Why would a company rent an office in a tiny town in East Texas, put a nameplate on the door, and leave it completely empty for a year? The answer involves a controversial billionaire physicist in Seattle, a 40 pound cookbook, and a war waging right now, all across the software and tech industries. (Transcript)
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/441/when-patents-attack
Journalist Jon Ronson investigates the extraordinary story of Mary Turner Thompson, who experienced the worst internet date ever which lasted seven years and was to cause the total devastation of her life.
Edinburgh-based Mary met and married a man who told her he was a CIA agent. Jon visits her in Scotland and hears the incredible twisting and turning love story of Will and Mary. Will carried a gun and had to dash off to Israel at a moment’s notice; Mary was left holding the baby, never knowing when he would come back, and was unable to contact him. She even feared a terrorist attack on her home. But the most bizarre twist was still to come.
Tagged with bbc documentary book:author=jon ronson
Jon Ronson talks to Denis Fillion, who was behind one of the first major internet hoaxes.
Denis used to post threads and make small talk on a technical forum called Anandtech. Irritated by the misogyny he found on the site, he invented a female character to join in the chat. Soon he found himself flirting with his own character and weaving a tale so believable that the character took on an air of reality, even for him. As the relationship deepened, Denis was forced to take drastic action to get out of his own hoax.
With additional contributions from comedian Josie Long and Charlie Brooker.
Tagged with bbc documentary internet hoax book:author=jon ronson
Writer and documentary maker Jon Ronson returns for another series of fascinating stories shedding light on the human condition.
Jon Ronson talks to comedian Josie Long who found herself in a situation where she had to make a choice on whether to spy on someone’s life… did morality step in? Writer Danny Wallace recalls the days when a spy was sent to his home to spy on his father, a leading expert on East German literature.
Johnny Howorth, rookie documentary maker, was also in a situation where he was asked by US Marshals to spy on the couple Ed and Elaine Brown who were convicted of tax crimes. As he naively got more deeply involved, he feared another Wako and had to make a difficult decision… John Symonds, a so-called ‘romeo spy’ also tells his sometimes shocking story.
Producers: Laura Parfitt and Simon Jacobs An Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
Tagged with jon ronson bbc radio 4 documentary feature spying
The formula for Coca-Cola is one of the most jealously guarded trade secrets in the world. Locked in a vault in Atlanta. Supposedly unreplicable. But we think we may have found the original recipe. And to see if the formula actually might be Coke, we made a batch.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/427/original-recipe
Tagged with bbc documentary