159. Mic Drop: The NSA’s Cryptologic Museum - a spycatcher’s dream

We tend to picture cyberattacks as distant battles—state hackers, big targets, glowing maps of global chaos. But often, the frontlines are more local: a water plant, a 911 system, the power lines outside your window. In this CyberMonday crossover with WAMU’s 1A, we examine a small-town breach, the fragility of our digital infrastructure—and what it means for all of us. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Milo Comerford has been studying online extremism for more than a decade. He’s watched ideologies rise and fall, platforms shift, and tactics mutate. Now, as kids fall into violent online communities with no ideology at all, Milo says we’re overdue for a new playbook. Today: the solutions he thinks might actually work. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Across the internet, groups like 764 are redefining extremism: less about beliefs, more about chaos. We look at how the movement works, who it attracts, and why stopping it is so challenging. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Car theft has gone digital. We talk to a white-hat hacker about how cars became computers on wheels—and why, in the race for smarter tech, safety is still trying to catch up. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Volvo built its reputation on safety. Then a software update nearly sent one driver off a cliff. We look at what happens when car companies start acting like tech companies — and discover the danger of “move fast and break things” on the open road. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The Espionage Act was written more than a century ago to stop spies and saboteurs. But over time, its reach has quietly expanded — from enemy agents to insiders, and now, possibly, to the press itself. Georgetown Law’s Stephen Vladeck explains how a law built for wartime secrecy could become one of the most powerful tools in Washington’s arsenal. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

In 2017, NSA contractor Reality Winner mailed a five-page classified document to “The Intercept.” What happened next – a botched verification, an FBI knock at her door, and a prison sentence under the Espionage Act – raised big questions about how journalists handle secrets and how the government punishes those who share them. We talk to Reality about all that and her new memoir. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Big Tech’s data centers are changing the landscape of small-town America, bringing new kinds of jobs and economic opportunity. This week, we hear from Shannon Wait, a data technician in South Carolina whose experience led to a rare labor settlement — offering a window into what life inside these facilities is really like. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

When Big Tech brought plans for a giant data center to St. Charles, Missouri, one college student decided to fight back. And it raises a question small towns all over the US are asking: what happens when the cloud touches ground? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

As the Trump administration pressures Apple and Google to remove apps that track ICE activity from their stores, locals are going old-school. Francisco Chavo Romero, an LA-based activist, explains how it works. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices