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Techlore Talks

Techlore

Techlore Talks brings you in-depth conversations with the experts at the forefront of privacy, security, and digital rights. Hosted by Henry Fisher, founder of Techlore and long-time digital rights educator, each episode features meaningful discussions with the people building, researching, and advocating for digital freedom.

From cybersecurity researchers and privacy tool developers to open-source advocates and digital rights activists—if they're shaping how we protect ourselves online, they're on this show.

Topics include: privacy tools and technologies, cybersecurity threats and defenses, open-source software, surveillance and digital rights, encryption, tech policy, and digital sovereignty.

New episodes released regularly. Subscribe and join the community at techlore.tech.

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  • 23 episodes
  • Avg 1 hr 8 min
  • English

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  • January 24 · 1 hr 53 min

    The Messaging App With No User IDs (SimpleX Interview)

    SimpleX Chat is the only messaging network where users have no identifiers—no phone numbers, no usernames, no user IDs at all. Henry interviewed founder Evgeny Poberezkin about how unidirectional message pipes create a network where servers don't even know users exist, why this isn't federation, how it compares to Signal and Session, and why the company is based in the UK despite encryption battles. 🔗 SOURCES & LINKS • SimpleX: https://simplex.chat • Evgeny's Website: https://www.poberezkin.com/about.html ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 INTRO 00:01:31 SIMPLEX NAME 00:04:20 SIMPLEX TEAM 00:05:10 SIMPLEX VS. MAINSTREAM MESSENGERS 00:08:05 WHY THIS APPROACH? 00:11:14 THE FUTURE OF SIMPLEX 00:14:28 SIMPLEX NETWORK + FEDERATION 00:20:46 REGISTRATION MODELS 00:23:11 GOVERNMENT REQUESTS TO SIGNAL 00:25:42 REGISTRATION MODELS (CONT'D) 00:27:52 MESSENGER DISCUSSION? 00:29:54 SIMPLEX LIMITATIONS 00:31:00 WAYS TO USE SIMPLEX + SCALING 00:37:27 OPEN SOURCE 00:42:21 SIMPLEX ENCRYPTION + DENIABILITY 00:54:00 SIMPLEX METADATA 01:00:53 IP ADDRESS OBSERVATION 01:05:02 USABILITY CHALLENGES 01:09:53 MESSAGE DELIVERY 01:10:58 OUTAGES 01:13:14 MULTI-DEVICE SYNC 01:13:56 DESKTOP ONLY? 01:18:10 BATTERY IMPACT 01:19:44 BACKGROUND SYNC 01:21:50 FUNDING + SUSTAINABILITY 01:30:38 JURISDICTION 01:31:56 LEGAL + LIABILITY 01:40:37 PRIVACY AS A MEANS, NOT AN END 01:41:55 PRIVACY FOR THE MASSES VS. THE FEW 01:45:27 WHAT'S NEXT FOR SIMPLEX? 01:50:57 HOW TO FOLLOW 01:52:09 OUTRO 🎥 VIDEO Watch on YouTube 🧡 SUPPORT TECHLORE Keep Techlore Talks independent & growing: ★ Support this podcast ★

    • Transcript
  • January 17 · 1 hr 9 min

    It's Time for the VPN Industry to Innovate (Obscura Interview)

    You don't have to trust Obscura—you just have to trust that not both Obscura and Mullvad are compromised. Henry sat down with Carl, former Bitcoin Core developer and founder of Obscura VPN, to discuss how it's the first VPN that mathematically can't log your activity, what makes it censorship-resistant against networks like the Great Firewall, and what it really means to build privacy that's more than "a pinky promise." 🔗 SOURCES & LINKS • Obscura: https://obscura.net • GitHub: https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client • Trust, 2-Party Relays, and QUIC: https://obscura.net/blog/bootstrapping-trust/ • Mullvad: https://mullvad.net ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 INTRO 00:01:50 CARL'S BACKGROUND 00:10:47 APPLE'S PRIVATE RELAY 00:17:11 TRUSTLESS MODELS 00:19:05 MULTI-PARTY RELAY PARTNERSHIP 00:21:39 TRADITIONAL MULTI-HOP 00:23:39 CENSORSHIP RESISTANCE 00:27:33 MULLVAD VS. OBSCURA TRAFFIC 00:29:35 EXIT IP 00:30:18 BLOCKS, CAPTCHA, & SPLIT TUNNELING 00:31:16 CUSTOM DNS 00:32:41 PARTNERING WITH MULLVAD 00:36:05 OBSCURA VS. PRIVATE RELAY 00:37:10 OBSCURA VS. MULLVAD 00:38:33 OBSCURA VS. DECENTRALIZED VPNS 00:40:57 OBSCURA VS. TOR 00:41:58 REPRODUCIBLE BUILDS 00:50:23 CLIENTS & DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE 00:55:24 SPEED 00:59:06 DEFAULTS VS. CUSTOMIZATION 01:00:48 PRICING 01:02:43 OPEN SOURCE 01:03:34 THE OBSCURA TEAM 01:05:39 THOUGHTS ON THE VPN INDUSTRY 01:07:49 OUTRO 🎥 VIDEO Watch on YouTube 🧡 SUPPORT TECHLORE Keep Techlore Talks independent & growing: ★ Support this podcast ★

    • Transcript
  • January 10 · 1 hr 20 min

    Why F-Droid Still Can't Get on iPhone (FSFE Lawyer Interview)

    The Digital Markets Act is a can opener for Big Tech's walled gardens, forcing Apple, Google, and Microsoft to open their platforms whether they like it or not. Henry sat down with Lucas Lasota from the FSFE (Free Software Foundation of Europe) to understand what the DMA actually does, why Big Tech is fighting it in court, and what it means for open source software and your digital freedom. 📱 RESOURCES • Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE): https://fsfe.org • Free Software Foundation (FSF US): https://www.fsf.org • Public Money, Public Code campaign: https://publiccode.eu ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00:00 INTRO 00:01:36 WHAT IS THE FSFE? 00:04:12 LUCAS' ROLE AT FSFE 00:05:44 INTRO TO THE DMA 00:09:45 THOUGHTS ON REGULATION 00:12:47 PUBLIC MONEY, PUBLIC CODE 00:21:25 BREAKDOWN OF THE DMA 00:30:54 DMA ENFORCEMENTS 00:31:44 INTEROPERABILITY 00:36:20 DMA ENFORCEMENTS (CONT'D) 00:38:50 DMA CRITICISMS 00:50:41 USB-C ON IPHONES 00:53:03 APPLE'S "MALICIOUS COMPLIANCE" 00:56:57 UNDERSTANDING THE EU 01:02:12 EU COMMISSION & OTHER ORGANIZATIONS 01:06:58 DMA'S GLOBAL INFLUENCE 01:11:57 BIG TECH + INTERPRETATION OF LAW 01:18:23 OUTRO 🎥 VIDEO Watch on YouTube 🧡 SUPPORT TECHLORE Keep Techlore Talks independent & growing: ★ Support this podcast ★

    • Transcript
Showing 21–23 of 23 episodes