Episode 32 - The Silk Road

In October of 2013, a crypto-anarchist named Ross Ulbricht was arrested and charged with being the primary administrator of a website called The Silk Road, a place hidden in the so-called dark web where illegal drugs could be bought and sold with complete anonymity. While the United States government was aware of the illegal sale of these controlled substances on the dark web, it took them a full two years to identify the website’s primary administrator due to the use of Tor software and Bitcoin currency. Ulbricht’s arrest shed light on the larger issue about the use of technology and how it can be used to ensure personal freedoms in the face of government overreach as well as exacerbate harmful and destructive criminal enterprises. How does contemporary technology simplify, and complicate, these basic questions of autonomy and personal freedom? How can high-minded ideals be hijacked by our more primitive psychology? Join us as Drs. Micono and Morelos discuss The Silk Road with Brains Byte Back podcast creator and host Sam Brake Guia.