Brewed Fresh Daily

"There's always been an alliance between hacker-technicals and direct-action-in-the-street people," said Yale anthropology professor and anarchist organizer David Graeber. "Natalie is one of the only ones who has feet in both worlds, and actually brings them together." Months ago, it became clear that the RNC counter-demonstrations were relying on digital technology. But most of the gadgetry involved was household stuff -- text messages to report cops' whereabouts, or web pages to arrange housing. Jeremijenko and her group have gone beyond that, hand-crafting devices meant to level, just a bit, law enforcement's technology advantage over activists. Their devices include a 10-foot balloon, for counting crowds; a set of pirate transmitters, for taking over local radio stations; and 1,400 face masks that measure the level of pollution in the Manhattan air. Think of the group as a kind of Darpa of dissent -- with Jeremijenko's loft as the headquarters. "To me, social issues are technical issues, and vice versa," she said, as her rabbit, Sally, skittered across the hardwood floors. "So I'm interested in how do you exploit technology for just social policies."