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Half-Light: Mark Klein and Room 641A

Half-Light: Mark Klein and Room 641A

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A brutalist fortress in San Francisco serves as a vital artery for the American internet. In 2003, AT&T technician Mark Klein started noticing strange things on the sixth floor of that building. Strange things about Room 641A.This is a story about the infrastructure we look past, government mass surveillance, and why the machine Mark discovered never actually turned off.In this EpisodeMark Klein: An AT&T technician and NSA whistleblower whose sworn declaration exposed the US government's warrantless domestic surveillance programFiber Tapping: The simple physics behind fiber optic splitting and how it's used to duplicate internet traffic without leaving a traceHepting v. AT&T: The class action lawsuit built on Klein's evidence, and how retroactive immunity dismantled itEpisode MusicJames Opie / Nihilore, CC BY 4.0Hopeless LithromanticOur Time is ShortThrone of the SoulGirl in the MoonArchival AudioFRONTLINE. (2008, May 19). Room 641a [Video]. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/video/frontline-room-641a/Bush, G.W. (2005, December 17). President's radio address [Video]. The White House. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051217.htmlAdditional ReadingCohn, C. (2026, April 30). The whistleblower who uncovered the NSA's "big brother machine." The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-whistleblower-who-uncovered-the-nsas-big-brother-machine/Electronic Frontier Foundation. (2014, August 9). How the NSA's domestic spying program works. https://www.eff.org/nsa-spying/how-it-worksFISA Amendments Act of 2008: Congress grants telecommunications companies retroactive immunity from civil suits for complying with NSA terrorist surveillance program. (2009). Harvard Law Review, 122(4), 1271–1278. https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-122/congress-grants-telecommunications-companies-retroactive-immunity-from-civil-suits-for-complying-with-nsa-terrorist-surveillance-program-ae-fisa-amendments-act-of-2008-pub-l-no-110-261/Harris, B. (2025, June 12). What is inside Room 641A. Covert Access Team. https://covertaccessteam.substack.com/p/what-is-inside-room-641aKlein, M. (2007). Public unredacted Klein declaration [Legal declaration]. Electronic Frontier Foundation. https://www.eff.org/document/public-unredacted-klein-declarationKlein, M. (2009). Wiring up the big brother machine... and fighting it. BookSurge Publishing. (Bookshop.org affiliate link)Marcus, J. S. (2006). Declaration of J. Scott Marcus in support of plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction [Court filing]. Hepting v. AT&T Corp., No. C-06-0672-JCS (N.D. Cal.). Electronic Frontier Foundation. http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att/SER_marcus_decl.pdfMcDaniel, E. (2026, June 12). A key U.S. spy tool has lapsed — now what? NPR. https://www.npr.org/2026/06/12/nx-s1-5856291/fisa-702-surveillance-expiration-bill-pulteNew, W. (2003, September 25). Congress funds Defense, kills Terrorism Information Awareness. Government Executive. https://www.govexec.com/defense/2003/09/congress-funds-defense-kills-terrorism-information-awareness/15051/Support the showFound in the Machine is a narrative podcast about the forgotten people, decisions, and accidents that quietly shaped the digital world.New episodes unearth stories from computing history every other week.If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. You can also sign up to receive Notes from the Machine with each episode.You can support the show and independent booksellers by purchasing from the show's bookshop at bookshop.org/shop/foundinthemachine.
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