Podcast / Tech Won’t Save Us / Jun 6, 2024

How the FBI Tapped the Encrypted Chats of Criminals Around the World

On this episode of Tech Won’t Save Us, Joseph Cox on the largest international sting operation by law enforcement.

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

How the FBI Tapped the Encrypted Chats of Criminals Around the World with Joseph Cox | Tech Won’t Save Us
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Joseph Cox to discuss how the FBI created an encrypted phone company called Anom to read criminals’ messages and eventually carry out the largest international sting operation by law enforcement.

Joseph Cox is the author of Dark Wire: The Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever and the host of the 404 Media Podcast.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of Tech Won’t Save Us, we’re joined by Joseph Cox to discuss how the FBI created an encrypted phone company called Anom to read criminals’ messages and eventually carry out the largest international sting operation by law enforcement.

Joseph Cox is the author of Dark Wire: The Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever and the host of the 404 Media Podcast.

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

The SpaceX IPO Gives Elon Musk Even More Power w/ Sean O’Kane / Tech Won’t Save Us
byThe Nation Magazine

SpaceX is finally going public, and it’s bad news for anyone who wants to rein in Elon Musk. Sean O’Kane joins Paris Marx to discuss the flimsy sci-fi ideas Elon Musk is using to justify the company’s massive valuation and the way corporate governance rules are shifting to give him even more power.

Sean O’Kane is a senior reporter at TechCrunch.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

Support The Nation’s June Fundraising Campaign

With the midterm elections now firmly upon us, the question is whether Democratic candidates will do more than merely occupy ballot lines as mild alternatives to the red-hot crisis that is Donald Trump.

As Trump spends over $1 billion a day on a globally destabilizing war on Iran and admits that he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation,” millions across the country are struggling with the surging costs of essentials. Democrats must seize this moment and advance bold, small-“d” populist ideas—not settle for cynical caution that once again snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.

The Nation elevates progressive ideas, movements, and elected officials achieving real change across the country into the national conversation. At the same time, our journalists are exposing how crypto and AI-funded super PACs are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to knock out candidates they oppose, reporting on the devastating impact of the Supreme Court’s evisceration of the Voting Rights Act, and sounding the alarm on attempts by red states to quickly redraw electoral maps, disenfranchising Southern Black voters.

We can play this critical role because of support from readers like you. This June, we’re raising $20,000 to power The Nation’s independent journalism in the run-up to November’s immensely consequential elections.

It’s in our power to build a more just society, and your support at this critical moment brings us closer to that bold vision. I hope you’ll donate today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Huevel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

Paris Marx

Paris Marx is a tech critic and host of the Tech Won’t Save Us podcast. He writes the Disconnect newsletter and is the author of Road to Nowhere: What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong about the Future of Transportation.

More from The Nation

An oil tanker is loaded at the Westridge Marine Terminal at the end point of the Trans Mountain Pipeline System in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

Why Big Oil Wants to Splinter Canada Why Big Oil Wants to Splinter Canada

Nora Loreto on the politics of Alberta separatism.

Jeet Heer

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli air strike on the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre as Israeli forces continued to expand their invasion in south Lebanon.

Israel Escalates Lebanon Strikes, Taiwan Arms Sale Stalls, US Stockpiles Run Low Israel Escalates Lebanon Strikes, Taiwan Arms Sale Stalls, US Stockpiles Run Low

The AP UFC dome is regrettably being held up by producer Jake’s HOA

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

A woman wears a “Trump Was Right ”hat as people pray and sing during the PrayVoteStand Summit at the Omni Shoreham hotel in Washington, DC.

The Christian Right Is Weaponizing Scripture—With John Fugelsang  The Christian Right Is Weaponizing Scripture—With John Fugelsang 

Danny and Derek welcome to the show John Fugelsang, author of Separation of Church and Hate, to talk about the rise and influence of right-wing Christianity in the Unite...

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

CIA Director John Ratcliffe and President Trump at the White House on April 6, 2026.

The CIA’s Assassination Campaign in Mexico The CIA’s Assassination Campaign in Mexico

Alexander Aviña on Trump’s new imperialism in Latin America.

Jeet Heer

Trump-Xi Summit, Iran Ceasefire Breakdown, CIA Mexico Strike

Trump-Xi Summit, Iran Ceasefire Breakdown, CIA Mexico Strike Trump-Xi Summit, Iran Ceasefire Breakdown, CIA Mexico Strike

Danny and Derek fight fake news as they fight their allergies. 

Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner

A motorcyclist rides past a monument in Bamako in support of the Malian Army after surprise attacks by Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition and the jihadist Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) targeted several areas in the vast arid country, on April 26, 2026.

Iran Talks Collapse, UAE Leaves OPEC, Mali Rebels Seize Kidal  Iran Talks Collapse, UAE Leaves OPEC, Mali Rebels Seize Kidal 

King Charles paid his respects at AP HQ, but was put off by Danny’s pet ferrets.

Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner

x