I explain why this show went on an unplanned hiatus and once again vow to get back into the swing of things.

Welcome to another episode of The Private Citizen, a civil liberties podcast! The regular audio version of the episode is embedded above and you can subscribe to the show with the buttons in the sidebar or by following the instructions on this page. There’s also a video version of this episode available on YouTube:

But without further ado, let’s get into the meat of this episode, the first for the year 2024.

Explanation of My Unplanned Hiatus

I tell the story of what has happened to me over the last few months and why I’ve been prevented from spending time on producing the podcast. This includes stories of my car breaking down, my motorcycle engine exploding, PICO-8 programming, lots of sports and exercise, work deadlines, tax hassles, getting hacked and some legal troubles I can’t go into yet.

The podcast actually turned four years old while I was neglecting it. I hope I can do it better justice in the future.

Listener Feedback

Even though I wasn’t releasing episodes, I still heard from you guys. Feedback on the forum included Fadi writing this:

At one point you mentioned that you blame the media and how “they are not […] performing their function in society”. I really don’t share this expectation, for me it’s important to remember that the media are also people, with their shortcomings, blind spots, biases, which should all be taken into account when listening to them. It’s always on the receiver to try to filter out the good from the bad, and to finally: make their own point of view based on the available data.

Another interesting point you raised: about how a scientist, like a hacker would look at research. Here again a small disagreement: I don’t believe a hacker is looking only to how break something.

For me, a hacker is someone who tries to understand how something, really works. To try to understand it completely: where it works and what are its limitations. And, in the end, he would use this to achieve his own purposes, by using these things in the way it actually works, not in the way it is “supposed” to work.

Mike also commented on my previous episode:

I know I rarely get time to provide feedback to your episodes, but it seems that we were both in the same boat in 2023 - caught up in other matters. I will endeavour to follow your example for 2024 and be more active as a Producer.

It was great to see you in April last year where we attended the amazing Sabaton gig in Copenhagen - probably the best Sabaton performance that I have seen.

If you remember, I did give you some producer feedback then - also in the shape of a book, John Sweeney’s Killer In The Kremlin. I don’t think you have yet considered it, but I live in hope, As a gesture, I have upgraded my Patreon membership to Executive Producer. If you would consider making your own subscription to John Sweeney’s Patreon to read his articles, my upgraded membership could cover that for whatever time you want. John is an independent journalist who resides in Kyiv and has done since before the outbreak of Russia’s SMO.

I have also gifted you a month of paid subscription to another columnist/writer called Sarah Kendzior, who writes very poignant pieces about contemporary America. I believe that her writings will be of interest to you as well, and maybe provide a different perspective to consider.

As I said, I will try to provide more regular feedback. I look forward listening/reading your work in 2024.

In an email, Reed wrote:

I ran across your work searching for entities in Europe looking at financial and political crimes. Are you still operating your podcast?

I also had another email from DigiTal:

I just casually wanted to know if you are all right, since it has been some time that you published a new episode of your podcast.

Seems on your “About” and “Contact" pages there is some defect, because there’s an “Error Embedding” being shown.

Is it possible to transfer money to you not via Patreon, but via “International Bank Account Number” (IBAN) and “Bank Identifier Code” (BIC) in order to let you receive the full amount - without any middleman taking a cut?

Plans for the Future

I am planning to get back to releasing an episode a week, but I am not sure how exactly this will work. I might add an option to support the show through Ko-fi in the future.

I’m also experimenting with a new video version of this show on YouTube. It has much better video quality than the stream recordings I uploaded previously. Let me know what you think!

I have no idea what happened to Big Girl, but it’s making me sad.

But anyway, let’s get this project back on track and the show back on the road!

Credits

First and foremost, I would like to thank everybody who provided feedback on this or previous episodes. You are very important to the continued success of this podcast!

This podcast is provided free of charge and free of obligations under the value-for-value model. However, as a freelance journalist volunteering my time to produce this show, I need your support. If you like my work and want to make sure The Private Citizen keeps going, please consider joining my Patreon.

Showrunners

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Executive Producers

  • Butterbeans
  • Jaroslav Lichtblau
  • Michael Mullan-Jensen
  • Rizele
  • Sandman616
  • Sir Galteran

Supervising Producers

avis, Bennett Piater, Dave, ikn, krunkle, Tobias Weber

Producers

Andrew Davidson, astralc, Cam, Captain Egghead, Dirk Dede, Fadi Mansour, Florian Pigorsch, Joe Poser, MrAmish, RJ Tracey, Robert Forster

Associate Producers

Jonathan, Juhan Sonin, Kai Siers, RikyM, Steve Hoos, Vlad

Thanks to Bytemark, who are providing the hosting and bandwidth for this episode’s audio file. Podcast cover art photo by GegenWind.

Music

Today, I’m ending the show with the song Lazy Days Are Neve Done by Dom Austin & Ronnie Wilde.