KQED Radio
KQED Newssee more
Latest Newscasts:KQEDNPR
Player Sponsored By
upper waypoint

Nick Bilton Investigates 'Dread Pirate Roberts' and the Origins of the Deep Web

52:37
at
Save ArticleSave Article
Failed to save article

Please try again

Max Dickstein stands with other upporters of Ross Ulbricht, the alleged creator and operator of the Silk Road underground market, in front of a Manhattan federal court house on the first day of jury selection for his trial on January 13, 2015 in New York City. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

In 2013, FBI agents arrested 29-year-old Ross Ulbricht, otherwise known as “Dread Pirate Roberts,” the mastermind behind an underground website where people could buy and sell drugs, firearms and other illegal items. But how exactly did Ulbricht, an Eagle Scout from Texas, become the head of Silk Road, a multimillion dollar Deep Web marketplace? Journalist Nick Bilton set out to answer that question in his new book, “American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road.” Bilton joins us to discuss his findings and the fascinating and illicit world of the Deep Web.

Guest: Nick Bilton,
special columnist, Vanity Fair; author, “American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind behind the Silk Road”

Guests:

Nick Bilton, special columnist, Vanity Fair; former tech columnist, New York Times; author, "American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind behind the Silk Road"

Sponsored

lower waypoint
next waypoint
Rainn Wilson from ‘The Office’ on Why We Need a Spiritual RevolutionErik Aadahl on the Power of Sound in FilmKQED Youth Takeover: How Can San Jose Schools Create Safer Campuses?Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Major Homelessness CasePercival Everett’s Novel “James” Recenters the Story of Huck FinnHave We Entered Into a New Cold War Era?KQED Youth Takeover: How Social Media is Changing Political AdvertisingDeath Doula Alua Arthur on How and Why to Prepare for the EndHow to Create Your Own ‘Garden Wonderland’First Trump Criminal Trial Underway in New York