Case 76
Silk Road
(Part 1)
[Part 1 of 3]
Pennsylvania State University student Ross Ulbricht had been fascinated with mathematics and science from a young age. During his college years, he developed a new fascination with libertarianism, a political philosophy that values individual freedom above all else. For Ross, this became more of an interest – it became a way of life.
Combining his libertarianism beliefs with his interest in computers, Ross came up with the idea to create a free trade, an untraceable online market that operated outside of government regulations. His vision soon became a reality, and The Silk Road was born.
CREDITS
EPISODE:
Research & writing – Victoria Dieffenbacher
Narration – Anonymous Host
MUSIC:
‘Flatline intro’ and ‘Come play with me’ intro and outro – www.dl-sounds.com
Audio production – Mike Migas
Scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn
OTHER:
Logo and website design – Paulina Szymanska
RESOURCES
BOOKS:
American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt For The Criminal Mastermind Behind The Silk Road – by Nick Bilton
Silk Road – by Eileen Ormsby
DOCUMENTARY:
The Deep Web – a film by Alex Winter
PODCAST:
Episode number 633 with Alex Winter – The Joe Rogan Experience
ADRIAN CHEN’S GAWKER ARTICLE:
The Underground Website Where You Can Buy Any Drug Imaginable – Gawker
COURT TRANSCRIPTS:
United States of America v Ross William Ulbricht – January 13, 2015
United States of America v Ross William Ulbricht – January 20, 2015
Full archive of Ross’s court documents
WEBSITES:
Ross’s post as Altoid on the website www.shroomery.org
Hi, My Name is Ross Ulbricht – Reddit
Free Ross – Twitter
ARTICLES:
About this $1.2 billion crap… – All Things Vice