How would the free market have handled a respiratory illness? After a year of evidence, including my personal experience with the illness, we discuss the effectiveness of individual and public health precautions and interventions. We examine the difference in approach through the lens of Mises' calculation problem. What economic problems face public health authorities, and what would we have done without them? We are also re-joined by Philipp Bagus, who has just published a paper on the pol...
Feb 07, 2021•1 hr 23 min
This week we host Philipp Bagus, the economist who wrote the definitive Austrian treatment of deflation, In Defense of Deflation. We discuss the history of anti-deflation thought in economics, the different kinds of deflation, the consequences of deflation, and whether this is a problem for bitcoin. We also discuss Philipp's views on bitcoin, as well as his work on the Euro. Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his fort...
Feb 02, 2021•1 hr 22 min
In this week's seminar we discuss reddit's attack on hedge funds by buying Gamestop stock. How the analysis of hard money in The Bitcoin Standard can help us understand why these short-squeezes will be self-defeating everywhere except with bitcoin, because of its unique Number Go Up technology. We also discuss deflation, monarchy, and more fun! Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming ...
Jan 30, 2021•59 min
We are joined by Austrian-school economist Per Bylund to discuss entrepreneurship as studied in the Austrian school tradition, and how and why the treatment of this topic differs from mainstream schools of thought. Per is a Fellow of the Mises Institute and Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship & Records-Johnston Professor of Free Enterprise in the School of Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University. Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast se...
Jan 29, 2021•1 hr 10 min
Stephan is a patent autorney and Libertarian scholar, from whom I’ve learned a lot over the years. Although he is not an economist, he has made a very important contribution to economics by providing the best alaboration of the case against intellectual property. I highly recommend his paper “Against Intellectual Property”, which I taught in my ECO12 class. Jed Grant is CEO of KYC3.com and founder of OpenCryptoAlliance , which is attempting to help fight patent trolls in the bitcoin space. We di...
Jan 26, 2021•1 hr
Saifedean discusses chapters 3 and 4 of The Fiat Standard with subscribers. These foundational chapters explain how the fiat system functions with analogy to Bitcoin, studying central banks as nodes and examining their core functions, explaining how lending in fiat is the equivalent of mining in bitcoin, how it translates to supply issuance, and how to understand price inflation in fiat. Join saifedean.com to receive new chapters as they're written, before publication! Enjoyed this episode?...
Jan 22, 2021•1 hr 24 min
In this seminar we are joined by Preston Pysh, an investor and podcaster who has produced excellent thought-provoking research on bitcoin. We discuss Preston's journey from value investor to bitcoiner, and how he bridges his Warren Buffet background with being a bitcoiner. We also discuss his fascinating mental model for thinking about bitcoin bull runs, and whether this bull run will be similar to previous ones in being followed by a big crash, or if this time will be different. Enjoyed th...
Jan 18, 2021•2 hr 53 min
Description: Discussion of the economics of time, based on chapter 3 in Saifedean's forthcoming textbook, Principles of Economics. Why is time the ultimate resource, and how does money affect time preference. Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here . THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS NYDIG - https://nydig.com Cyphersafe - https://cyphersafe.io...
Jan 11, 2021•59 min
In today's seminar, we discuss why bitcoin's price matters, what bitcoin skeptics get wrong about it, and what it means to the success of the network. We also discuss the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's new guidance allowing banks to use public blockchains as settlement infrastructure, and how it agrees with The Bitcoin Standard's thesis. Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming...
Jan 06, 2021•1 hr 7 min
Thomas Semaan is an ex-student of Saifedean who has been active in the Lebanese bitcoin scene. He joins us to tell us about the Lebanese fiat crisis, how bitcoin has helped him and other bitcoiners, and compare its effectiveness to political activism and delusions of reform. Bitcoin Du Liban website and TG group. Thomas's blog. Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member...
Jan 02, 2021•2 hr 31 min
We are joined by Bitcoin trader and analyst Tone Vays, to discuss professional trading, amateur trading, bitcoin trading, and the likely course of the bitcoin bull market. Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here . THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS NYDIG - https://nydig.com Cyphersafe - https://cyphersafe.io/ OKCoin - https://okcoin.com/ Nodl - http...
Dec 31, 2020•2 hr 51 min
In today’s seminar we discuss Central Bank Digital Currencies and what they mean for Bitcoin. What are the likely contours of a new global monetary system, in the wake of the global economic crises? Finally we examine Hayek’s proposal for competing currencies and whether it makes him a shitcoiner. Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here . THE BITCOIN S...
Dec 26, 2020•2 hr 37 min
Gold became money as determined by the free market because of its properties—scarcity. But with the invention of Bitcoin, we are now seeing a historical event that will never be repeated. Bitcoin’s characteristics make it a direct competitor to the central banks because of its absolute scarcity, resistance to theft and confiscation, and the system that it’s built upon prevents it from being shut down. Saifedean Ammous, economist and author of The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative t...
Dec 23, 2020•2 hr 51 min
This week we are joined by Russell Lamberti, macroeconomic analyst from the Austrian School, to discuss the global macro outlook, and how bitcoin fits in. Russell is on Twitter on @RussLamberti Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here . THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS NYDIG - https://nydig.com Cyphersafe - https://cyphersafe.io/ OKCoin - https://o...
Dec 21, 2020•2 hr 32 min
The Fiat Standard - Chapter 1 Read by Guy Swann "For the reader who has become familiar with the operation of bitcoin, a good way to understand the operation of fiat is by drawing analogy to the operation of bitcoin using concepts like mining, nodes, balances, and proof of work. My aim is to explain the operation and engineering structure of the fiat monetary system and how it operates, in reality, away from the naive romanticism of governments and banks who have benefited from this system ...
Dec 21, 2020•28 min
In today's seminar we discuss Microstrategy's latest issuance of notes to finance more purchases of bitcoin, and what it tells us about the state of fiat markets and bitcoin. We also discuss bitcoin price bubbles, and how they relate to halvings and the stock-to-flow ratio. Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here . THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKI...
Dec 17, 2020•1 hr 9 min
Saifedean joins Stephan to discuss the underlying technology behind The Fiat Standard, how it operates, and what bitcoin can teach us about how the fiat system functions! THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS NYDIG - https://nydig.com Cyphersafe - https://cyphersafe.io/ OKCoin - https://okcoin.com/ Nodl - https://www.nodl.it/ Coldcard - https://coldcardwallet.com/ CoinBits App - https://coinbitsapp.com/...
Dec 16, 2020•1 hr 10 min
Jeff Booth is a long-time leader in the tech industry and the founder and ex-CEO of BuildDirect, who recently wrote The Price of Tomorrow: Why Deflation Is the Key to an Abundant Future. He joins us to discuss inflation and deflation, why deflation is the natural state of markets, and how a hard money like bitcoin fixes much of what is wrong with today's world. Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books ...
Dec 10, 2020•2 hr 35 min
PLanB is the pseudonym of a Dutch money manager and quantitative analyst who has produced a numerical modelling of bitcoin's price based on its stock-to-flow ratio, after reading about it in The Bitcoin Standard. He joins us to discuss his model, why he thinks it holds so well, what he expects to happen to the model long term, and what problems the model has. Find out more on PlanBTC.com. Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapte...
Dec 08, 2020•2 hr 54 min
Alex Epstein is the author of The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, and the founder of the Center for Industrial Progress. He joins us to discuss his work on the importance of energy, and in particular fossil fuels. Center for Industrial Progress The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here . THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS ...
Dec 04, 2020•2 hr 39 min
In today's seminar we host Stephen Barbour, founder and CEO of Upstream Data, Inc. We discuss Upstream's unique products which allow for mining bitcoin off of methane gas that cannot be sold economically otherwise. We also discuss the economics of Bitcoin mining, the difficulty adjustment, and different energy sources. Upstream Data's website. Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becom...
Nov 28, 2020•58 min
In today's seminar, Saifedean discusses his new book The Fiat Standard, on which he has been working for two years! You can read the first chapter, and sign up to receive a new chapter every week, on saifedean.com ! Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here . THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS NYDIG - https://nydig.com Cyphersafe - https://cypher...
Nov 24, 2020•1 hr 9 min
This week, we host Robert Breedlove, one of the sharpest minds thinking and writing about the deeper implications of bitcoin. We discuss Robert's work on the parallels between the number zero and bitcoin, how bitcoin is digital alchemy, fiat money and slavery, and bitcoin as our most brilliant idea. Robert blogs on breedlove22.medium.com His Twitter account is: @Breedlove22 Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forth...
Nov 18, 2020•1 hr 13 min
We are joined by Dr. James Todaro MD to discuss fiat medicine and fiat science, and the free market alternative he is pursuing. James is a bitcoiner and medical doctor who conducted highly important research this year, and saw it censored and attacked by media and scientific authorities. James later helped uncover a completely fraudulent article based on fabricated data published in The Lancet. Six months from its publication, we reflect to see what this study and its retraction teach us about f...
Nov 11, 2020•1 hr 11 min
In today's seminar we begin by discussing bitcoin's price rise light and how the analysis in The Bitcoin Standard has held up since then. We then move on to discussing Coronahysteria and how so many otherwise reasonable people have been scared into believing ridiculous hysterical nonsense. Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here . THE BITCOIN...
Nov 07, 2020•2 hr 54 min
In this seminar we are joined by Jordan Schachtel, an investigative reporter who has covered the global coronahysteria crisis from its genesis, and proven one of the very few people who has thought and written about it rationally. Jordan discusses the lack of evidence for the interventions being presented as the cutting edge of science. He shares his investigations into some of the leading alarmists and the incoherence of their hysterical messages. He discusses the origin of the hysteria and the...
Oct 31, 2020•2 hr 39 min
In this seminar we host Michael Goldstein, @bitstein , of the Satoshi Nakamoto Institute. We discuss our two favorite topics: bitcoin and meat. Michael curated justmeat.co a page with very rich resources on meat, including the amazing story of Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson. We are also fortunate to have among our attendees in the seminar Timothy Allen, filmmaker, adventurer, and photographer who has spent years traveling with nomadic tribes in the Arctic and worked on the BBC's Huma...
Oct 24, 2020•2 hr 9 min
We are joined this week by Stephan Livera who moderates a debate between Saifedean and Alex Gladstein, of the Human Rights Foundation, on the question of whether bitcoin is a democratic technology. Alex has written on how bitcoin can protect free speech. Articles and Books mentioned in the episode: Hoppe: Democracy: The God That Failed Why Monarchies Rule for standards of living Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forth...
Oct 17, 2020•2 hr 44 min
After five years of eating nothing but meat, Saifedean explains everything he learned about how to grill a steak, and why to grill it. Being well-nourished with meat is the best way to avoid getting addicted to highly-addictive processed junk. In this week's seminar, Saifedean discusses the most important things he learned about sourcing and preparing meat to stay healthy, as well as some of the most relevant readings that have shaped his thinking on this topic, and the connection between f...
Oct 12, 2020•2 hr 56 min
We are joined this week by Pierre Rochard, of the Satoshi Nakamoto Institute , to talk about: The fixed supply of bitcoin How bitcoin differs from other moneys The significance of having a supply that can be verified cheaply The importance of savings The difference between savings and investments BitcoinAcks : Pierre's new initiative for open source financing of bitcoin development Some of my favorite articles by Pierre: The Bitcoin Central Bank's Perfect Monetary Policy End the Fed, H...
Oct 02, 2020•2 hr 41 min
