Ross Ulbricht built an empire in the shadows—a sprawling digital bazaar called The Silk Road, hidden on the dark web. There, drugs, weapons, and stolen secrets flowed freely, all paid for in untraceable cryptocurrency. To his global clientele, he was a legend: the Dread Pirate Roberts. But after a dramatic arrest and a staggering double life sentence, Ulbricht’s fate took another twist. Just days into his second term, President Trump pardoned him, sparking outrage and debate.
So, did he deserve his punishment? Did justice prevail, or was power at play? And how did a digital outlaw become the ultimate wild card in America’s justice system?
In this episode:
Nicholas Cristin (@nc2y), Online Crime Professor at Carnegie Mellon University
David Yaffe-Bellany (@yaffebellany), Technology Reporter for the New York Times
Episode credits:
This episode was written and produced by Anna Staufenberg and hosted by Halla Mohieddeen.
Executive Producer: Ney Alvarez
Production Manager: Bronte Baskin
Senior Producers: Marthe van der Wolf
Post-Production Supervisor: Andrés Rivera
Assistant Producers: Leo Danczak and Catherine Nouhan
Fact-checking by Ruby Zaman and Rached El-Moctar
Audio editing by Alan Leer
Music composition by Tom Biddle
Translation by Diana Larrea Maccise and Ney Alvarez
Lead of Engagement: Aya Elmileik
Engagement Producers: Adam Abou-Gad, Munera AlDosari, and Vienna Maglio
Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio: Ney Alvarez
Connect with us:
@AJEPodcasts on Instagram, X, Facebook, and YouTube