WHYcast transcript episode 6

WHYcast episode
Episode Nr.	6

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Episode 6

Nancy: Hi and welcome to the WHYcast episode 6. I’m Nancy. Hi Ad. And we are the hosts of the only podcast about a hacker camp in the world.

Ad: …a volunteer‑run event that will take place next year in the Netherlands, roughly forty kilometres above Amsterdam, from 8 to 12 August 2025. Wow, okay – that was a pretty bumpy intro for a change. So, what are we talking about today?

Ad: Well, we’ve got news from the Project‑Lead team, a few interesting places where you can hack and meet WHY‑minded people, a very cool interview with an eighties hacker – in both senses of the word – plus a chat with Dani from Team “duct‑tape”… that’s not the official name, but it’ll make sense later on. And, of course, we end with our vacancy of the week, because we still need your help.

Nancy: Absolutely. Shall I start with the Project‑Lead news?

Ad: Yes, you’re Project Lead, so tell us!

Nancy: I heard Team Volunteer has a new joiner – that’s always good. Very meta: new volunteers in Team Volunteer. Her name is Marjolein; I’m not sure which one, I pinged every Marjolein I know on Signal and none of them were that Marjolein. So: mystery Marjolein, welcome! There’ve also been small changes to a few team names, mostly at the teams’ own request. Team Music is now Team “Entertainment”, because there might be theatre, art installations and other things besides music. And “Security”, “Safety” and “First Aid” overlap so much that we merged the names on the wiki – it makes more sense. Another cool decision from the last PL‑meet: the shuttle service to and from public transport will be free of charge. We’d rather help people go green by taking the train than make money off folks who can’t afford a car. That’s all for now.

Ad: Quick question: if teams are renaming or aligning, do we still have exactly forty‑two teams?

Nancy: The names changed, not the count – it’s still forty‑two.

Ad: Whew… you had me worried for a moment. If you’d like more info on any team, check the wiki or the website – wiki.WHY2025.org. Each week we’ll tell you where you can meet WHY‑minded people in person. First up: WICCON, 31 October – 1 November in Haarlem, my home town. Lots of WHY volunteers will be there; we’ll record a few interviews for future WHYcasts, so if you’ve got a story or something cool from your team, come find us.

Nancy: That’ll be our first pop‑up WHYcast studio – we’ll bring the gear, see you there.

Ad: Can’t make WICON? Then on 5 November we’re at the NLUUG Fall Conference in Utrecht, at the Van der Valk. Members‑only event, fully booked with lectures, but we’ll be around – at least stop by for a drink.

Nancy: And we’ll bring stickers!

Ad: Nancy brings the stickers – I’m out. So if you want stickers, visit us at WICON or NLUUG. Now let’s switch to Stories from the Past, our chat with Walter. story time with an 80s hacker

Nancy: Ad, I’m so excited about this new segment: stories from the old days, the eighties – maybe the nineties. Today we welcome Walter. Walter, you’re like a living hacker encyclopaedia. What’s your fondest hacker‑camp memory?

Walter: My best memories are social: finally meeting like‑minded people. Back in the eighties that wasn’t obvious – you only met whoever lived near you. Hacker camps shrank the world. I missed the 1989 Galactic Hacker Party – I was a poor student and couldn’t scrape together the twenty guilders for the train to Amsterdam. But I was at HEU, the first outdoor camp in 1993 at Laxenburg. Everything was DIY: printing photo badges with a slow webcam and laser printer caused a huge queue, coax cable made the “largest non‑military outdoor network” unstable, and one 6  kbit/s phone line was the entire uplink. A German car even tore down cables with its roof antenna. Food? A single macro‑biotic truck – ugly beans you could hardly eat. We ended up driving to Almere for real food. There was one pay‑phone; someone hacked it for free calls, which hurt the organisers, so Bill SF rigged a call‑logger overnight. Workshops were brilliant: Barry Deckers’ lock‑picking session, social‑engineering demos… hectic but unforgettable.

Nancy: Amazing. It’s wild to realise 1993 is over thirty years ago – no MP3s yet! But the social bit never changes: walking around, poking into tents, asking “what are you working on?” is still the best part.

Walter: Exactly. The passion is timeless.

Nancy: Thanks, Walter – we can’t wait for your next story. Fun fact: Walter’s a big name in lock‑picking; he literally co‑wrote the book on locksport, and yes, we’ve got locksport stickers too! meet team cohesion (a.k.a. human duct tape)

Nancy: Our next guest is Dani, team‑lead of Team:Cohesion. Dani, tell us about yourself and the team.

Dani: I’m Dani – short for Daniëlle; umlauts still break databases, so Dani’s fine. Team Cohesion works around our Code of Conduct. We’re the people you hope you won’t need, but we’re here if you do: enforcing the CoC when necessary, or just listening if you need to vent. Call me (preferably not at 3 a.m.), ask for a hug, whatever you need. We get dubbed “Team Duct Tape” because we hold things together – but we tape only with consent! We’re still recruiting calm, empathetic folks who can de‑escalate situations, help someone through an anxiety attack, or bring solid parental energy. We’re not the police; we defuse before security steps in. Interested? Come talk to us. vacancy of the week – team promo

Nancy: A brand‑new sub‑team of Team Info needs you: Team Promo. We have to spread the word about WHY 2025 – on other podcasts, at events, in hackerspaces, in cybersecurity education. We’d love three to five creative people to help craft promo packs, travel to places we haven’t reached yet, and make extra noise. Easiest way to join: contact me, Nancy. You’ll find me via WHYcast.com, nancy[at]ifcat.org, WHYcast[at]why2025.org – collect them like stickers, really.

Ad: Speaking of stickers – gotta catch ’em all! Help promote WHY! closing

Nancy: Any questions or feedback? The mailbox is still suspiciously empty. If you stuck with us this long, drop a line: WHYcast@why2025.org.

Ad: Or check the wiki for info on all forty‑two teams and how you can make this the best event ever. Meet us live, or tune in again next Friday.

Nancy: See you next Friday!