If he were less calculating he would be dead.

It's very likely that a lot of less calculating would-be Snowdens are lying in unmarked graves out there somewhere.

Maybe he's getting some coaching from people where he lives now as he goes on his media tour before the next American election?

It is only sensible to be skeptical when the attention he's garnered could be useful to some

Oh, man. I completely disagree. I feel like he just talks and talks about whatever he wants to talk about with almost no regard for whether his technical language is being understood or if he's dominating the discussion or anything like that. I don't think I've seen him develop a natural rapport with anyone or even make a firm, memorable point in an interview. I'll always be grateful for his leaks but over 2.5 hours he just became a soft background murmur in my room.

You'll love the John Carmack episode then :)

For reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udlMSe5-zP8

The Carmack episode was great but the follow-up questions I wanted to ask Carmack and what Joe Rogan actually follows-up was a bit disappointing.

JRE is breadth first search, within a certain...domain.

I genuinely did love the John Carmack episode. I'm sensing a pattern here.

Completely agree, he rambles all over the place with no clear narrative arch. And he completely failed to build any rapport by making weird comments about the shows logo and his lack of engagement with Joe at the start. Given he knew he was going to have 2+ hours to make his points, and the audience was going to be several million, he should have considered his approach far better.

It was an interesting discussion however.

I imagine being cooped up in an embassy gives you a lot of time to think and plan what you want to say and, eventually, you end up with a real fire-hose of pent-up expression.

Who's cooped up in an embassy? Snowden is free to walk the streets.

He wasn't for a long time, as he explains in the actual podcast.

He wasn’t ever in an embassy. Are you confusing with Assange?

That's a fair point. Maybe the technical language isn't very friendly to a wide audience, that hadn't occurred to me. I'm trying to keep a wide perspective, but I might just be fanboying.

I can imagine the potential advisors/pr folks, having helped shape that type of image. It’s hard to be in the public spotlight and not have PR consultants spamming you.