Practical

Episode 6: Building Your Threat Model Your browser does not support the audio element. Download MP3 Duration: ~10 minutes | Format: Practical Episode Summary “Privacy” isn’t one thing. Protecting yourself from advertisers is different from protecting yourself from hackers. Protecting yourself from an abusive ex is different from protecting yourself from a government. The tools are different, the tradeoffs are different—and if you don’t know what you’re defending against, you’ll either do too little or exhaust yourself doing too much. ...

Episode 7: Password Managers Your browser does not support the audio element. Download MP3 Duration: ~9 minutes | Format: Practical Episode Summary Most people use the same password—or a minor variation of it—across dozens of accounts. Their email, their bank, their social media, all protected by “Fluffy2019!” with a few symbols thrown in. When one database gets breached, and databases get breached constantly, attackers don’t get one account. They get the keys to everything. ...

Episode 8: Browsers That Don’t Spy on You Your browser does not support the audio element. Download MP3 Duration: ~8 minutes | Format: Practical 📝 Correction This episode recommends the HTTPS Everywhere browser extension. The EFF retired HTTPS Everywhere at the end of 2022 — every modern browser now enforces HTTPS automatically. Instead of installing it, just turn on your browser’s built-in HTTPS-Only Mode (Settings → Privacy). Everything else in the episode stands. ...

Episode 9: Search Engines That Don’t Track You Your browser does not support the audio element. Download MP3 Duration: ~6 minutes | Format: Practical Episode Summary Google processes over 8 billion searches a day, and every one teaches Google something about the person asking — what you worry about, what you want, what you fear. Even with a private browser, using Google Search undermines everything. This episode covers the search engines that don’t build a profile on you. ...

Episode 10: Escaping Gmail Your browser does not support the audio element. Download MP3 Duration: ~8 minutes | Format: Practical Episode Summary Gmail has over 1.8 billion users, and Google processes every message you send or receive — encrypted in transit and at rest, but with Google holding the keys. That means Google can read your mail, hand it to law enforcement, or expose it in a breach. This episode covers the email services that make a fundamentally un-private medium private anyway. ...

Episode 11: Why Signal Is the Answer Your browser does not support the audio element. Download MP3 Duration: ~8 minutes | Format: Practical Episode Summary Your text messages aren’t private. SMS travels in plaintext, iMessage only protects iPhone-to-iPhone (and not your iCloud backups), and WhatsApp encrypts content while Meta harvests your metadata. This episode maps the messaging landscape honestly and explains why Signal stands alone. This episode covers: ...

Episode 13: Your First Encrypted Files Your browser does not support the audio element. Download MP3 Duration: ~9 minutes | Format: Practical Episode Summary A stolen laptop. A failed hard drive sent for recovery. A breached cloud account. A border agent demanding your device. In every one of these scenarios, what happens to your files comes down to one thing: are they encrypted? This episode shows you how to make sure they are. ...

Episode 14: Your Daily Privacy Workflow Your browser does not support the audio element. Download MP3 Duration: ~9 minutes | Format: Practical Episode Summary You’ve got the tools—password manager, private browser, encrypted messaging, secure email, file encryption. But are you actually using them every day, or defaulting back to Chrome and Gmail because it’s easier? This episode builds a privacy workflow that sticks. This episode reveals: ...

Episode 15: Why Linux? Your browser does not support the audio element. Download MP3 Duration: ~12 minutes | Format: Practical Episode Summary You can install all the privacy tools you want, but if your operating system is hostile, you’re building on a compromised foundation. This episode makes the case for owning your computing stack with Linux. This episode reveals: The Windows problem: Telemetry you can’t turn off, Cortana, advertising IDs, forced updates, OneDrive Why Linux is different: Open source, no business model that needs your data, choice and control, respect by default The intimidation myth: Why “Linux is too hard” hasn’t been true for over a decade Choosing a distro: Mint, Pop!_OS, Ubuntu, Fedora for beginners; Debian and Arch for the curious A gentle migration: Live USB, dual-boot, a designated machine, then full Linux What you gain: Ownership, longevity, understanding, community, privacy by design Key Quotes “You can install all the privacy tools you want. But if your operating system is hostile, you’re building on a compromised foundation.” ...

Episode 16: Tor Browser Your browser does not support the audio element. Download MP3 Duration: ~10 minutes | Format: Practical Episode Summary Private browsers block trackers. VPNs hide your traffic from your ISP. But Tor is different—it’s designed from the ground up for anonymity, hiding not just what you’re doing but who you are. This episode explains how it works and when to use it. This episode reveals: ...