Ross Ulbricht built an empire in the shadows—a sprawling digital bazaar called The Silk Road, hidden on the dark web. There, drugs, weapons, and stolen secrets flowed freely, all paid for in untraceable cryptocurrency. To his global clientele, he was a legend: the Dread Pirate Roberts. But after a dramatic arrest and a staggering double life sentence, Ulbricht’s fate took another twist. Just days into his second term, President Trump pardoned him, sparking outrage and debate.

So, did he deserve his punishment? Did justice prevail, or was power at play? And how did a digital outlaw become the ultimate wild card in America’s justice system?

In this episode:

Nicholas Cristin (@nc2y), Online Crime Professor at Carnegie Mellon University

David Yaffe-Bellany (@yaffebellany), Technology Reporter for the New York Times

Episode credits:

This episode was written and produced by Anna Staufenberg and hosted by Halla Mohieddeen.

Executive Producer: Ney Alvarez

Production Manager: Bronte Baskin

Senior Producers: Marthe van der Wolf

Post-Production Supervisor: Andrés Rivera

Assistant Producers: Leo Danczak and Catherine Nouhan

Fact-checking by Ruby Zaman and Catherine Nouhan

Audio editing by Alan Leer

Music composition by Tom Biddle

Lead of Engagement: Aya Elmileik

Engagement Producers: Adam Abou-Gad, Munera AlDosari, and Vienna Maglio

Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio: Ney Alvarez

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Instagram, X, Facebook, and YouTube