HACKER STUFF with José M. Ávalos Morer and Andrés Naranjo (TheXXLMAN)

On this channel we cover the thousand and one professions in cybersecurity, but every now and then it’s time to talk to the people who tell it their own way, no tie and plenty of banter. That’s why I sit down with the two heads behind the podcast Cosas de Hackers, Andrés Naranjo, alias TheXXLMan, and J.M. Ávalos.

Andrés is the technical profile, a regular speaker and a master’s lecturer. Ávalos describes himself as a latecomer who comes from systems administration, pedagogy and intelligence, and he makes the case that cybersecurity has room for non-technical profiles too. Between them they explain their idea of a hacker, which for them is any scholar of their own field, whether a lawyer, an artist or a bus driver, and that’s why their show has featured everyone from voice actors to Olympic athletes. They call themselves the scoundrels of digital transformation, they air on Tuesdays from nine to ten, and this season they make the jump to Movistar Plus, on top of the usual platforms.

We talk about why a format that was born without answering to anyone works, about the affection of a community that already numbers around three hundred people, and even about the famous mugs that Ávalos can’t manage to hand out. A rascally chat that, as always with them, felt far too short.