WHYcast transcript episode 38

Disclaimer

This is the full transcript generated using AI tools and some human oversight. This transcript was generated using a local running Whisper model, diarization, and human prompting to generate a readable transcript. The transcript was carefully transcribed; however, these models do make mistakes (just like humans do). Before publishing it on the wiki, read the transcribed episode to correct any obvious errors. Mistakes may still be present. You are welcome to correct the transcript based on the official WHYcast episode to make the content even more accessible.

Transcript 38

[Nancy]: And welcome to the WHYcast episode 38. I am Nancy, and the Adfluencer is currently in France—or not anymore. This is a new experiment in doing the episode asynchronously. So instead of the Adfluencer, we have “asynchronous Ad” or “asynchronous Nancy” for now. Either way, you’re listening to the only podcast about a hacker camp in the universe.

[Nancy]: This volunteer-run event will take place this year in the Netherlands, approximately 42 kilometers north of Amsterdam from August 8th to 12th. That’s in a couple of weeks from now, actually. So, Ad, tell us, what are we talking about today?

[Ad]: Actually, I was in France. I’m not anymore, but I’m still not home, so we’re doing an asynchronous episode anyway. Today we’re talking about the news, we have a very cool interview, a Where to Hack segment, the vacancy of the week, and maybe listener questions—if I can get to the mailbox in time. We’ll see. But first, we’ll start with the news because there’s something about tickets.

[Nancy]: Oh yes, we have great ticket news. We managed to puzzle out the terrain and make sure Team Village doesn’t get overwhelmed, and that Team:NUTS, Team Knock, and all the other teams have what they need. After much planning, we decided to add 250 extra tickets because we nearly sold out the initial 3,500—that’s crazy and amazing.

[Nancy]: Next week I will be presenting at DevOps Days in Amsterdam about “Why is WHY.” If you’re there and visiting the event, please look me up and talk to me after my talk on Thursday morning. Of course, we’re still working hard on permits and all the other logistical things that need attention.

[Ad]: In badge news, the new badge has been posted online. It’s a board with a four-inch square display, a keyboard, and an ESP32C6 for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity to manage everything on the board. There’s also a separate detachable daughter board with an ESP32P4—the big brain of the contraption—so you can build your own carrier board for this powerful new ESP. All hardware and software will be open source; check the Git repos. Links will be in the show notes. We’ll try to get an interview with members of the badge team—project leads and subteams for software, hardware, and documentation.

[Ad]: But for now, let’s jump into our interview. We all know Danny from Team:Cohesion and from one of our first episodes. Nancy and Danny will talk about what Team:Cohesion does. Let’s go!

[Unknown]: Back!

[Nancy]: Yay! Hey, Danny! Welcome to the show.

[Danny]: Yes, thanks, Nancy. A lot is going on around here with WHY, and today I’m supposed to talk about Team:Cohesion.

[Nancy]: Yes—though you’re also doing Team:Content. Thanks for that. Can you shed some light on what Team:Cohesion does?

[Danny]: Team:Cohesion is a team you hope you never need, but we’re there nonetheless. In the build-up and on the field, we take care of cohesion between people. We’re sometimes called “Team Duct Tape”—duct taping people together, always with consent. If there’s a ruffle, a fight—please don’t fight—or any disagreement, we help de-escalate the situation. We mediate, listen to the story, and if you just want to vent, we’re here for that too. Sometimes talking it out is enough.

[Nancy]: Absolutely—just stepping back and having someone listen can be very helpful.

[Danny]: In preparation, if you have a disagreement or need to vent, you can contact Cohesion to help liaise between you and any other team. We’re also the keepers of the Code of Conduct, which is nearly finished. The core is “be excellent to each other.” We’re writing rules in positive wording rather than a long list of “thou shalt nots,” so it reads like something you conduct along with, not against.

[Nancy]: That sounds great—keep an open mind and talk to people.

[Danny]: Exactly. If something seems weird, ask about it. Weird is good. You learn from it and broaden your horizons.

[Nancy]: On the field, how do people reach you?

[Danny]: You can send a postcard (see our Chaos Post episode), or we’ll have a mobile phone number for WhatsApp, Signal, and calls. We’ll also have a DECT phone, we’ll carry radios, and security can connect with us. We hope to find a little home base on the field—look for visible keycords, T-shirts, or even duct tape tiaras.

[Danny]: We’ll distribute flyers and posters with contact info. Whether you need mediation, just someone to talk to, or help with overwhelming panic—Cohesion, together with security’s cool down room, has your back. And if there’s any misconduct, we can help with that too.

[Nancy]: It’s unfortunate Cohesion is needed, but good to have in place. For more info, the info desk or anyone from Orga can point you to Team:Cohesion.

[Danny]: We hope not to have much to do. My best events are when I carry two phones and a radio for days and never use them—I want to waste my time as much as possible.

[Nancy]: Let’s turn Cohesion into Team:Waste—Time Wasters!

[Danny]: Time Wasters—going back to our hacking community origins. But above all, be excellent to each other.

[Nancy]: Also, you came up with a wonderful idea for naming one of the waters on the map?

[Danny]: Yes. When the Americans wanted to rename the Gulf of Mexico, I thought “Bay of Blahay” for the alliteration, but “Gulf of Blahay” is even better. One of the waters on our map will be named the Gulf of Blahay. We’ll make a little signpost with the Deco team. It’s just a fun thing that reflects our community spirit — the “yes and” attitude.

[Nancy]: I love it. And it’s also a nice gesture to the US citizens fleeing their country—they’re welcome here.

[Danny]: I collect letters of the LGBT+ alphabet, and I love the idea of a little refugee camp area where recruiters are welcome—a true help zone.

[Nancy]: That’s beautiful. You’re doing a lot for the broader community too, as part of the Women in Cybersecurity community (WICCON). Their CFP is open for their end-of-October event; I’ll share the link in the show notes. The CFP for OrangeCon is open too—if you’re looking for more stages after WHY.

[Nancy]: Any final words for those hesitant to come?

[Danny]: Know you’re welcome. Many people on neurodiverse spectrums attend, so you’ll find someone like you. If you haven’t been to a big camp yet, just show up—you’ll have fun and feel welcome. Our ground principle is to be excellent to each other; to quote the Green Brothers, “Don’t forget to be awesome.”

[Ad]: And now it’s time for Where to Hack. This week you could go to Berlin on the 15th for the Berlin Buzzwords conference—data infrastructure, machine learning, all focused on open source. Last-minute tickets are available. Then travel near Paris on the 17th and 18th for the free OW2con. Links in the show notes. With the badge details online, you can start hacking your badge for camp now.

[Nancy]: Vacancy of the week: a hacker camp needs content—booklets, media, a wiki. I know some people are irked that we use AI from time to time, but between two and five people create all public content. If you want more human-written text, reach out to Team:Promo & Info or Team:WHYcast and become a writer. We’d love more help.

[Ad]: Normally we’d have listener questions, but I don’t have mailbox access right now. If you want to ask a question, drop it in the comments or email us at WHYcast@why2025.org. Send us any cool ideas for the show. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe on all platforms—algorithms love that. Thanks so much for watching, and we hope to see you next Friday. 38