Saturday, July 14, 2012: 12:00 pm (Dennis): Five years in the making, Phil has finally finished Phone Phreaks, his book on the history of phone phreaking from the 1950s to the 1980s. In this talk, he will weave together the evolution of phone phreaking with the backstory of the writing of his book. From giving John "Cap'n Crunch" Draper a piggyback ride around his apartment in order to secure an interview to cleaning out Joybubbles's apartment after his untimely demise, Phil's research took him through the maze of twisty little passages that wind through the history of this underground hobby. Some of the characters you'll meet include the phone phreak CEO of an electronic warfare company, a cell of Stony Brook students busted for blue boxing, and the mysterious and cantankerous head of the International Society of Telephone Enthusiasts. You'll also get a behind the scenes tour of the NSA and FBI's phone phreak files and the 400 Freedom of Information Act requests necessary to get them into the light of day.

Hosted by Phil Lapsley