Wikileaks founder Julian Assange

Vice President Joe Biden has called him a “high tech terrorist.”  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says his work “tears at the fabric of responsible governments.”   His supporters include the hacker group Anonymous, which brought down the websites of Visa, Mastercard and PayPal in his name.

We’re talking about Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks and one of the most controversial figures of our time.  Whether you agree with him or not,  Assange’s work grows out of a strong commitment to using information technology to foster democracy.  Anne Strainchamps reached Assange in England, where he’s under house arrest.  He spoke with her outdoors, from a cell phone, on a windy day.