Economist Peter St Onge joins to give us his perspective on a wide range of economic issues, from gold and bitcoin to fertility to government financing.

Enjoyed this episode? Join Saifedean's online learning platform to take part in weekly podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s four online economics courses, and read his writing, including his new book, Principles of Economics! Find out more on Saifedean.com!

Rajat Soni is a CFA who read The Bitcoin Standard and became a bitcoiner, which caused him some trouble with the CFA Institute. He joins to discuss his transformation and why the investment industry may not like bitcoin.

Enjoyed this episode? Join Saifedean's online learning platform to take part in weekly podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s four online economics courses, and read his writing, including his new book, Principles of Economics! Find out more on Saifedean.com!

Dan Cohen is an independent journalist and filmmaker who joins us to discuss his travels in Palestine and his work on the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

Resources:

• Killing Gaza Documentary - https://killinggaza.com/
• Latest documentary on Haiti - https://youtu.be/LO6CMvSP2rw?si=Awch5mfdkV1XgtXC

Enjoyed this episode? Join Saifedean's online learning platform to take part in weekly podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s four online economics courses, and read his writing, including his new book, Principles of Economics! Find out more on Saifedean.com!

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 whose pensions are being destroyed their government can pay for everything at no cost. Does the UK really need to spend 10% of its GDP on public healthcare? What exactly is it about medical care that makes it have to be so expensive and always getting more expensive? Could it be the endless government financing?  How bad would truly private healthcare be really?

Resources

• Michael Shellenberger on German Nuclear Power Plants
• Michael Shellenberger on German gas production
• Alex Epstein on Europe's Energy Suicide
• Surgery Center of Oklahoma
• Surgery Center of Oklahoma's Keith Smith discusses his business model on EconTalk
• Keith Smith's blog
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his ongoing course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming book, Principles of Economics, by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

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 to support bitcoin adoption in Madeira.

References

• Niko on Twitter.
• Konsensus Network on Twitter.
• Konsensus Network blog.
• The Bitcoin Whitepaper.
• See Konsensus Network’s website for titles referenced during the conversation including Layered Money, The Price of Tomorrow, Choose Life, Bitcoin: Everything divided by 21 million and The Starfish and The Spider.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his ongoing course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

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 maintain a healthy heart. We also discuss how and why fiat medicine and economics have many “endlessly adaptable hypotheses" that refuse to die no matter how much reality assaults them.

References

• Dr Kendrick on Twitter.
• Dr Kendrick’s website.
• Dr Kendrick’s books: The Great Cholesterol Con, Doctoring Data and The Clot Thickens
• European cardiovascular disease statistics 2008 edition showing lower cardiovascular disease prevalence in countries with higher saturated fat in the diet. For more on this topic, see this blog post by Dr Kendrick.
• Website of the International Network of Cholesterol Sceptics
• Dr Kendrick's blog post on Carl von Rokitansky and Rudolf Virchow and the 1852 explanation of heart disease. 
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his ongoing course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

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 pandemics, and why the contrasting methods used by quantitative macroeconomists are flawed. They also defend Hoppe's argumentation ethics: a proof that arguing against the Non-Aggression Principle is logically incoherent.

References

• Conza on Twitter.
• Conza’s blog (where all the best economics quotes live).
• Conza’s YouTube channel.
• Website of the Austrian Mises Seminar.
• Mises Wiki article on Mises’ Regression Theorem
• BBC video on minimum wage being ‘a hurdle’ for disabled people.
• Theory and History by Ludwig von Mises
• Konrad Graf’s paper on Action-based Jurisprudence (see page 29 for Graf’s proposed model of praxeology).
• Konrad Graf’s lectures on bitcoin.
• Economic Science and the Austrian Method by Hans-Hermann Hoppe.
• The Beef Initiative website.
• For a biography of the life of John Maynard Keynes see Keynes the Man by Murray Rothbard.
• Website of the Australian Mises Seminar.
• Website of the Libertarian Party of Australia.
• The Praxeological Science Group on Facebook.
• The Law by Frédéric Bastiat
• For a New Liberty by Murray Rothbard
• The Ethics of Liberty by Hans Hermann Hoppe
• Hans Herman Hoppe’s Four-Step Healthcare Solution.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard. 

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his ongoing course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming book, Principles of Economics, by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

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 conversation also covers recent developments in financial markets, including rising bond yields and the fall in the British pound. In the Q&A, Caitlin answers questions on Chinese inflation, stablecoin velocity and whether the path to hyperbitcoinization will be orderly.

References

• Caitlin Forbes article introducing dollar and digital asset banks.
• The Institutional Risk Analyst article on The Narrow Bank case against the Federal Reserve.
• Explanation of Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institutions by government of Wyoming.
• Jameson Lopp tweet about not helping people to buy bitcoin.
• Saifedean and Tone Vays debate Celsius’ business model with Alex Mashinsky in 2019.
• Nik Bhatia article explaining the concept of the Lightning Network Reference Rate (risk-free rate).
• Mises Wiki article on the Plaza Accord and relationship to monetary expansion in Japan.
• When Money Dies by Adam Fergusson
• See Human Action Chapter XXXI, 2. The Interventionist Aspect of Legal Tender Legislation, for a discussion of deflationary policy in Great Britain following inflationary war spending.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard. See chapter 5 Fiat Balances: Universal debt slavery for a discussion of The Narrow Bank.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard. 

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his ongoing course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming book, Principles of Economics, by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

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 investment and the libertarian values that motivate him.

Resources

• Saifedean’s viral tweet on "free" healthcare in Canada.
• Website of Mikkel’s Expat International School of Freedom and Entrepreneurship.
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford teaches people how to make cheesecake during lockdown.
• The Habit of Thought: From Socratic Seminars to Socratic Practice by Michael Strong
• Website of Mikkel’s Expat Money Summit taking place in November. 
• Mikkel’s recommended charter flight service Villiers Jets.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his ongoing course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

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 while sanctioned by the global gold market? Can a Chinese-Russian fiat alternative to the dollar succeed? Lana also explains how life in Russia has changed since the outbreak of war, how global energy markets have been affected and how bitcoin could play a role in bringing about a world of sanction-free trade. 

References

• Lana Invest official website.
• Lana on Instagram.
• London Bullion Market Association suspends Russian gold and silver refiners.
• Moscow Times article on how Russian gold is being rerouted to China.
• Al Jazeera article on unofficial ban on Russian gold. 
• Reuters article on Russians rushing to buy Chinese yuan.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his ongoing course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

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 the impact on pharmaceutical drugs? What is the impact on law? How has it affected art?

References

• Jörg Guido Hülsmann’s book The Ethics of Money Production.
• The Bitcoin Standard Podcast episode with James Todaro on Fiat Medicine.
• The Bitcoin Standard Podcast episode with Stephen Chow: Art on The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his ongoing course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

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-term focus protects bitcoin VCs from short-term volatility, such as the recent spate of high-profile failures in the altcoin space. In the Q&A, Alyse answers questions on industry trends, the mindset of bitcoin founders and bitcoin adoption in El Salvador.

References

• Alyse on Twitter.
• Stillmark official website.
• Lightning Labs explainer on Taro.
• Article about the sanctioning of Tordano Cash by the US Treasury.
• Paolo Ardoino appearance on The Bitcoin Standard Podcast.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his ongoing course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

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 preference style of Sam Allardyce at West Brom, and how Keynesian central banking is analogous to 8 year old playing football. We also compare the economics of the open pyramid structure of the Premier League with the US MLS franchise system. Kieran also discusses how he could integrate bitcoin into his planned football academy, reveals the best players he has played with and against, and provides predictions for the upcoming World Cup.

Resources

• Kieran on Twitter.
• IMF chair Kristalina Georgieva likens central bankers to eight year olds playing football.
• Liverpool draw 4-4 with Arsenal at Anfield in 2008 highlights.
• Liverpool beat Arsenal 5-1 in 2018 highlights.
• Highlights of Kieran's time at Arsenal
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his ongoing course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

Obi Nwosu joins us to discuss Fedimints, a new implementation of ecash interoperable with the lightning network.

Enjoyed this episode? Join Saifedean's online learning platform to take part in weekly podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s four online economics courses, and read his writing, including his new book, Principles of Economics! Find out more on Saifedean.com!

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 practical advice for listeners looking to improve their health. He also shares his views on broader issues such as the health impact of seed oils and sun exposure.

References

• Dr Bikman on Twitter.
• Why We Get Sick on Amazon.
• Alan D. Sokal's hoax submission to journal Social Text: "Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity."
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford teaches people how to make cheesecake during Canada's lockdowns.
• Article showing that data supporting the most commonly held theory of Alzheimer’s disease is fabricated.
• The Bitcoin Standard Podcast episode with Nina Teicholz.
• The Bitcoin Standard Podcast episode with P.D. Mangan.
• Bright Line Eating: The Science of Living Happy, Thin & Free by Susan Thompson.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his ongoing course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

Visit saifedean.com/meat to find out more about Saifedean’s experience following the carnivore diet. 

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 inheritance? And much more!

Resources

• Matt Odell on Twitter
• Matt’s official website with links to his social media and resources.
• Matt discusses Lightning and bitcoin privacy on Episode #21 of Citadel Dispatch.
• Samourai Wallet website. Information about the Whirlpool here.
• Wasabi Wallet website.
• The Bitcoin Standard Podcast episode on bitcoin as “dark money” with Giacomo Zucco.
• Saifedean and Tone Vays call out problems with Celsius’ business model in 2019.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his ongoing course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

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 valued over $1b, teaching millions to code and build powerful products, and why he turned down a $1b acquisition offer in 2019. Amjad also shares the story of how he discovered bitcoin, how he is integrating it into Replit, and why he thinks programmable money is so important.

References

• Amjad on Twitter.
• Replit official website.
• Amjad tweet on turning down $1bn Replit acquisition offer. 
• Lightning Developers Kit referenced by Amjad during conversation.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his ongoing course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

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 supporting bitcoin adoption as means of empowering Africans and increasing financial inclusion. Fodé also explains the work his is doing to support the development of Lightning applications and his plans for the Africa Bitcoin Conference: the first ever bitcoin and Lightning conference in West Africa.

References

• Fodé on Twitter.
• Bitcoin Developers Academy website.
• The Fodé Diop Radio Show.
• Fighting Monetary Colonialism with Open-Source Code by Alex Gladstein.
• Data on broad money supply growth in Senegal.
• The Mobile Wave by Michael Saylor.
• Open-source Lightning Dev Kit and Bitcoin Dev Kit.
• Africa Bitcoin Conference website (Accra, Dec 7-9).
• Shortbits blog
• Ben Arc Lightning point of sale page on Github.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his ongoing course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

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 forks', and how bitcoin and stablecoins are serving as a lifeline for Libyans who have no functioning monetary or banking system in this incredible adventure in Late Stage Fiat! Nasr El-Hadi is a Libyan bitcoiner living in London, and his twitter is @NasrElhadi.

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 chosen to mine bitcoin only. Dan also shares his views on why bitcoin’s game theoretic nature means it is set up to survive and why 51% attacks don’t represent a credible threat to the network’s security.


Resources

• Iris Energy website.
• Iris Energy on Twitter
• Iris Energy on LinkedIn
• Article on recent blackouts with Texas and link to intermittent energy.
• Related episode on the future of bitcoin mining and hydropower with Ben Gagnon.
• Climate-related episodes with Tom Nelson, Alex Epstein and Patrick Moore.
• Article by Jimmy Song explaining why the threat of a 51% attack on bitcoin is overblown.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his ongoing course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

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 most coins’ owners are known to governments?

Resources

• Giacomo on Twitter
• Giacomo’s article on the history of bitcoin as a privacy-focussed project.
• Giacomo’s article on common misconceptions about bitcoin privacy, and why privacy matters.
• For further discussion of the relationship between hard and dark money, see Giacomo’s conversation with Stephan Livera.
• Interview where Giacomo rates the top 20 cryptocurrencies and makes the case that every project that isn’t bitcoin is a scam. 
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

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 lightning network? This seminar hosts one of the leaders in the industry: Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Bitfinex and Tether to discuss these questions and a lot more on why Bitfinex positions itself as a "bitcoin first" exchange, its goals in Latin America, their work shaping El Salvador's new securities law, and their bitcoin education efforts.

References

• Paolo on Twitter.
• Bitfinex official website.
• Blog post announcing Bitfinex's role in designing a El Salvador securities law.
• Paolo discussion of Bitfinex hack on YouTube.
• Plan ₿ summer school in Lugano.
• Bitfinex Pay
• Article on launch of Tether Mexican Peso.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his new course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

In this episode Saifedean joins Isabel Oakeshott and James Melville for an interview at the Speakeasy Podcast. They discuss why Saifedean decided to write The Bitcoin Standard, his views on the recent bitcoin price dip and the impact of the fiat “magic money tree” on society.

Resources

• The Speakeasy podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard available in 20 languages.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard available in English, Turkish, Spanish and French.
• All of Saifedean’s podcast episodes are available at saifedean.com/podcast
• Saifedean on Twitter.

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his new course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

In this interview with the Practical Islamic Finance podcast, Saifedean discusses Bitcoin from an Islamic perspective, and makes the case for why it is more compatible with Islamic Sharia law than government money. Whereas the creation of government money happens through the creation of interest-bearing debt which is forbidden in Islam, the creation of bitcoin is no different than the creation of a market commodity, with a competitive market for its production. Bitcoin's decentralization makes it uniquely different from all other digital currencies because it makes it a free market commodity, and not a tool that allows its issuer control over its users.

Resources

• Visit saifedean.com/arabic to download The Bitcoin Standard and Arabic language bitcoin materials for free.
• Podcast episode The Problem with Interest with Tarek El Diwany for discussion of riba and decentralization in publishing the Koran.
• Tarek El Diwany’s book The Problem with Interest.
• Podcast episode Islamic Finance and Bitcoin with Safdar Alam for discussion of how modern Islamic Finance “mimics” the fiat system, and is in need for reform.
• Safdar Alam’s Twitter thread on why Islamic banking needs to reform.
• Safdar Alam’s textbook Islamic Banking in Practice.
• Podcast episode Bitcoin: The Most Islamic Form of Money? with Harris Irfan for discussion of why bitcoin could be the most sharia-compliant form of money.
• Harris Irfan’s book Heaven’s Bankers for an exportation of the hidden world of modern Islamic Finance, and blog drawing on its contents.
• Harris Irfan’s article Cryptocurrency and the Future of the Islamic Economy.
• The Blocksize War by Jonathan Bier for discussion of failed attempts to change the consensus parameters of bitcoin.
• Keynes: The Man by Murray Rothbard for discussion of the lifestyle and motivations of John Maynard Keynes.
• See chapter “Bitcoin is Halal” of Bitcoin is Venice for discussion of how bitcoin dramatically reduces the need for debt and encourages a financial system strongly aligned to Islamic principles. Also available as standalone article.
• The Practical Islamic Finance Podcast.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard available in 20 languages.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard available in English, Turkish, Spanish and French.
• All of Saifedean's podcast episodes are available at saifedean.com/podcast
• Saifedean on Twitter.

This is the final lecture of Saifedean's online course Principles of Economics, entitled Civilization. You can watch all lectures and join weekly discussion seminars by becoming a member of Saifedean.com!

Enjoyed this episode? Join Saifedean's online learning platform to take part in weekly podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s four online economics courses, and read his writing, including his new book, Principles of Economics! Find out more on Saifedean.com!

Tarek El Diwany’s book “The Problem with Interest” has attracted attention from scholars of Islamic finance and bitcoiners alike, including Allen Farrington, whose newly published book, Bitcoin Is Venice, draws heavily on Tarek's work. In this episode, Saifedean hosts Tarek and Allen to talk about the morality of lending with interest, why the practice is prohibited in Islam, and how an economy would function without interest rates. They discuss how monetary systems that require the creation of ever more debt impact human time preference, capital accumulation and morality, and whether interest would emerge in a free market monetary system like bitcoin?

Resources

• Tarek’s book The Problem with Interest
• Kreatoc Zest’s website.
• Saifedean’s podcast episodes on Islamic finance with Safdar Alam and Harris Irfan. 
• Article on William Cobbett’s opposition to suspension of the gold standard during the Napoleonic Wars.
• Selected Writings on Economics by Nassau Senior.
• See Plato’s Laws, Book 5 and Aristotle’s Politics, Book I, 10, no. 5 for Ancient Greek views on usury.
• A History of Interest Rates by Sidney Homer and Richard Sylla.
• Allen Farrington’s book Bitcoin is Venice on Amazon.
• Saifedean’s podcast episode Allen Farrington’s adventures with Fiat Intellectuals.
• Saifedean’s podcast episode Bitcoin Strategy with Michael Saylor.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard

Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses – including his new course ECO22: The Fiat Standard – and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here.

In perhaps his most comprehensive interview to date, Saifedean talks to Lex Fridman about the history of money, the foundations of economics, and why bitcoin represents a pathway to a more peaceful and prosperous world. Starting from Lex’s question “What is money?”, Saifedean draws on insights from his most recent book, The Fiat Standard, to take the listener on a four-hour historical journey. He explains how money emerged as a market good; why the gold standard developed in Britain and spread across the world; and the intriguing historical circumstances that led to government-controlled fiat money becoming the global medium of exchange. By asking fundamental questions about money, the purpose of economics, and the technical foundations of bitcoin, Lex prompts Saifedean to present a first-principles case for free exchange, non-aggression and bitcoin. Their conversation also includes Saifedean’s reflections on his upbringing in Palestine, how to make the most of our short time on earth, and advice to younger generations.

Resources

• Lex Fridman on Twitter.
• Lex Fridman’s podcast website.
• Carl Menger’s Principles of Economics: the founding text of the Austrian School, published in 1871.
• Human Action by Ludwig von Mises, published in English in 1949.
• Critical overview of John Maynard Keynes’ The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money in the Journal of Libertarian Studies.
• Saifedean Twitter thread on scientists who dismissed flight as impossible at the time the Wright brothers were inventing the airplane. Includes comments by Lord Kelvin and the New York Times.
• Graphic showing technological progress in Britain during the gold standard. For further discussion, see The Bitcoin Standard section: Innovations: “Zero to One” versus “One to Many”, and episode 74 of The Bitcoin Standard Podcast: The Real Drivers of Technological Progress.
• Saifedean paper on the decline of the aviation industry since the 1970s. For further discussion see chapter 10 of The Fiat Standard on Fiat Fuels.
• The Bitcoin Standard Podcast episode 108: A New World Monetary Order The ramifications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• Bitcoin Net Zero paper by Nic Carter and Ross Stevens. See page 38 for comparison of bitcoin network energy consumption compared with tumble driers and other common household appliances.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard.

Fiat money doesn't just affect economic exchange, its impact on society is much wider. In this episode, Marty Bent, host of the Tales from the Crypt Podcast, interviews Saifedean about the ways fiat money encourages negative societal impacts ranging from climate alarmism to soil degradation to poor diets. They focus on the widely accepted need to transition to from fossil fuels to “renewable” energy and how government funding of science encourages the publication of studies that predict catastrophes and propose state intervention to avoid them. They also discuss how government statistics are manipulated to underplay the negative impacts of fiat and how people can opt out by adopting a bitcoin standard.

Resources

• Marty Bent’s website.
• Marty Bent on Twitter.
• The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels by Alex Epstein.
• The Bitcoin Standard Podcast episodes with Alex Epstein here and here.
• The Bitcoin Standard Podcast episode Is CO2 the Climate Control Knob? with Tom Nelson.
• The St Louis Fed compares the cost and protein content of turkey and soy.
• Marty Bent podcast episode with Untapped Growth for discussion of regenerative farming. 
• Link to Saifedean podcast with Nina Teicholz for discussion of fiat nutrition.
• Bitcoin mining council estimates of the bitcoin network’s global energy usage.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard.
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard. See chapter “The Cost of Fiat Fuels” for statistics on growth in per capita energy consumption falling from the 1970s.

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.

Most people think of bitcoin primarily as a form of money or store of value, but in this episode Darrin Feinstein argues that it also represents history’s most important accounting innovation. He explains why, as the world’s first incorruptible ledger, bitcoin allows us to remove fraud from the realm of accounting, and bring about a shift from “double-entry” to “triple-entry” bookkeeping. Darin and Saifedean discuss how the global accounting industry might differ in a world where bitcoin is used as the primary from of money, and why the transparency of bitcoin’s ledger makes it a poor tool for criminals. As Chairman of Core Scientific, one of the world’s largest bitcoin mining companies, Darin also discusses some popular misconceptions regarding bitcoin’s energy usage and environmental impact.

Resources

• Darin on Twitter
• Darin thread on bitcoin as an accounting innovation
• Core Scientific official website
• World Economic Forum article “In 2020 Bitcoin will consume more power than the world does today” and Newsweek article “Bitcoin Mining on Track to Consume All of the World’s Energy by 2020”, both published in 2017
• Bitcoin Net Zero paper by Nic Carter and Ross Stevens. See page 38 for comparison of bitcoin network versus tumble driers
• Darin recommended account Burn the Bridge on Twitter
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard
   

Can we eliminate the use of fossil fuels? Can electric cars replace gasoline cars? Is a transition to wind and solar energy possible? At what cost? What impact will a forced transition have on economic development? How do the costs of eliminating fossil fuels compare to the dangers of increased CO2 emissions? What evidence is there for a pending climate catastrophe? The Mises Institute's Jeff Deist and Bob Murphy host Saifedean for a fascinating discussion of these and many more questions!

Resources

• Saifedean’s PhD thesis Energy Systems and the Knowledge Problem: The Case of Biofuels
• The St Louis Fed compares the cost and protein content of turkey and soy.
• Wikipedia article on dietician Lenna F Cooper.
• The Ultimate Resource 2 by Julian Simon for an analysis of resource scarcity.
• The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels and Fossil Future by Alex Epstein.
• The Bitcoin Standard Podcast episodes with Alex Epstein here and here.
• The Bitcoin Standard Podcast episode Is CO2 the Climate Control Knob? with Tom Nelson.
• The Bitcoin Standard Podcast episode Fake Invisible Catastrophes with Patrick Moore with Patrick Moore.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard

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.

April 27th 2022.

Without government who would build the roads? Should prostitution, speculating and price gouging be outlawed? In this episode Saifedean discusses these questions with eminent Austrian School economist Dr Walter Block. They cover fundamental issues in economics such as whether there is such a thing as a “public good”, whether economics is an empirical science, and whether it is ethical to outlaw “victimless crimes”. Dr Block also shares the story of he became a libertarian and Austrian economist, including the roles played by Ayn Rand and Murray Rothbard in his intellectual journey.

Resources

• Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
• Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt
• Dr Block’s paper “The Minimum Wage Once Again” debunking a well-known 1994 study by Card and Krueger.
• Mises Institute article “The Phillips Curve Myth” on the relationship between inflation and unemployment
• Dr Block’s book The Privatization of Roads and Highways
• Dr Block’s book Defending the Undefendable
• Principle of non-aggression explained on Mises Wiki
• List of Walter Block’s publications online
• Dr Block’s book Water Capitalism (2015)
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard

March 28th 2022.

What is the case for monarchy? Why are monarchies better at long-term thinking? Why do monarchies outcompete republics in protecting property rights, promoting peace, raising living standards, and protecting the value of money? Would a return to hard money bring back the age of monarchies? We discuss all these questions with HRH Prince Philip of Serbia, who became the first monarch to publicly announce being a bitcoiner. Their conversation touches on the story of the Karađorđević dynasty, the factors that led to communist seizure of power in Yugoslavia, and whether a restoration of monarchy is likely, or desirable. In the Q&A, Prince Philip answers questions on his career in finance, ESG, the European Union and whether other monarchs in Europe could serve as allies in bringing about a return to sound money.

Resources

• Prince Philip on Twitter
• Three-minute Tonight with Ivan Ivanović interview highlight here and full appearance (Philip appearance starts from 23:49.)
• Wall Street and the Bolshevik Revolution by Antony Sutton
• Paper by Mauro F Guillén, based on a study of 137 countries, arguing that monarchies provide greater protection of property rights and higher standards of living study than republics.
• The State in the Third Millennium by Prince Hans Adam of Lichtenstein
• Democracy – The God That Failed: The Economics and Politics of Monarchy, Democracy, and Natural Order by Hans-Hermann Hoppe.
• Saifedean’s episode with Tom Nelson whether CO2 the Climate Control Knob? with Tom Nelson
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard

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.

March 22nd 2022.

In a country dominated by statist politicians, what it is like to campaign for freedom, personal responsibility, and limited government? In this episode, Saifedean talks to leader of the People’s Party of Canada, Maxime Bernier about Canadian politics and whether bitcoin can protect Canadians from government overreach. They discuss Maxime’s journey into politics as a libertarian, why Canadian inflation is so high, and why Maxime supported recent protests by Canadian truckers. They also talk about the merits of gold versus bitcoin as money, and how Maxime would change Canada’s monetary policy. Saifedean pitches Maxime on the advantages of bitcoin for Canada, and Maxime announces that he's looking to accept donations in bitcoin!

Resources

• Maxime on Twitter
• Official website of the People’s Party of Canada
• Alternative measures of inflation on Shadow Stats.
• Official inflation statistics in Canada
• Mises Institute article on Canadian trucker protests by Lew Rockwell
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard

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. 

March 21st 2022.

Is earth too hot? Is the weather getting worse? Are we experiencing a climate crisis? Is CO2 the control knob for the earth's climate? Is climate science basic physics? Do all scientists agree on these questions? Tom Nelson is an independent researcher who has spent many years studying these questions in-depth. He joins us to give us a rigorously researched perspective that contradicts the hysterical groupthink in fiat academia and media. He and Saifedean discuss how fiat funding of science creates incentives for groupthink and for bad ideas to survive unchallenged. They also talk about why fiat inflationism creates a strong incentive for researchers to support any pseudoscience that concludes you should avoid price-sensitive essential fuels in favor of less effective, cheaper alternatives.

Resources:

• Tom on Twitter
• Tom’s article Useful Notes for Climate Sceptics on Substack
• The Politically Incorrect Guide to Climate Change by Marc Morano
• Fake Invisible Catastrophes and Threats of Doom by Patrick Moore
• Watts Up with That blog by Anthony Watts
• The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels by Alex Epstein
• Steve McIntyre’s website Climate Audit website.
• The spiral structure of the Milky Way, cosmic rays, and ice age epochs on Earth by Shaviv, Nir J. and speech discussing the paper.
• Saifedean’s podcast episode with Patrick Moore
• Saifedean’s podcast episodes with Alex Epstein in Nov 2021 and Dec 2020, and his appearance on Alex’s Power Hour podcast.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard

March 17th 2022.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US confiscated the Russian central bank’s significant monetary reserves, and banned some Russian banks from the SWIFT network. Serious questions are being asked about the survival of the postwar dollar-based world monetary order. Will Russia, China, and other countries actually build an alternative international settlement system, after years of threatening to do so? Will global central banks stop accumulating US treasury bonds and replace them with gold and commodities? Will we witness the birth of a new commodity or gold-based monetary order? In this seminar, we use the insights from The Bitcoin Standard and The Fiat Standard on temporal and spatial salability to explain why reports of the death of the dollar and the emergence of a new gold standard may be exaggerated.

Resources

• Bretton Woods III memo by Credit Suisse analyst Zoltan Pozsar
• Arthur Hayes’ blog Energy Cancelled
• Reuters report on commodities crisis
• America’s Quiet Default by Nic Carter
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard

Saifedean interviews his own brother, Dr. Ahmad Ammous, on the history and the problems of modern fiat medicine, why it all goes back to fiat money, and what its most important misconceptions are. We discuss diet, light environment, heart disease, statins, Niacin, seed oils, and more!

References: 

• Fiat healthcare & Crowdhealth with Andy Schoonover - https://saifedean.com/podcast/144-fiat-healthcare-crowdhealth-with-andy-schoonover
• CrowdHealth with Andy Schoonover - https://saifedean.com/podcast/196-crowdhealth-with-andy-schoonover 
• Cholesterol Con with Malcolm Kendrick - https://saifedean.com/podcast/135-cholesterol-con-with-malcolm-kendrick
• Deep Nutrition with Dr Cate Shanahan - https://saifedean.com/podcast/107-deep-nutrition-with-dr-cate-shanahan
• Dr. Ahmad Ammous on X - https://x.com/AmmousMD?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor 
• Dr. Ahmad Ammous's Website - https://ammousmd.com/ 

Enjoyed this episode? Join Saifedean's online learning platform to take part in weekly podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s four online economics courses, and read his writing, including his new book, Principles of Economics! Find out more on Saifedean.com!

March 9th 2022.

Saifedean hosts Dr Cate Shanahan to discuss her remarkable work on nutrition and the long term consequences of traditional foods and modern fiat foods. Cate's experience at medical school was powerless to stop her own health deteriorating, causing her to look at nutrition as a deeper cause of health problems, sending her down a rabbit hole to discover the horrors of modern seed oils, and the devastating damage caused by mainstream theories of health and nutrition, particularly the work of "the Keynes of Nutrition" Ancel Keys, who has arguably killed more humans than anyone in history. Cate contrasts his work to that of Weston Price, "the Mises of Nutrition", whose study of traditional diets worldwide remains enormously informative and useful, in spite of the medical and nutrition establishment ignoring it. Cate also explains how your food determines the health, fitness, and beauty of your children, and the warped financial incentives of modern fiat medicine.

Resources

• Cate on Twitter
• Cate’s books Deep Nutrition, The Fat Burn Fix and Food Rules on her official website
• PhD thesis that influenced Cate’s early ideas on nutrition: Lipid peroxidation in Vivo by Eva Södergren
• Book criticised by Cate for manipulation of statistics: The Seven Countries Study: A Scientific Adventure in Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology
• The Future of Fat Summit
• The Weston Price Foundation’s official website
• Dentist and beauty theorist Stephen R. Marquardt on Wikipedia
• Regional Eats documentary series on Amazon
• Flavorful Origins on Netflix
• Weston Price’s book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
• The Bitcoin Standard Podcast episode with Dr. Shawn Baker on Meat, Fiat Foods, and Bitcoin
• Cate’s lecture “Feed the Masses” about Harvard’s 70-year public health experiment
• Dr Nadir Ali’s official website
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard
• Saifedean's guide to eating meat & defeating fiat foods: https://saifedean.com/meat/

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.

Visit saifedean.com/meat to find out more about Saifedean’s experience following the carnivore diet. 

February 25th 2022.

In this episode, Saifedean appears on The Tom Woods Show for a discussion on how the damage caused by fiat money extends beyond economics. Saifedean and Tom discuss why fiat money increases the power of governments and heightens societal time preference, disincentivising long-term planning. They also talk about the rise of “fiat mentality” and how societal attitudes have changed in areas such as diet, education and energy. They then discuss the “misery industry” of debt-based development aid – promoted by International Financial Institutions like the IMF – and how this industry has held back economic progress in the developing world.

Resources:

• The Tom Woods Show official website.
• Tom’s free ebook Our Enemy The Fed
• Guido Hülsmann’s book The Ethics of Money Production for a discussion of the moral implications of inflation.
• Gold Wars: The Battle for the Global Economy by Ferdinand Lips
• Saifedean’s podcast episode with Nina Teicholz for a discussion of seed oils and government dietary guidelines.
• The Ultimate Resource 2 by Julian Simon for a discussion of failed predictions about resource scarcity.
• Introduction to the concept of opportunity cost on Mises Wiki.
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard

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.

February 24th 2021.

In this episode, Saifedean appears on The Tom Woods Show for a discussion of fiat money and debt slavery. Saifedean and Tom talk about the role of government debt in the creation of fiat money; the recent freezing of bank accounts in the wake of Canadian protests, and why bitcoin improves on the shortcomings of gold. They then discuss how the fiat monetary system warps societal incentives by making debt accumulation a winning strategy.

Resources:

• The Tom Woods Show official website.
• Tom’s free ebook Our Enemy The Fed
• Guido Hülsmann’s book The Ethics of Money Production 
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard

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.

 In this episode, Saifedean talks to Samson Mow, outgoing CSO of Blockstream and CEO of Pixelmatic, about why we should be “augmenting” rather than trying to change the bitcoin network. They begin by discussing Blockstream projects such as the Liquid Network that extend the range of options available to bitcoin users, while accepting the network’s fundamental protocol rules. They also discuss Samson’s role as a prominent “small blocker” in the 2015-2017 “Blocksize War” and whether – in retrospect – the victory of the small blockers was inevitable. Samson then shares his views on bitcoin adoption in Latin America, including El Salvador’s issuance of bitcoin-backed “volcano bonds” as a means of evading the debt-fuelled development model encouraged by the IMF. In the Q&A, Samson answers questions about bitcoin privacy, proof-of-stake and the issuance of securities on the Liquid Network.

Resources

• Samson on Twitter
• Official website of Pixelmatic
• Blockstream explainer outlining differences between Liquid and Lightning as Layer 2 scaling solutions for bitcoin
• Blockstream announcement on Baillie Gifford Series B investment
• Blockstream blog post announcing that El Salvador will issue $1bn in volcano bonds
• The Blocksize War by Jonathan Bier
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard

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.

In this episode, Saifdean talks to Safdar Alam, CEO of investment firm Maydan Capital, about Islamic finance. Safdar starts by describing the basic principles of Islamic finance and the ethical justification for Islam’s prohibition on lending with interest. He and Saifedean then talk about how Islamic finance works in practice today; how it is mimicking the mainstream financial system; and the ways in which bitcoin might provide an ethical alternative to common practices often considered haram. In the Q&A Safdar answers questions about the Islamic definition of “speculation” and how this differs from “gambling”.

In this episode, Saifedean talks to author and health coach P.D. Mangan about how to improve wellbeing and slow ageing through some simple diet and fitness practices. They discuss why humans have adapted to thrive on a meat-based and paleo diets, the flawed science used to support widely accepted government dietary guidelines, and why so many people fail in their attempts to lose weight, combat fatigue and improve their wellbeing. In the Q&A, P.D. answers questions on fasting, whether type II diabetes can be reversed and the environmental impact of monocrops.

 Visit saifedean.com/meat to find out more about Saifedean’s experience following the carnivore diet. 

In this epsisode Saifedean talks to economist and investor Lyn Alden about her views on the global macroeconomy. They start by discussing recent market turbulence in light of the Federal Reserve’s plans to tighten monetary policy, whether these plans are realisable, and what this will mean for consumer price inflation and the stock market. They then move on to a discussion of Lyn’s portfolio, her reasons for allocation across particular industries, and why she holds shares in silver mining companies. In the Q&A Lyn answers questions about whether we can trust the Federal Reserve and how she uses the Austrian School economic framework to inform her thinking on investment.

Resources:

• Lyn on Twitter
• Lyn’s 2020 article 3 Reasons I’m Investing in Bitcoin
• Lyn’s January 2022 Newsletter The Capital Sponge for a discussion of recent developments in the US stock market with historical context (includes a breakdown of her model portfolio).
• A Tiger by the Tail by F.A. Hayek for a discussion of the Keynesian legacy of inflation
• Gold Wars by Ferdinand Lips for an account of Switerland’s abandonment of the gold standard.
• The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy by William Strauss and Neil Howe
• America’s Great Depression by Murray N. Rothbard. See pages 3-80  for Rothbard’s explanation of Austrian Business Cycle Theory.
• Lyn’s last appearance on The Bitcoin Standard Podcast in May 2022
• Lyn’s critique of Nassim Taleb’s Bitcoin Black Paper
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard

In this episode Saifedean talks to writer and head of business development at Unchained Capital Parker Lewis about his Gradually, Then Suddenly series. They start by discussing Parker’s career in traditional finance during the 2008 financial crisis, and how discovering Austrian economics and bitcoin helped him to truly understand the workings of global finance. They then talk about the arguments of some of Parker’s well-known articles on topics ranging from why bitcoin can’t be copied to why bitcoin isn’t too volatile to why bitcoin can’t be banned. In the Q&A Parker discusses rumours that he will run for mayor of Austin and whether hyperbitcoinization will lead to US dollar inflation.

Resources

· A full list of Parker’s articles on the Nakamoto Institute website.

· Bitcoin can’t be copied

· Bitcoin is Not Too Volatile

· Bitcoin Cannot be Banned

· Vijay Boyapati’s article The Bullish Case For Bitcoin for discussion of bitcoin’s volatility.

· Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard

· Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard

· Parker on Twitter.

 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.

In this episode investor Preston Pysh and Saifedean do a deep dive in Saifedean’s new book The Fiat Standard. They discuss why analysing the fiat monetary system through the lens of bitcoin can help readers understand the advantages, and numerous disadvantages, of the fiat system. They talk about how fiat partially solved the age-old problem of gold’s lack of saleability across space, and how this eventually led to gold’s capture by governments and its ultimate demonetization. They explain how the fiat monetary system we live under today was created, and how it is controlled by the US and US-controlled institutions such as the IMF: to the detriment of the rest of the world. They talk through the disastrous consequences of the fiat system including its destruction of wealth through inflation, its disruption of economic calculation, the unprecedented power it has provided to governments, and its propensity to lead to conflict. They then move on to discuss the broader societal consequences on areas of life ranging from academia to medicine to diet. Finally, they discuss how a bitcoinized world, absent of inflation, would solve the problems fiat has created.

In this episode Saifedean talks to author and Mises Institute fellow Tom Woods about the importance of sound economics in an age of Covid hysteria. They discuss their experiences studying at Columbia University, and the different paths they took to discovering Austrian Economics. They then move on to discussing how they became independent academics, operating outside of traditional institutions and how this gave them more of freedom of speech and allowed them to reach a larger audience. They also talk about Tom’s work promoting rational thinking on masks and coronavirus lockdowns, the influence of “fiat” academics like Dr Fauci, and the censorship Tom has had to overcome on popular social media platforms.

On a recent visit to El Salvador Saifedean sat down with the Live From Bitcoin Beach Podcast in El Zonte to discuss Bitcoin, El Salvador, and much more!

Enjoyed this episode? Join Saifedean's online learning platform to take part in weekly podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s four online economics courses, and read his writing, including his new book, Principles of Economics! Find out more on Saifedean.com!

This seminar hosts Microstrategy CEO and bitcoin mega-bull Michael Saylor to discuss the correct strategies for buying, holding, and promoting bitcoin. Michael explains what he sees as increasing regulatory clarity around bitcoin and increasing risk around altcoins, which it is becoming clear are digital securities, while bitcoin is digital property. We discuss his views on the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador, and whether it presents bitcoin as more of a currency than a property, and what the global ramifications of this move are. Michael then explains the correct strategy and execution for acquiring bitcoin on debt without getting ruined; he also explains the correct bitcoin strategy for small businesses, and whether individual investors are better off buying bitcoin or mining it. Michael also discusses his views on whether we should think of bitcoin as digital property, digital gold, digital money, or digital energy. We also try to convince Michael to write a book with his ideas!
Do not miss this fantastic, hugely informative, and wide-ranging discussion!

In this episode Saifedean talks to Jeff Deist, president of the Mises Institute: the leading think tank dedicated to spreading the ideas of the Austrian School of Economics. They discuss the mission of the Mises Institute, its origins, and how its approach to economics differs from other think tanks such as the Cato Institute. They also talk about the problems of modern empirical economics and how most mainstream economists have failed to articulate the “unseen” costs of government interventions such as Covid lockdowns and climate change mitigation policies. Jeff also talks about some timeless books and essays that accurately explain economic phenomena, and makes the case that it is more important than ever to read the originals.

In this episode, Saifedean invites his newsletter subscribers to join a Q&A seminar normally only available to Saifedean.com members. He answers questions on whether money and debt are the same,  whether bitcoin whales or “monopolists” will gain too much power on the free market, the impact of energy trends on bitcoin mining, and the risks of holding bitcoin on an exchange. Participants also share their personal stories about how reading The Bitcoin Standard changed their life by lowering their time preference and allowing them to save for the future.

Resources

• The Myth of the Myth of Barter by George Selgin
• Have Anthropologists Overturned Menger? By Bob Murphy
• The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels by Alex Epstein for discussion of our inability to run society with unreliable energy
• The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg
• Mises Institute article about The Myth of Natural Monopoly
• Against Intellectual Property by Stephan Kinsella
• Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard
• Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard

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.

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