Privacy is the New Celebrity EP 12: Hugh Howey

In this episode, Brady Forrest, MobileCoin’s Head of Business Development, interviews Hugh Howey, acclaimed author of the science fiction story Wool and the Silo Series of novels, as well as several works of non-fiction including the Wayfinding series.

Brady asks Hugh about the inspiration for Wool and Hugh shares how processing some of his darkest emotions led to his most successful story. Hugh also tells us what it’s like to sail around the world and Brady compares solo-sailing on long voyages to silent meditation retreats (Hugh recommends Craig Mod’s write-up on the subject).

Hugh recalls a flight where he sat next to Sir Timothy Berners-Lee, a computer scientist best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web. Hugh asked him what he would have done differently during the conception of the internet, and Berners-Lee’s immediate response was “universal login”. Hugh views universal login as a privacy technology with the potential to solve personal digital security breaches.

Hugh describes how he didn’t think much about privacy until his own privacy was violated on a global scale when scammers used his photos to create thousands of fake online dating profiles. This violation still follows him around today. He even recently got a call from the FBI regarding the matter!

You can check out Brady’s entire conversation with Hugh Howey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Buzzsprout. While you’re listening, don’t forget to subscribe to Privacy is the New Celebrity Podcast on your favorite streaming service.

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