Edward Snowden on The Joe Rogan Experience show
Posted in book
Tags :![The cover of the book Permanent Record displaying a portrait of Edward Snowden](/perch/resources/hero/04099abe-8ce4-4772-ba1a-ec05afd1dd18.jpeg)
Edward Snowden is the guest of episode #1368 of The Joe Rogan Experience talking about his newly released book “Permanent Record” and his life as an exiled whistleblower.
During this lengthy podcast (2:49) Edward Snowden talks at length of his choices and gets to explain the contexts in which he made them. Over the years since 2013, he has become a great speaker, and I hope to have the opportunity to hear him live one day.
My name is Edward Joseph Snowden. I used to work for the government. Now I work for the public.
“Permanent Record” was released on September 17 to coincide Constitution Day, which Snowden discusses in the book. I devoured the Audible edition over the course of a few days, and found it captivating (e.g. I’d never realised he’d spend his first foreign assignment in Geneva). It’s well written and full of fascinating technical snippets. Edward Snowden is concise in his writings and delivers detailed descriptions of the technical aspects of his work, but the story comes over as entertaining nevertheless.
For instance, I would love to see some of Snowden’s early web design… :)
The book is roughly structured into three parts (childhood, CIA/NSA contractor and his time in the “Tunnel”), the last two of which I couldn’t put the book down. Highly recommended read.
![Quote: “These young people who have known no other world have dedicated themselves to imagining one, and it's their political creativity and technological ingenuity that gives me hope” -- Edward Snowden](https://davidroessli.com/perch/resources/blog/showdenquote.jpeg)
![Self portrait with the portrait of Edward Snowden covering my face](https://davidroessli.com/perch/resources/blog/selfsnowdensq-1.jpg)
More reviews and coverage:
- “They want me gone” — Guardian, Sep 13th, 2019
- “Edward Snowden publie ses Mémoires : « Nous – moi, vous, nous tous – étions trop naïfs »” — Le Monde, Sep 13th, 2019
- “In Edward Snowden’s New Memoir, the Disclosures This Time Are Personal” — New York Times, Sep 13th, 2019
- “Edward Snowden in His Own Words: Why I Became a Whistle-Blower” — WIRED, Sep 22nd, 2019
- “Edward Snowden and the Rise of Whistle-Blower Culture” — New Yorker, Sep 23th, 2019
- “Edward Snowden et Genève: la rencontre ratée” — Le Temps, Sep 27th, 2019 (and why you should always read the original version of a book when reviewing it… #ftl)
- “Edward Snowden’s Permanent Record (ep. 66)” — ACLU Podcast: At Liberty, Oct 1st, 2019
This book complements and enriches Citizenfour the documentary film made by Laura Poitras (an on demand video is available).
I truly admire Edward Snowden for the life changing choices he made, and the courage and resilience he has shown since. We all owe him.