15-why-linux"&gt;Episode 15: Why Linux?&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
&lt;audio controls preload="metadata" style="width: 100%; max-width: 600px;"&gt;
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&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-15.mp3" download&gt;Download MP3&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~12 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You can install all the privacy tools you want, but if your operating system is hostile, you&amp;rsquo;re building on a compromised foundation. This episode makes the case for owning your computing stack with Linux.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode reveals:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Windows problem:&lt;/strong&gt; Telemetry you can&amp;rsquo;t turn off, Cortana, advertising IDs, forced updates, OneDrive&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Linux is different:&lt;/strong&gt; Open source, no business model that needs your data, choice and control, respect by default&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The intimidation myth:&lt;/strong&gt; Why &amp;ldquo;Linux is too hard&amp;rdquo; hasn&amp;rsquo;t been true for over a decade&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Choosing a distro:&lt;/strong&gt; Mint, Pop!_OS, Ubuntu, Fedora for beginners; Debian and Arch for the curious&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A gentle migration:&lt;/strong&gt; Live USB, dual-boot, a designated machine, then full Linux&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What you gain:&lt;/strong&gt; Ownership, longevity, understanding, community, privacy by design&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;You can install all the privacy tools you want. But if your operating system is hostile, you&amp;rsquo;re building on a compromised foundation.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;When you use Linux, the software works for you, not against you.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;The real barrier isn&amp;rsquo;t difficulty. It&amp;rsquo;s unfamiliarity.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="the-takeaway"&gt;The Takeaway&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You don&amp;rsquo;t have to switch all at once. Download a beginner-friendly distribution—Linux Mint, Ubuntu, or Fedora—create a bootable USB, and boot from it without installing. Spend a few hours seeing how it feels to use a computer that works for you instead of against you. This commits you to nothing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="learn-more"&gt;Learn More&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Start here:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-02/"&gt;Installing Linux&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="transcript"&gt;Transcript&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Coming soon&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/"&gt;← Back to All Episodes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><itunes:summary>&lt;h1 id="episode-15-why-linux"&gt;Episode 15: Why Linux?&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
&lt;audio controls preload="metadata" style="width: 100%; max-width: 600px;"&gt;
&lt;source src="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-15.mp3" type="audio/mpeg"&gt;
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&lt;/audio&gt;
&lt;p class="download-link"&gt;
&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-15.mp3" download&gt;Download MP3&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~12 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You can install all the privacy tools you want, but if your operating system is hostile, you&amp;rsquo;re building on a compromised foundation. This episode makes the case for owning your computing stack with Linux.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode reveals:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Windows problem:&lt;/strong&gt; Telemetry you can&amp;rsquo;t turn off, Cortana, advertising IDs, forced updates, OneDrive&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Linux is different:&lt;/strong&gt; Open source, no business model that needs your data, choice and control, respect by default&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The intimidation myth:&lt;/strong&gt; Why &amp;ldquo;Linux is too hard&amp;rdquo; hasn&amp;rsquo;t been true for over a decade&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Choosing a distro:&lt;/strong&gt; Mint, Pop!_OS, Ubuntu, Fedora for beginners; Debian and Arch for the curious&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A gentle migration:&lt;/strong&gt; Live USB, dual-boot, a designated machine, then full Linux&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What you gain:&lt;/strong&gt; Ownership, longevity, understanding, community, privacy by design&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;You can install all the privacy tools you want. But if your operating system is hostile, you&amp;rsquo;re building on a compromised foundation.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary><pubDate>Sat, 27 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-15/</guid><enclosure url="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-15.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" length="10562245"/><itunes:duration>12:18</itunes:duration><itunes:episode>15</itunes:episode><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit></item><item><title>Episode 16: Tor Browser</title><link>https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-16/</link><description>&lt;h1 id="episode-16-tor-browser"&gt;Episode 16: Tor Browser&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
&lt;audio controls preload="metadata" style="width: 100%; max-width: 600px;"&gt;
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&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-16.mp3" download&gt;Download MP3&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~10 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Private browsers block trackers. VPNs hide your traffic from your ISP. But Tor is different—it&amp;rsquo;s designed from the ground up for anonymity, hiding not just what you&amp;rsquo;re doing but who you are. This episode explains how it works and when to use it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode reveals:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How Tor works:&lt;/strong&gt; Three volunteer-run relays, each knowing only the hop before and after&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why it beats a VPN:&lt;/strong&gt; No single entity sees the complete picture&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Using Tor Browser:&lt;/strong&gt; Download from torproject.org, blend in, expect CAPTCHAs and slower speeds&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;When to use it:&lt;/strong&gt; Sensitive research, blocked content, whistleblowing, location-sensitive browsing&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The mistakes that compromise you:&lt;/strong&gt; Logging into personal accounts, resizing the window, plugins, torrenting&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tor and VPNs:&lt;/strong&gt; Why, in most cases, you should just use Tor by itself&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="key-quotes"&gt;Key Quotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Tor stands for &amp;lsquo;The Onion Router.&amp;rsquo; The name comes from how it protects you—layers, like an onion.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;With Tor, no single entity sees the complete picture.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Anonymity comes from blending in.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="the-takeaway"&gt;The Takeaway&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Download Tor Browser from torproject.org and use it when anonymity matters. Remember the rules: no personal logins, no customization, no careless behavior. Let yourself blend into the anonymous crowd.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="learn-more"&gt;Learn More&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Start here:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/privacy-101/week-08/"&gt;Tor Browser&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="transcript"&gt;Transcript&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Coming soon&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/"&gt;← Back to All Episodes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><itunes:summary>&lt;h1 id="episode-16-tor-browser"&gt;Episode 16: Tor Browser&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;div class="podcast-player"&gt;
&lt;audio controls preload="metadata" style="width: 100%; max-width: 600px;"&gt;
&lt;source src="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-16.mp3" type="audio/mpeg"&gt;
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&lt;a href="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-16.mp3" download&gt;Download MP3&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duration:&lt;/strong&gt; ~10 minutes | &lt;strong&gt;Format:&lt;/strong&gt; Practical&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr&gt;
&lt;h2 id="episode-summary"&gt;Episode Summary&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Private browsers block trackers. VPNs hide your traffic from your ISP. But Tor is different—it&amp;rsquo;s designed from the ground up for anonymity, hiding not just what you&amp;rsquo;re doing but who you are. This episode explains how it works and when to use it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This episode reveals:&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary><pubDate>Sun, 28 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="true">https://cypherpunkschool.com/podcast/episode-16/</guid><enclosure url="https://cypherpunkschool.com/audio/podcast/episode-16.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" length="8684264"/><itunes:duration>10:00</itunes:duration><itunes:episode>16</itunes:episode><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit></item></channel></rss>