Who on Earth has an encyclopedic understanding of 1990s crypto-wars, knows what it is to look into the terrifying face of the Republican primary electorate, and can tell you which open source database platform was enabled by the porn industry? (That last one is a lie.)

Only Ken Kennedy. This week's guest is a self-described tech activist and recovering libertarian with a deep knowledge of tech and the policies that help and hinder it, and who pretends to sound enlightened when I rant about how terrible the cover art of most sci-fi and fantasy novels is.

Ken and I have been Internet friends for many years, and this is the first time he and I have ever actually spoken to each other using our human voices. It seemed to work out, evidenced by the fact that even after extensive editing, I still couldn't get the show below 80 minutes. There's just that much to say!

Duration: 81 minutes

Subscribe to the Obcast in iTunes or through this link.

Links from the show:   

Ken's website and podcast Kenzoid's Autonomous Zone.

Ken at Google+ and as @kenzoid on Twitter.

On the Media: "Pulling Back the Curtain" - Piece on the editing and clean-up done at NPR. 

The World's Smallest Political Quiz (I turn out to be a liberal, if you can believe it) 

The Name of the Wind cover art 

Anathem cover art