If You're Listening Is internet piracy making a comeback, me hearties?
8 snips
Dec 1, 2025 Adair Sheppard, a podcast producer and researcher, dives into the fascinating world of digital piracy. They discuss how Sweden’s early broadband culture birthed platforms like Pirate Bay. Listeners learn about the rise and fall of file-sharing, the dramatic police raids, and surprising legal battles that only fueled the site's popularity. Adair reveals how streaming reshaped the piracy landscape, leading to a modern resurgence driven by fragmented services. The conversation is packed with insights into the ongoing dance between creators and digital pirates.
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Episode notes
Sweden’s Early Internet Culture
- Sweden incubated both the Pirate Party and The Pirate Bay from a strong early‑internet, open‑sharing culture.
- Adair Sheppard notes many young Swedes grew up with broadband and open‑source sharing norms that shaped piracy.
How The Pirate Bay Worked
- The Pirate Bay operated as a directory linking torrent files, not as a host of copyrighted files.
- Matt Bevan explains BitTorrent let users download pieces from many peers, enabling fast distributed sharing.
Raid Backfired Into Free Publicity
- Swedish police raided The Pirate Bay servers in May 2006 and arrested the founders, yet the site was only down three days.
- Adair Sheppard recounts that the raid generated huge publicity and traffic to the site increased afterwards.
