Ed Barnard is the author of the Leanpub book From Capone to Cray: Where Computers Really Came From. In this interview, Leanpub co-founder Len Epp talks with Ed about his background and career, learning important lessons for software development by climbing a mountain, what it was like programming in an era when computer time was generally more valuable than programmer time, Elizebeth Friedman and prohibition-era codebreaking, the origins of the NSA, his book, and at the end, they talk a little bit about his experience as a self-published author.This interview was recorded on February 8, 2022.The full audio for the interview is here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/leanpub_podcasts/FM198-Ed-Barnard-2022-02-08.mp3. You can subscribe to the Frontmatter podcast in iTunes here https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/leanpub-podcast/id517117137 or add the podcast URL directly here: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/leanpub-podcast/id517117137.This interview has been edited for conciseness and clarity.