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Aaron

Episode 5 of 10

Biella explores the legacy of Aaron Swartz's life and tragic death on the hacker community.

Biella explores the legacy of Aaron Swartz. From the age of 14, Aaron was a prolific hacker, inventor and activist. He was integral in the creation of Creative Commons and the Internet Archive, co-founder social media site Reddit, and was passionate in his activism work that culminated in the dismissal of the Stop Online Piracy Act in the USA. But Aaron took his own life at the age of 26 when he was charged with violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, facing decades in prison and millions of dollars in fines - a court case that many at the time felt was completely unjustified.

Biella speaks with Harvard Professor Lawrence Lessig who worked with Aaron on the Creative Commons project, and a Lisa Rein, co-founder of β€˜Aaron Swartz Day’ that works to carry on projects started or inspired by Aaron’s work, and discusses why it’s important to remember Aaron’s story, the legacy of his work, and to find out if a recent Supreme Court ruling on the CFAA means that people like Aaron may be safer in the future.

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14 minutes

Last on

Fri 17 Dec 2021 13:45

Lawrence Lessig

Lawrence Lessig is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School. Prior to returning to Harvard, he taught at Stanford Law School, where he founded the Center for Internet and Society, and at the University of Chicago.Β He clerked for Judge Richard Posner on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and for Justice Antonin Scalia on the United States Supreme Court.

Lessig is the founder of Equal Citizens and a founding board member of Creative Commons, and serves on the Scientific Board of AXA Research Fund. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, he has received numerous awards including a Webby, the Free Software Foundation's Freedom Award, Scientific American 50 Award, and Fastcase 50 Award.

Cited byΒ The New YorkerΒ as β€œthe most important thinker on intellectual property in the Internet era,” Lessig's current work addresses β€œinstitutional corruption”—relationships which, while legal, weaken public trust in an institutionβ€”especially as that affects democracy.

His books are:Β They Don't Represent Us: Reclaiming Our DemocracyΜύ(2019),ΜύFidelity & Constraint: How the Supreme Court Has Read the American ConstitutionΜύ(2019),ΜύAmerica, CompromisedΜύ(2018),ΜύRepublic, Lost v2Μύ(2015),ΜύThe USA is LesterlandΜύ(2014),ΜύOne Way ForwardΜύ(2012),ΜύRepublic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congressβ€”and a Plan to Stop ItΜύ(2011),ΜύRemix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid EconomyΜύ(2008),ΜύCode v2Μύ(2006),ΜύFree CultureΜύ(2004),ΜύThe Future of IdeasΒ (2001), andΒ Code and Other Laws of CyberspaceΜύ(1999).

Lessig holds a BA in economics and a BS in management from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in philosophy from Cambridge University, and a JD from Yale.Β  Β Β 

Lisa Rein

Lisa Rein is a singer, songwriter, actress, film maker, archivist and activist and Co-Founder of Aaron Swartz Day and theΒ The Swartz-Manning VR Museum, Art Gallery and Fun House.Β 
She tells us about how she met Aaron in the early days of 'Creative Commons' and discusses how Aaron Swartz Day and Hackathon seeks to continue Aaron's legacy through collective open source development.

Broadcast

  • Fri 17 Dec 2021 13:45

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