Enemies of the StateE007 coming soon
Next transmissionE008 / November 17 · 8 PM ESTTuesday, November 17 · 8:00 PM EST
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Tor Ekeland and Michael Hassard, with Roman Sterlingov’s framed portrait behind them

Episode 008 · November 17

Free Roman
Sterlingov

Tor Ekeland and Michael Hassard join James Babb to examine the evidence, the assumptions and the human cost of the case against Roman Sterlingov.

Tor EkelandMichael HassardHosted by James Babb

Tuesday, November 17 · 8:00 PM EST

EOTS / E008Premieres November 17.

Join us Tuesday, November 17 at 8:00 PM EST. The YouTube Premiere link will appear here when it is available.

Explore the original interviews ↓

The conversation

What connects a person to a privacy service?

Roman Sterlingov’s defense lawyers say the case against him confused using Bitcoin Fog with operating it. In this conversation, Tor Ekeland and Michael Hassard walk James Babb through the evidence they challenged: the transaction tracing, the searches of Roman’s devices and a disputed screenshot taken from an e-book.

They also describe the person behind the prosecution: a friend to people finding their way into Bitcoin, someone who helped newcomers, and a man who came to the United States with a dream of learning to fly. The conversation asks what happens when a person’s life is reduced to a theory about digital transactions.

Financial privacyBlockchain tracingThe disputed evidenceDue processRoman as a person

In this episode

The lawyers who challenged the case.

01 / GuestTor Ekeland

One of Roman Sterlingov’s defense attorneys. Tor discusses the prosecution’s use of tracing software, the reliability questions his team raised and the stakes for financial privacy.

02 / GuestMichael Hassard

One of Roman Sterlingov’s defense attorneys. Michael walks through the investigation and the disputed evidence, and shares his experience of getting to know Roman beyond the case.

Hosted by

James Babb

James brings the conversation from technical claims and courtroom arguments back to the person living with their consequences.

View James’s host profile →

Show notes + sources

Notes from the conversation.

01 / Reference

Roman’s early Bitcoin years

Tor and Michael describe Roman’s introduction to Bitcoin, peer-to-peer transactions and the meetups where he helped newcomers get started.

E008 · 02:02–09:38
02 / Reference

Using a mixer versus operating it

The guests explain Bitcoin Fog’s privacy function and the distinction they draw between Roman using the service and running it.

E008 · 09:23–10:56
03 / Reference

A screenshot from an e-book

Michael describes the image introduced as Roman’s chat, how the defense traced it to an e-book and how the statement’s attribution was challenged at trial.

E008 · 21:59–24:07
04 / Reference

IP overlap and shared connections

Tor describes the IP-address comparison used to connect Roman to Bitcoin Fog and explains why a shared VPN address can identify many users rather than one person.

E008 · 31:41–33:38
05 / Reference

The appeal and forensic reliability

Tor discusses the appeal, venue, expert testimony and the questions his team raised about tracing-software validation, error rates and false positives.

E008 · 35:18–36:28
06 / Reference

The price of justice

“The price of justice is eternal publicity.”

James cites Professor Julian Heicklen while discussing community attention and the effort to keep Roman’s case in public view.

James Babb, citing Julian Heicklen · E008 · 37:26–37:41

Further viewing

The original interviews.

Explore the interviews used in our companion clips. These are separate conversations from the E008 episode.

01 / Interview

When computers get it wrong.

Naomi Brockwell speaks with Roman in a recorded prison call and examines the case with Tor Ekeland. The interview includes Roman’s account of his friendships, his dream of flying and time away from family.

Naomi Brockwell TV · November 2026 ↗