FROM THE VAULT - Episode 291 - The Silk Road: Drugs, Data & The Dread Pirate Roberts

With Ross Ulbricht now a free man thanks to his recent presidential pardon we thought it would a good idea to look back at who he is, what he did, and what he represented as "The Dread Pirate Roberts". So enjoy our episode from all the way back in March 2023 for some all important context on the internets iconic drug kingpin, and decide for yourself: Should he be walking free?

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For some, the end of the world's most infamous online marketplace was a major victory in the never ending war on drugs. But for others, the global, multi-agency investigation into the Silk Road set a dangerous precedent for law enforcement – who rifled through the personal data of countless innocent users in their hunt for the elusive online drug-lord/revolutionary: Dread Pirate Roberts.

So prepare for a trip on the Silk Road, and find out how a tax inspector hanging out on a hallucinogenic mushroom forum caught one of the most slippery criminals we’ve ever covered.

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