Story: Coding Through Chaos : Addiction, Recovery and Acceptance

Adam Gordon Bell interviews John Walker, a software developer and security researcher, about his struggles with fitting in, addiction, and mental health. John recounts his early experiences with computers and hacking, his experimentation with drugs, and his eventual journey to sobriety. He discusses his challenges with social anxiety and how he coped with it through drug use, eventually finding healthier outlets in security research and weightlifting. The conversation explores John's career, his work in data mining, and his eventual diagnosis of autism, which helped him understand himself better and find a community of like-minded individuals. Ultimately, John shares his journey of self-acceptance and finding a way to exist in the world without pretending to be someone he's not.