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FREEDOM & PRIVACY TECH vs THE FIAT PANOPTICON | Max Hillebrand

Nov 21, 2025

Guest

Max Hillebrand

In this engaging discussion, Max Hillebrand, a long-time advocate for freedom tech, delves into why privacy is essential for personal liberty. He argues for building resilient, ethical companies and exploring seasteading for autonomy on the high seas. The duo highlights the need for privacy-focused tools and emphasizes the importance of decentralized messaging against state surveillance. They also discuss the social implications of hidden Bitcoin wealth and encourage contributions to Freedom Tech to secure a decentralized future. Get ready to rethink freedom!

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INSIGHT

Privacy As A Tool To Increase Freedom

Privacy increases the cost of coercion by hiding targets from attackers.
Mastering privacy tools therefore expands real individual freedom.

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ADVICE

Build Privacy Tools In Peacetime

Build privacy tools now because peacetime is for building.
Deploy them widely so people can use them when authoritarian pressure rises.

insights

INSIGHT

High Seas As A Realm Of Autonomy

The high seas offer legal autonomy and historical anarchic examples.
Seasteading illustrates how physical geography can enable parallel, freer societies.

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Max on Privacy as a Foundation for Freedom

02:15 • 1min

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Conference Culture: Phones, Recording, and Trust

03:18 • 42sec

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Why Private Speech Matters Alongside Public Speech

04:00 • 58sec

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Privacy Maximalism and Building in Peacetime

04:58 • 42sec

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Subverting the State by Reclaiming Freedoms

05:40 • 2min

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Bootstrapping Parallel Economies and Production

08:00 • 2min

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Will a Parallel System Replace Fiat?

09:32 • 3min

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Resilience of Human Freedom Despite Authoritarianism

12:45 • 1min

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Seasteading and High-Seas Autonomy

13:57 • 4min

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Practicality and Sustainability of Living at Sea

18:04 • 4min

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Personal Interest in Sailing and Seasteads

22:31 • 4min

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Encryption, Cyberspace, and Asymmetric Defense

26:08 • 2min

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Bitcoin, Lightning, and Trust-Minimized Payments

28:13 • 3min

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Uneven Technology Distribution and Responsibility

31:21 • 3min

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Hidden Bitcoin Wealth and Its Social Impact

34:02 • 6min

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Freedom Tech Patronage and Funding Builders

39:51 • 15sec

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Building Private Nostr Messaging with Marmot

40:06 • 6min

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Decentralized Messaging vs Centralized Outages

46:25 • 55sec

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Historic Crypto and Signal Parallels

47:21 • 3min

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Bitcoin for Time-Stamping, Nostr for Speech, Marmot for Privacy

49:55 • 3min

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Building Beyond Money: Solving Real Human Problems

53:02 • 3min

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Shrinking the State and Making Resistance Profitable

56:07 • 3min

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Adoption: Run Towards Better UX and Defaults

59:07 • 2min

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Defaults, Network Effects, and Privacy by Design

01:01:12 • 5min

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How Non-Developers Can Build FreedomTech

01:05:52 • 5min

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Division of Labor: Let Devs Build, Others Support

01:10:45 • 5min

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Grants, Patronage, and Sustainable Business Models

01:15:37 • 6min

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Practical Ways to Support Projects with Zaps

01:21:17 • 1min

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Seed Hammer: Steel Backups for Private Keys

01:22:24 • 3min

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Final Call to Build Freedom Tech

The Middle of the Road Leads to Socialism

Ludwig von Mises

"The Middle of the Road Leads to Socialism" by Ludwig von Mises argues against interventionist economic policies, asserting they inevitably lead to socialism. Mises contends that when government intervention fails to achieve its intended outcomes, policymakers are inclined to implement further controls. This escalation of controls gradually erodes the free market. He posits that this incremental encroachment on economic freedom ultimately culminates in a comprehensive socialist system. The book serves as a warning against policies that compromise economic liberty. Mises advocates for a pure free market system as the only viable path to prosperity and individual freedom.

#14312

• Mentioned in 3 episodes

Cryptoeconomics

James Chiang

Eric Voskuil

Cryptoeconomics: Fundamental Principles of Bitcoin delves into the economic and security principles underlying Bitcoin, providing a rigorous and comprehensive understanding of its unique features. The book integrates insights from economics, technology, and security to offer a holistic perspective on Bitcoin's value proposition and behavior. It is particularly valuable for those already familiar with Bitcoin who seek a deeper understanding of its economic and game theory aspects.

#171

• Mentioned in 105 episodes

Snow Crash

Neal Stephenson

Published in 1992, 'Snow Crash' is a science fiction novel by Neal Stephenson that delves into a future where the United States has fragmented into corporate city-states and the internet has evolved into a virtual reality called the Metaverse. The story follows Hiro Protagonist, a pizza delivery driver and part-time hacker, and Y.T. , a teenage skateboard courier, as they navigate a complex world threatened by a mysterious computer virus and a powerful drug known as Snow Crash. The novel explores themes of history, linguistics, anthropology, and computer science, and is noted for its prescient vision of the metaverse and its influence on Silicon Valley innovators.

In this episode, I chat with Max Hillebrand, a devoted advocate for freedom tech and a long-time contributor to the Bitcoin and privacy space. Max and I dive deep into the philosophical and technical underpinnings of privacy, sovereignty, and the decentralized future we’re all building toward.

If you’ve ever questioned the fragility of our current systems or wondered what it means to truly own your freedom, this conversation will not only make you think, it might just light a fire under you.

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