Autonomous Airwaves

Michael J Burgess

Anonymous Airwaves is a bold, weekly podcast that navigates the edges of the digital frontier, a broadcast from the margins of mainstream tech discourse, where privacy meets protest and decentralisation meets design.

  1. 1D AGO

    MiCA Licence Cliff Edge: When “Regulatory Clarity” Becomes a Moat

    MiCA gets sold as the thing that finally brings "clarity" to Crypto in Europe. In this episode, we dig into the uncomfortable bit: clarity can also build a quiet moat, not with a big ban or a dramatic headline, but with licensing cost, timelines, paperwork, and a compliance posture that only the biggest players can sustain. We walk through what MiCA means in practice, starting with the rollout itself. The stablecoin rules for asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and e-money tokens (EMTs) began applying from 30 June 2024, and the wider MiCA regime began applying on 30 December 2024. From there, the pressure point is licensing for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), plus the messy reality that "transitional periods" vary by country and are now hitting hard deadlines. Then we break it down by who gets squeezed: Exchanges and brokers: authorisation becomes the price of access, and "passporting" across the EU shifts from a growth hack to a compliance marathon. If you cannot clear the bar in time, you risk losing market access in specific countries first, then more widely as national transitional windows close. Wallets and custody: MiCA draws a big practical line between self-custody and custodial services. The rulebook mainly bites when someone else is holding or servicing your assets. That is where licensing, governance, safeguarding, and supervision show up in your day-to-day experience. Stablecoin issuers: MiCA treats stablecoins as financial plumbing, not vibes. Issuers of ARTs and EMTs need authorisation and have ongoing obligations, with European banking regulators heavily involved in the rules set. wind-down plans in places such as Normal users: you feel this as delistings, feature removals, new friction, more KYC creep, and that subtle message that "safe" Crypto is whatever sits inside the licensed perimeter. ESMA has explicitly warned about cliff-edge risk, urging firms to have orderly wind-down plans ready, including steps such as transferring client assets to an authorised provider if they do not obtain authorisation in time. Finally, we zoom out to the culture shift. When compliance becomes the product, the industry starts optimising for survival inside the perimeter rather than building tools that keep you sovereign outside it. So the question becomes simple: is MiCA protecting you from scams, or nudging you into a smaller, more permissioned version of Crypto where incumbents set the pace? This episode uses a bit of AI magic in the background to help research and structure the discussion. If you would like to take part in a future human interview or conversation, you are always welcome to email podcast@beitmenotyou.online. You can find everything else we're building, writing, and hosting over at https://beitmenotyou.online If you'd like to support the project, no pressure at all, here are a few options:Lightning: beitmenotyou@geyser.fundGeyser: https://geyser.fund/project/beitmenotyou?hero=beitmenotyou Bitcoin (BIC): bc1qkvc05av9u6ds2w5f8y4yevenqnqlc36zqt7jmpETH: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3SOL: 9pTYuMmU3guipw7Dp3EEuVUxhdVgjMYsFuhsCYbeYYNHBASE: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3BINANCE: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3FIAT: https://revolut.me/beitmenotyou

    26 min

  2. MAR 2

    GlassWorm Explained, How Malicious VS Code Extensions Weaponise Developer Trust

    Developer tools run with a level of trust most apps never get. They sit close to your code, your secrets, your terminals, your cloud logins, and your repo tokens. That trust is exactly what GlassWorm goes after. In October 2025, researchers reported a cluster of compromised and lookalike VS Code extensions circulating via OpenVSX, with tens of thousands of installs linked to the initial wave. The reported behaviour is nasty and practical: harvesting GitHub, git, and npm credentials, scanning for Crypto wallet extensions, and adding capabilities like proxying and remote-access-style control. What makes this story bigger than one campaign is the pattern behind it. Several write-ups tied the wider blast radius to the boring stuff that breaks everything, exposed marketplace tokens and compromised publisher access. There was also public pushback on the "worm" label from OpenVSX, so in the episode, we focus on what the malware actually does and how it spreads, rather than arguing about the headline. follow-up, follow-up. Then it gets more uncomfortable. The reporting does not stop in October. There were follow-up findings later in 2025, including additional fake extensions impersonating popular tools, analysis of Rust-based implants and more novel command-and-control techniques. We also zoom out to the wider 2025 threat landscape, where automation keeps showing up. Supply chain worms like Shai Hulud spread through npm by abusing maintainer accounts and installing lifecycle scripts. At the same time, academic work like Morris II explores how adversarial prompts could self-propagate through connected GenAI applications in "agent" ecosystems. It's the same core lesson: Identity compromise plus scale equals chaos. If you build, ship, or self-host anything, this one's for you. You'll leave with a simple checklist: what to audit first (extensions, publishers, update history), what to lock down (tokens, MFA, CI secrets), and how to reduce blast radius when something slips through. This episode uses a bit of AI magic to help research and structure it, but listeners are always welcome to email podcast@beitmenotyou.online if you want to do a fully human interview in the future. Find everything else here: https://beitmenotyou.online Support (no pressure):Lightning: beitmenotyou@geyser.fundGeyser: https://geyser.fund/beitmenotyouBIC: bc1qkvc05av9u6ds2w5f8y4yevenqnqlc36zqt7jmpETH: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3SOL: 9pTYuMmU3guipw7Dp3EEuVUxhdVgjMYsFuhsCYbeYYNHBASE: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3BINANCE: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3FAIT: https://revolut.me/beitmenotyou

    35 min

  3. FEB 24

    Tokenisation and Cross Border Payments: How One Payment Gets Rewired

    Pick a simple scenario. You are in the UK, you need to pay a supplier overseas. Today, that “one transfer” is usually a relay race: your bank checks you, messages the payment, lines up FX, routes through one or more correspondent banks, updates a chain of nostro and vostro accounts, then everyone reconciles their own records, often around cut off times and time zones. Each hop adds cost, delay, and the classic “where is my money right now?” fog. Now replay the same payment in a tokenised settlement world. Instead of separate systems for messaging, compliance, reconciliation, FX, and settlement, the idea is that money and assets can be represented on a shared programmable platform so the transfer and the checks can happen as one integrated flow. The BIS has been very direct about the goal here: replace the complex chain of intermediaries and sequential account updates in correspondent banking with something more unified. We keep it grounded by comparing three flavours of “digital money”, without the jargon soup: Tokenised bank deposits: your commercial bank money, but represented as tokens, still sitting inside the familiar two tier system (banks plus central bank), just with faster, more automated settlement paths. Project Agorá is explicitly testing this direction by integrating tokenised deposits with tokenised wholesale central bank money on a multi currency “unified ledger” concept. Stablecoins: useful in practice, but you inherit issuer and reserve quality risk. The BIS has repeatedly warned that stablecoins can fall short as “sound money” if backing and settlement assurances are uneven. CBDCs: central bank money in digital form. We talk about the difference between retail and wholesale designs, and why experiments like Jura focus on safer PvP and DvP style settlement for institutions. Practical bit to end on: what should you check before you hold any of this? We give you a simple checklist for reserves, redemption rights, who can freeze what, what “final settlement” actually means, and how much privacy you realistically get in each model. We also zoom out to the bigger question: if tokenisation makes payments faster and cheaper, who gets more power, you, banks, or the state? (Sometimes the answer is “yes”.) This episode uses a bit of AI magic in the background to help research and structure the discussion, but if you want to do a future human interview or conversation, email podcast@beitmenotyou.online. Find everything else here: https://beitmenotyou.online If you’d like to support the project, no pressure at all:Lightning: beitmenotyou@geyser.fundGeyser: https://geyser.fund/project/beitmenotyou?hero=beitmenotyou Bitcoin (BIC): bc1qkvc05av9u6ds2w5f8y4yevenqnqlc36zqt7jmpETH: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3SOL: 9pTYuMmU3guipw7Dp3EEuVUxhdVgjMYsFuhsCYbeYYNHBASE: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3BINANCE: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3FIAT: https://revolut.me/beitmenotyou

    29 min

  4. FEB 23

    Portainer: Centralised Control for Container Sprawl (Docker, Swarm, Kubernetes)

    Container sprawl sneaks up on you. One day you’ve got a couple of Docker services, then suddenly you’re juggling stacks, clusters, permissions, updates, and the classic question, “Where did that container even come from?” In this episode, we talk about Portainer as a practical control layer for your container world. We’ll walk through how it manages stacks and apps from Git, how automatic updates work (polling or webhooks), and why that matters when you want repeatable deployments instead of click ops chaos. We’ll also touch on what’s been evolving lately, like Helm GitOps support for automatic upgrades when your chart or override files change, plus the state of Observability features (including the “experimental, use it in test” warning). Finally, we’ll do a quick positioning check so you know where Portainer fits:Rancher as a multi cluster Kubernetes management layer, OpenShift’s Operator driven lifecycle approach, and Amazon EKS as a managed Kubernetes option when you want AWS to carry more of the control plane burden. This episode uses a bit of AI magic to help with research and structure, but if you want to do a human interview in the future, email podcast@beitmenotyou.online. https://beitmenotyou.onlineLightning: beitmenotyou@geyser.fundGeyser: https://geyser.fund/project/beitmenotyou?hero=beitmenotyouBitcoin (BIC): bc1qkvc05av9u6ds2w5f8y4yevenqnqlc36zqt7jmpETH: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3SOL: 9pTYuMmU3guipw7Dp3EEuVUxhdVgjMYsFuhsCYbeYYNHBASE: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3BINANCE: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3FIAT: https://revolut.me/beitmenotyou

    36 min

  5. FEB 16

    The Great Crypto Capture: How Regulation and Institutions Tame DeFi

    Cryptosoughttrade-off. Infor For the US-approved for Bank's's opening, Crypto did not get "adopted" in a vacuInffIn this episode, we unpack the trade-off: regulated access (like spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products) can bring liquidity and legitimacy, but it also drags Crypto into the same custodians, intermediaries, and risk models that DeFi tried to avoid. For example, the US approved spot Bitcoin ETP listings in January 2024, which opened the door for a new wave of institutional exposure, without granting ordinary people any extra sovereignty by default. Then we zoom out to the rulebook makers. The EU's MiCA framework is now live in phases (stablecoin rules applied from 30 June 2024, with the main authorisation regime for crypto asset service providers applying from 30 December 2024, plus transitional options in some countries). Meanwhile, Singapore's central Bank's's has pushed a strict stablecoin framework and is actively trialling tokenised settlement-style infrastructure as well. Finally, we stitch it together with the "global compliance layer". The Financial Stability Board has published global recommendations for crypto asset activities and stablecoins. At the same time, the FATF continues to pressure countries to implement the Travel Rule and tighter controls on service providers. That tension is the heart of the episode: Crypto as sovereign infrastructure, versus Crypto as a regulated product category. tokenisation-based multi-currency. You will also hear why stablecoins and tokenisation are becoming the real battlefield for payments and cross-border settlement. The BIS is tokenisation-based models, such as Project Agorá, aimed at a multi-currency unified Ledger for wholesale cross-border payments. (Usual note: this is commentary and education, not financial advice.) Note about AI and interviews:This episode uses a bit of AI magic to help pull threads together and keep the research tidy. If you would like to do a proper human interview in the future, email podcast@beitmenotyou.online. Links and support (no pressure):Carrd hub: Lightning: beitmenotyou@geyser.fundGeyser: BTC: bc1qkvc05av9u6ds2w5f8y4yevenqnqlc36zqt7jmpETH: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3SOL: 9pTYuMmU3guipw7Dp3EEuVUxhdVgjMYsFuhsCYbeYYNHBASE: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3BINANCE: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3FAIT: Suggested sources for show notes (high-quality anchors):US spot Bitcoin ETP approval (SEC, 10 January 2024) Congress Research Service explainer on the approvals EU MiCA overview (ESMA) MiCA applicability dates (Central Bank's's of Ireland) Singapore stablecoin framework (MAS, 15 August 2023) FSB global framework for crypto assets and stablecoins (17 July 2023) FATF Travel Rule implementation pressure (targeted update, 2023) BIS Project Agorá and tokenisation for cross-border payments US stablecoin law (GENIUS Act, Public Law 119–27, 18 July 2025 https://beitmenotyou.onlinehttps://revolut.me/beitmenotyou

    28 min

  6. FEB 9

    Zero-Knowledge Proofs, Privacy Without Trust

    This episode explores how zero-knowledge proofs work, why they matter for privacy and scalability, and how new hardware and tooling are pushing them from theory into everyday systems. Main themes and topics:How zero-knowledge proofs actually workzk-SNARKs vs zk-STARKs and why the differences matterScalability and privacy in blockchainsHardware acceleration and specialised ZK chipsZK proofs for identity, voting, audits, and AIDeveloper tooling, languages, and security challenges Now let’s turn that into a clear, searchable title. Final episode title:Zero-Knowledge Proofs Explained, Privacy, Scalability, and the Hardware Powering ZK Next, the full episode description. Zero-knowledge proofs sound abstract, but they are quickly becoming one of the most important tools shaping the future of privacy-first technology. In this episode, we break down what zero-knowledge proofs actually are, how they allow verification without revealing sensitive data, and why they are becoming essential for blockchains, digital identity, and secure computation. We explore the two dominant approaches, zk-SNARKs and zk-STARKs, looking at their trade-offs around proof size, speed, trusted setup, and long-term security. We also dig into a fast-moving area that rarely gets discussed enough, hardware acceleration. From specialised chips to edge-device optimisations, we look at how new ZK hardware is tackling the heavy computational cost that has historically held these systems back. This opens the door to real-world use cases like private voting, proof-of-reserves audits, confidential identity checks, and even privacy-preserving AI models. Finally, we talk honestly about the challenges. Secure circuit design, arithmetisation, developer-friendly languages like Leo and Noir, and the real risks that come from subtle logic bugs. Zero-knowledge is powerful, but it is not magic, and building it safely matters. This episode uses a bit of AI magic to help research and structure the discussion. If you would ever like to come on for a fully human interview, just email podcast@beitmenotyou.online. You can find everything else I’m working on here:https://beitmenotyou.online If you want to support the project, no pressure at all:Lightning: beitmenotyou@geyser.fundGeyser: https://geyser.fundBTC: bc1qkvc05av9u6ds2w5f8y4yevenqnqlc36zqt7jmpETH: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3SOL: 9pTYuMmU3guipw7Dp3EEuVUxhdVgjMYsFuhsCYbeYYNHBASE: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3BINANCE: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3FIAT: https://revolut.me/beitmenotyou

    38 min

  7. FEB 2

    Docker Explained, Architecture, Security, and 2025 Container Trends

    Docker completely changed how modern software is built, shipped, and run. In this episode of Autonomous Airwaves, we break down what Docker actually is, how containers work behind the scenes, and why they are so much lighter than traditional virtual machines. We explore how Docker uses the host system's kernel, layered filesystems, and isolation features to create consistent environments that behave the same on your laptop, a server, or in the cloud. From there, we zoom out to the wider container ecosystem, including how Docker is often paired with tools like Kubernetes to manage applications at scale. Cloud-native. We also talk honestly about container security, why it matters more than ever, and how the industry is responding. Finally, we look ahead to 2025, covering trends such as cloud-native development, microservices everywhere, AI-driven tooling, and the shift away from purely local workflows. As always, this episode uses a bit of AI magic to help shape the discussion. If you'd ever like to jump on for a fully human interview or conversation, drop an email to podcast@beitmenotyou.online. You can find everything else I'm working on here:https://beitmenotyou.online If you'd like to support the show, no pressure at all, here are a few options:Lightning: beitmenotyou@geyser.fundGeyser: https://geyser.fundBitcoin (BIC): bc1qkvc05av9u6ds2w5f8y4yevenqnqlc36zqt7jmpETH / Base / Binance: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3SOL: 9pTYuMmU3guipw7Dp3EEuVUxhdVgjMYsFuhsCYbeYYNHFiat: https://revolut.me/beitmenotyou

    41 min

  8. JAN 26

    Tailscale Explained: Secure Mesh Networking, WireGuard, and the Future of VPNs

    In this episode, we take a closer look at Tailscale, a modern mesh VPN built on WireGuard, and explain why it has become such a popular alternative to traditional VPN setups. So we break down how Tailscale works by separating the control plane from the data plane, so your traffic stays peer-to-peer and encrypted, without the usual gateway bottlenecks or messy port forwarding. You'll hear how features like MagicDNS, Exit Nodes, and Tailnet Lock make secure networking far more approachable for home labs, cloud infrastructure, and even IoT devices. We also dig into the bigger questions. What are the trade-offs of convenience versus control? How does Tailscale compare to self-hosted options like Headscale or decentralised competitors such as ZeroTier? Should concerns about vendor lock-in and data privacy give you pause? Whether you're running a Raspberry Pi at home, managing Kubernetes in the cloud, or want a simpler way to access your own machines securely, this episode will help you decide if Tailscale fits your idea of digital sovereignty. This episode uses a bit of AI magic to help shape the research and structure. If you'd ever like to join the show for a fully human interview, drop an email to podcast@beitmenotyou.online. Find all my projects, links, and platforms here:https://beitmenotyou.online If you'd like to support the work, no pressure at all, here are a few options:Lightning: beitmenotyou@geyser.fundGeyser: https://geyser.fundBitcoin (BIC): bc1qkvc05av9u6ds2w5f8y4yevenqnqlc36zqt7jmpETH: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3SOL: 9pTYuMmU3guipw7Dp3EEuVUxhdVgjMYsFuhsCYbeYYNHBASE: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3BINANCE: 0xb2ad3d76dc2a6B283422e1B6c6957a1C5Ea857E3FIAT: https://revolut.me/beitmenotyou Main themes and talking points• What mesh VPNs are, and why they matter now• How Tailscale uses WireGuard differently from legacy VPNs• Control plane vs data plane explained simply• MagicDNS, Exit Nodes, and Tailnet Lock in real-world use• Tailscale vs Headscale, convenience vs sovereignty• Tailscale vs ZeroTier, centralised vs decentralised approaches• Where Tailscale fits in a self-hosted or home lab setup• Privacy, trust, and vendor lock-in concerns

    40 min
See All (50)

Trailer

About

Anonymous Airwaves is a bold, weekly podcast that navigates the edges of the digital frontier, a broadcast from the margins of mainstream tech discourse, where privacy meets protest and decentralisation meets design.

Information

  • Creator
    Michael J Burgess
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    50
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Michael J Burgess
  • Show Website
    Autonomous Airwaves