Did David Simon piss Edward Snowden off in their Twitter Debate on metadata?
David Simon not only revolutionized television when he created the series The Wire for HBO, the veteran crime reporter turned screenwriter offered audiences a window into the underground drug market. Simon deftly revealed the interplay between government, police enforcement, addicts, dealers, politicians, prisons, media, press, religious institutions, lobbyists, public school system, gangs, business, entrepreneurs, race, class, and technology. As a result, everyone from President Barack Obama to drug dealers to journalists became devoted followers of the show. Perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise that the whistle blower Edward Snowden is a fan of The Wire. But when Snowden decided to take this fictionalized television show and use it as an example of how meta-data is collected on Twitter, he didn't realize David Simon would respond IRL. Both passionate and knowledgeable critics on the issue of national security, the two embarked on a debate about whether the government is overstepping in how, why, when, where it collects meta-data. They managed to debate civil liberties, national security, terrorism, burner phones, crime in 140 words on Twitter one Sunday, while Simon was in Baltimore, Maryland and Snowden was in Russia. Simon reflected on this fascinating, utterly uncensored discussion in his conversation with Catie Lazarus on Employee of the Month Show at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater.
To hear David Simon and Catie Lazarus's interview in full, check out the podcast on SoundCloud, Squeakr or iTunes. Go to www.employeeofthemonthshow.com for more.
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Recorded March 2016 at Joe's Pub | Audio mixed by Alex Syner | Video by Adam Abel, Meredith Kaufman Younger, and Nathan Bett | Edited by Meredith Kaufman Younger | Graphics by Ed Mundy | Theme Music by Eric Biondo Band featuring MC Jelly Donut and Shockwave, both of Freestyle Love Supreme. www.employeeofthemonthshow.com