Edward Snowden: Yes, the government can see your dick pics

 By 
Stan Schroeder
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

In an interview with Last Week Tonight host John Oliver, whistleblower Edward Snowden shared some interesting revelations about the U.S. government's capabilities to intercept people's personal data -- including dick pics.

Oliver, who flew to Moscow to conduct the interview with Snowden, shows a segment with people worried about the government accessing their nude photos. Snowden denies there's a government program aimed precisely for that purpose, but that doesn't mean they can't see your private pics.

"Well, the good news is there's no program named, 'the dick pic program'. The bad news is, they are still collecting everybody's information, including your dick pics," Snowden says.

The Edward Snowden / John Oliver "dick pic" interview segment was epic (and should probably be shown in tech marketing classes)— Bret Taylor (@btaylor) April 6, 2015

Edward Snowden explaining NSA capabilities to John Oliver in terms of dick pics is everything.— Chris Burlingame (@chrisburlingame) April 6, 2015

What follows is a hilarious and very detailed explanation of how the various U.S. surveillance programs work, in terms of photos of someone's penis that is.

In an oddly related and a particularly hilarious part of the interview, Oliver educates Snowden on truck nuts. If you, like Snowden, don't know what they are, see the photo below.

[img src="http://admin.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/truck-nuts.jpg" caption="John Oliver educates Edward Snowden on the "truck nuts" phenomenon. " credit="Last Week Tonight" alt="truck nuts"]

Not all of the interview is conducted in such a lighthearted tone. Oliver asks Snowden several hard questions, grilling him about not reading all of the NSA documents he leaked before handing them over to journalists.

Responding to a question about a poorly redacted piece of the leaked information posted in The New York Times, Snowden recognizes it as a says this is something that happens in reporting.

"In journalism, we have to accept that some mistakes will be made. This is a fundamental concept of liberty," Snowden says.

"You're giving documents with information you know could be harmful, which could get out there," Oliver replies.

"You will never be completely free from risk if you're free," Snowden says.

Snowden also touches on his defection to Russia, where he has lived since June 2013.

"I do miss my country. I do miss my home. I do miss my family," he says.

Check out the entire interview in the video above.

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BONUS: John Oliver and Cookie Monster give you the last word on words

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