Is humanity running out of resources, or are resources more abundant than ever? Gale Pooley is the co-author of Superabdundance, a fascinating and optimistic exploration of how economic progress has made life better for humanity. He joins us to explain why goods continue to become more abundant, why fears of overpopulation and resource depletion continue to be refuted forcefully by reality, and why human time keeps getting more valuable. We discuss the work of one of our favorite economists, Jul...
Jan 03, 2023•2 hr 51 min
This episode contains most of the final lecture of The Fiat Standard online course, which just concluded, based on the last chapter of The Fiat Standard. After having studied the bitcoin and fiat monetary systems extensively in The Bitcoin Standard and The Fiat Standard, Saifedean analyzes how bitcoin can continue to rise in a fiat world. Can central banks adopt bitcoin? Will bitcoin lead to hyperinflation? Or will bitcoin be an orderly upgrade and debt jubilee, allowing us to unwind fiat painle...
Dec 26, 2022•2 hr 34 min
We are rejoined by Nik Bhatia, author of Layered Money, to get his perspective on the bond market, the global economy, and bitcoin. Why did bonds have their worst year ever? Why is Nik convinced a recession is looming? How does he see the bond market developing in the medium and long term? Will bonds recover and yields fall? Will we see negative bond yields? Is there still more road for the Fed to can unto, or are we really at the end of the road? Resources (All links available on saifedean.com/...
Dec 20, 2022•2 hr 54 min
James Lavish CFA has decades of experience in institutional investing and risk management, and he joins us to give us his perspective on global bond markets, their recent developments and where he sees them going forward. He explains his bleak outlook for government bonds in the long run, and why continues inflation is a very likely outcome. He explains his view on why a debt spiral is likely and what it means for bond-holders and governments. James also gives us his perspective on the global fo...
Dec 13, 2022•2 hr 6 min
Bitcoin Magazine market analyst Dylan Leclair joins us for an in-depth discussion of the many ponzi schemes and failed financial institutions of our times, and how he identified the problems with them in his prescient writings. Dylan discusses the many red flags and structural problems with Luna/UST, Three Arrows Capital, Celsius, Blockfi, FTX, and Genesis, and why so many people refuse to see the warning signs and seem to want to fall victim for anything that offers them the holy grail of “yiel...
Dec 06, 2022•2 hr 28 min
Crowdhealth CEO Andy Schoonover joins us for a wide-ranging discussion of the failures of fiat healthcare and health insurance, and how his new startup Crowdhealth, works to solve them. Andy explains the institutional and regulatory reasons that make healthcare costs continue to rise, and why insurance companies have the perverse incentive to let costs rise. He also explains how Crowdhealth uses bitcoin to make healthcare affordable for patients and better rewarding for doctors by taking the ins...
Nov 29, 2022•2 hr 35 min
Rowais Hanna operates Coinbits' Twitter account, and has used it to publish fascinating in-depth investigations into the common myths of modern macroeconomics. He joins us to discuss the Consumer Price Index, how it is calculated, and the endless justifications used to adjust it. We also discuss the mythical origins of the 2% inflation target, and the trade-off between unemployment and inflation, and why supposedly empirical economists refuse to ever admit it is invalid. Rowais also discuss...
Nov 22, 2022•2 hr 6 min
Why are so many bitcoin miners going bankrupt? We discuss the economics of bitcoin mining, how the difficulty adjustment works, why it makes bitcoin mining a zero sum game, and why it ensures bitcoin is optimized for the saver, not for the miner. Plus, what are the things you need to keep in mind if you are considering getting into mining? Resources (All links available on saifedean.com/podcast/142-why-bitcoin-miners-get-rekt) Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard Saifedean’s second book,...
Nov 19, 2022•47 min
Join us as we take a close look at the amazing series of events in a week in which FTX went from being one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world, to being exposed as a fraudulent ponzi scheme, and its founder went from being a globally acclaimed & highly politically influential successful genius entrepreneur and philanthropist to a reviled con artist, who lost his investors & clients billions of dollars. What lessons can we learn from this episode about bitcoin, sh*tcoins, DeFi, a...
Nov 14, 2022•1 hr 14 min
Richard Lindzen is professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and he joins us to offer his scientific expertise on climate alarmism. He discusses how his background in physics and meteorology leads him to conclude that the alarmism around climate is unjustified, and we discuss how institutional and financial reasons have made fiat scientists so keen to promote an agenda of fear and panic. We discuss the problems with the academic publication industry, as well as Profe...
Nov 10, 2022•2 hr 48 min
Alex Epstein joins us again to discuss his excellent new book, Fossil Future, which makes a powerful case for why fossil fuels are essential for human flourishing, and why restricting them is the real crisis facing humanity. Alex explains how overhyped the supposed ‘alternatives’ to fossil fuels are, and how fossil fuels remain completely essential for our modern standards of living, and why their use is constantly growing. Why do fossil fuels represent the only realistic alternative to poverty ...
Nov 02, 2022•2 hr 59 min
Princeton Professor Emeritus in Physics, William Happer, joins us to discuss the impact of CO2 on the Earth's climate and the state of modern science. What is the scientific evidence on the relationship between CO2 and Earth's climate? Does CO2 drive the Earth's temperature, or does temperature drive CO2? What does the fossil record tell us about the state of the world's climate in the past? Is current warming unprecedented? Why don't scientists study the evidence of pre...
Oct 29, 2022•1 hr 26 min
What on earth is going on in Europe and how did things get so bad? In this seminar, we discuss the double calamity of skyrocketing energy costs and plummeting pensions and currencies. While high time preference fiat media obsesses over the latest scapegoats, we look into the long-term drivers of these two problems: Decades of green hysteria leading to dismantling of reliable power sources & underinvestment in reliable power generation. And decades of Keynesian dogma convincing the people who...
Oct 25, 2022•1 hr 5 min
Niko Laamanen, founder of Konsensus Network, joins us to discuss bitcoin publishing and his company's decentralized “starfish” organizational model. He explains how reading The Bitcoin Standard led him to found the world’s first bitcoin-only publishing house and how he harnessed an international network of volunteers to publish over 40 bitcoin titles in ten languages. He and Saifedean also discuss Niko’s journey with Austrian Economics, the importance of hodling bitcoin and work being done ...
Oct 22, 2022•1 hr 8 min
Does high cholesterol really cause heart disease? Is there such as thing as “good” and “bad” cholesterol? What impact do statins – the most profitable drug in the history of medicine – have on human health? In this episode, Dr Malcolm Kendrick, author of The Great Cholesterol Con and The Clot Thickens, joins us to challenge the conventional wisdom on cholesterol. He shares his view on the diet-heart hypothesis, his intriguing alternative explanation for heart disease, and what he recommends to m...
Oct 17, 2022•2 hr 15 min
What is praxeology and why does it matter? In this episode, Conza, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Australia, joins us to discuss the theoretical foundations of economics. He explains why praxeology – the science of human action – provides the value-free framework needed to reason about economic questions, and how its method differs from that of physical sciences such as biology. He and Saifedean discuss how praxeology can be used to analyse topics such as minimum wage, inflation and pandem...
Oct 10, 2022•2 hr 7 min
Wall Street veteran and founder of Custodia Bank Caitlin Long joins us to discuss bitcoin banks, leverage and the macroeconomy. She explains how new “dollar and digital asset banks” like Custodia Bank are helping to bridge the gap between bitcoin and the US dollar, and why she has chosen to seek regulation rather than bypass it. She and Saifedean discuss financial leverage, its impact on bitcoin’s price and why people should be wary of companies promising risk-free yield on bitcoin. The conversa...
Oct 04, 2022•2 hr 57 min
Mikkel Thorup, founder and CEO of Expat Money, joins us to make the case for becoming an expat. He discusses why people should consider moving their life offshore, which jurisdictions are most appealing and strategies listeners can pursue to mitigate tax obligations. Mikkel shares practical tips on finding quality healthcare, educating children, travelling comfortably and managing international finances. He also outlines his views on flag theory, the importance of geographical diversity in inves...
Sep 26, 2022•2 hr 54 min
How have Russians dealt with being getting kicked off the fiat dollar network? We are joined by Russian economist and investment advisor Lana Nagornaia to discuss the monetary ramifications of US sanctions from a Russian perspective. Why has the rouble risen versus the dollar in spite of sanctions? Can this be expected to last, or will it reverse? What alternatives are Russians using for trading with the rest of the world? Will Russia switch to a gold standard? Can it trade gold internationally ...
Sep 20, 2022•1 hr 19 min
In this seminar, Saifedean discusses ideas for potential chapters he considered for, but did not end up including in The Fiat Standard. The analytical framework of the book, examining the impact of fiat money through the destruction of savings, raising time preference, & allowing endless government finance, can be applied to many topics, and in this seminar Saifedean and the attendees explore some ideas. How does fiat affect medicine and the medical establishment and modern medicine? What is...
Sep 12, 2022•33 min
Managing Partner of Stillmark, Alyse Killeen, joins us to discuss investing in bitcoin companies. She explains why Stillmark invests in "bitcoin only" companies, what she looks for in bitcoin startups and how venture capital in the bitcoin industry differs from traditional markets. She and Saifedean also discuss how bitcoin investing is long-term focused whereas token VCs have a new short-term model taking advantage of clueless retail with false narratives. Alyse explains how this long...
Sep 05, 2022•2 hr 45 min
Former England international football player Kieran Gibbs joins us to discuss his bitcoin journey, football career, and thoughts on time preference. Find out how he was orange-pilled by team-mate Hal Robson Kanu, why he chose to receive 50% of his salary in bitcoin, how bitcoin has changed him and lowered his time preference, and how he introduces bitcoin to his athlete friends. Kieran also compares playing the low time preference football style of Arsenal's Arsène Wenger with the high time...
Aug 30, 2022•2 hr 42 min
Are the world's most common illnesses caused by insulin resistance? In this episode, Dr Benjamin Bikman joins us to discuss his best-selling book “Why We Get Sick”. He argues that insulin resistance is at the heart of the world's most prevalent diseases and that poor economic incentives have caused scientists to neglect this phenomenon to pursue unproductive avenues of research. Dr Bikman explains how insulin resistance impacts conditions ranging from diabetes to Alzheimer’s and offers...
Aug 23, 2022•2 hr 22 min
BTC veteran Matt Odell joins us to share his thoughts on the best ways to use bitcoin. We discuss different bitcoin custody options such as trusting third parties, hardware wallets, multisig, and paper wallets, and the advantages and trade-offs involved. What is the case for staying private on bitcoin, and what are the best tools available? What are the most common risks facing bitcoin holders? Will yield products on bitcoin go away or are they coming back? How do you plan for bitcoin inheritanc...
Aug 16, 2022•2 hr 14 min
Should you learn to code? Is coding for everyone? Can learning to code make you more employable? Does the value of coding decline in a world of artificial intelligence? Do intellectual property laws help advance computer engineering or hold it back? In this episode, Saifedean talks to Amjad Masad: CEO of leading coding platform Replit. They discuss how Amjad’s upbringing in Jordan led him into the world of programming, how he started Replit, how it grew from an open source project to a company v...
Aug 09, 2022•2 hr 55 min
How did the CFA franc come to be the common currency of 14 West and Central African nations? Who controls it and why did it suddenly lose half of its value in 1994? In this episode, we are joined by software engineer and founder of Bitcoin Developers Academy, Fodé Diop, for a discussion on the fascinating monetary history of West Africa. Fodé explains how the CFA franc has allowed France to maintain economic dominance in West Africa, how the 1994 devaluation affected his family, and why he is su...
Aug 02, 2022•2 hr 53 min
In this seminar, learners at saifedean.com discuss the current state of the fiat monetary system as the world experiences the dollar strengthening and other fiat currencies weakening. Regular seminar attendee Nasr El-Hadi discusses the history and the current state of the Libyan monetary system, where the central bank has split into two central banks each issuing the same currency with a different signature, with hilarious and disastrous consequences. Find out what happens when fiat 'hard f...
Jul 26, 2022•2 hr 34 min
In this episode, CEO of bitcoin mining company Iris Energy Dan Roberts joins us to discuss whether bitcoin can (and should) help fix renewable energy. Dan explains the problems that intermittent wind and solar energy create for power grids, and how his company works to solve them through bitcoin mining. He and Saifedean discuss whether grids would be better off only using reliable energy sources, how bitcoin’s difficulty adjustment forces miners to become more efficient, and why Iris Energy has ...
Jul 18, 2022•1 hr 24 min
Bitcoin educator and investor Giacomo Zucco joins us to explain why he thinks bitcoin cannot be hard money unless it is dark money. We discuss: How dark is bitcoin given that its ledger of transactions is public, and given the recent identification of several hackers through chain analysis? Is bitcoin’s privacy overestimated by bitcoiners? What chance does the average user have at remaining anonymous? Does bitcoin need to be anonymous to remain secure? Can bitcoin survive government attack if mo...
Jul 13, 2022•2 hr 19 min
Has Saifedean changed his mind on stablecoins? After handling $7b of redemptions in 48 hours, has USDT proven its resilience? Could regulated fiat banks handle this level of redemption? What happens to stablecoins if their adoption continues to grow? Can they replace foreign central banks as dollar providers to the world? Will they become major holders of US Treasuries? How will central banks deal with stablecoins? Are stablecoins a gateway to bitcoin? Can USDT be built on top of bitcoin's ...
Jul 04, 2022•2 hr 50 min
