153. The Man Who Invented The World Wide Web (Tim Berners-Lee)

The Rest Is Politics: Leading

Goalhanger

Politics, Government, News

4.6 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 14 September 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Tim Berners-Lee could be one of the richest men on the planet, why did he forfeit such large profits to make the World Wide Web a free and open space? How do we reclaim the internet from social media companies taking away our sovereignty? Have tech giants like Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk thanked Tim for his invention? Rory and Alastair are joined by Sir Tim Berners-Lee to discuss all this and more. Visit HP.com/politics to find out more. To save your company time and money, open a Revolut Business account today via www.revolut.com/rb/leading, and add money to your account by 31st of December 2025 to get a £200 welcome bonus or equivalent in your local currency. Feature availability varies by plan. This offer’s available for New Business customers in the UK, US, Australia and Ireland. Fees and Terms & Conditions apply. For US customers, Revolut is not a bank. Banking services and card issuance are provided by Lead Bank, Member FDIC. Visa® and Mastercard® cards issued under license. Funds are FDIC insured up to $250,000 through Lead Bank, in the event Lead Bank fails. Fees may apply. See full terms in description. For Irish customers, Revolut Bank UAB is authorised and regulated by the Bank of Lithuania in the Republic of Lithuania and by the European Central Bank and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland for conduct of business rules. For AU customers, consider PDS & TMD at revolut.com/en-AU. Revolut Payments Australia Pty Ltd (AFSL 517589). TRIP Plus: Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes. Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics. Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @RestIsPolitics Email: [email protected] Social Producer: Harry Balden Video Editor: Adam Thornton Assistant Producer: Alice Horrell Producer: Nicole Maslen Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Head of Content: Tom Whiter Exec Producers: Tony Pastor + Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thanks for listening to The Restis Politics. Sign up to the Restis Politics Plus. To enjoy ad-free listening,
0:04.9	receive a weekly newsletter, join our members chat room and gain early access to live show tickets.
0:09.3	Just go to therestispolities.com. That's therestispolities.com.
0:13.2	This episode is sponsored by HP. Now, Rory, I hear that Windows 10 is finally being put out to pasture this year. It is. And something pretty relevant for you, Alistair, given what I've seen as some of your technology. It's going on October the 14th, to be exact. And after that, Microsoft is going to stop supporting some of those old laptops of yours. No updates, no security patches. So if you were still using it or a business was still using Windows 10,
0:41.8	it would be really exposed to cyber threats, for example. It would be like locking the door,
0:46.9	but leaving the key in the lock. So it's time to move on and HP are making that refreshingly straightforward. Yes, they are. HP's latest business PCs comes with Windows 11 Pro as standard.
0:52.9	They're faster, more secure built for the AI tools,
0:55.9	which are already reshaping the way we work. And you don't have to figure out all on your own.
1:00.4	HP's business advisors help you pick the right kit. So no baffing jargon, just practical advice.
1:06.2	And here's the bonus. Restis Politics listeners get 10% of business PCs at HP.com using the code
1:12.9	Trip10 term supply. So unlock efficiency and innovation upgrade to Windows 11 Pro PCs with
1:20.1	HP and get 10% discount. Visit HP.com slash politics to find out more.
1:39.0	This is an interview that Alastair and I did with Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web.
1:39.8	And we don't often interview scientists, engineers.
1:44.6	This is a man who effectively won the Nobel Prize for Computing.
1:49.3	And often the image I think we have of engineers and scientists is a bit misleading
1:53.7	because they're often the ones that we see are people who are super slick, extrovert, communicators.
2:00.4	Tim, as you'll find, isn't quite like that,
2:02.8	but he's a very, very revealing portrait of the spirit of a man who not just invented something,
2:09.3	which is at the heart of all our lives, but also went on to focus on non-profit work, on university
2:15.9	work, and did not turn himself into a multi-billionaire
2:19.6	off the basis of this product and remains deeply interested in ideas, deeply idealistic,
	...

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