FUTURATI PODCAST

If you enjoy this podcast, help us grow by sharing it with your friends! It's become commonplace to hear politicians and commentators bemoaning the energy expenditure of bitcoin mining, noting that it consumes more power than certain industries or countries and confidently proclaiming that the bitcoin network performs no useful work. But recently, an emerging group of scholars has pushed back on t...

If you enjoy this podcast, help us grow by sharing it with your friends! Since the release of bitcoin there has been a great deal of ink spilled by people trying to imagine the ways in which it could change the world. One such person is tonight's guest, Jack Ronaldi. I met Jack through a bitcoin book club we're both a part of, and I was impressed with his command of the material and his ability to...

If you enjoy this interview please help us grow by subscribing to the podcast and sharing it with your friends! As futurists, Thomas and Trent take a great interest in studying the disciplines which best elucidate the major trends shaping humanity's direction, disciplines like economics, physics, and computer science. It's rare to find anyone conversant in two of these fields, and rarer still to f...

Flow is a well-known and valuable psychological state in which time seems to drop away and you become completely immersed in the present moment. Though its usefulness in achieving individual excellence has been studied extensively, much less attention has been paid to how it can aid in cooperation. Well tonight we're joined by a guest who has tried to fill that gap by writing "The Devil's Dictiona...

There has been a tremendous amount of chatter over the past year about NFTs--how they're a scam, how they'll usher in a new era of democratized web3 for the entire planet, and everything in between. Tonight we're joined by someone with an unusual background who is unusually well-placed to help us get to the bottom of this. Michael Maizels is a former professor of art history who made the somewhat...

From Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk to Vitalik Buterin and the unknown Satoshi Nakamoto, some of the most influential and impactful people in the world are the founders of startups. These people have the courage and vision to embark upon uncertain ventures which permanently change the world. But, though much is written about how they approach business or stay productive, much less time is spent on under...

From monarchy to laissez-faire capitalism, from communism to anarchism, much has been written advocating for different political philosophies. Though it has proven much harder to test these ideas in practice, it would be much easier if it became possible to actually create new countries with new rules, economic systems, and social arrangements. Tonight we're joined by Patri Friedman, a man who has...

Samo Burja is a sociologist and the founder of Bismarck Analysis, a firm that analyzes institutions, from governments to companies. His research work focuses on the causes of societal decay and flourishing and he writes on history, epistemology and strategy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent months there has been a flurry of activity in the government related to cryptoassets, how to regulate them, and what their implications for national security will be. Though it's common to endorse a simplistic narrative in which Bitcoin and the government are flatly opposed to each other, the truth is more nuanced. We've invited Matthew Pines to the Futurati Podcast to talk to us about t...

Jeremy Clark is an associate professor at the Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering, where he holds the Catallaxy Industrial Research Chair in Blockchain Technologies. He obtained his PhD from the University of Waterloo, where his gold medal dissertation was on designing and deploying secure voting systems including Scantegrity—the first cryptographically verifiable system used i...

Check us out at https://futuratipodcast.com/ Scott Ruoti is an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, where he focuses on security and privacy, usability, and human-computer interaction. He takes a diverse and multidisciplinary approach in studying everything from optimized emailing systems to the distributed ledger, and we are thrilled to get his perspective on use cases for the bloc...

Sarah Cruddas is a space journalist, international TV host, and award winning author. She has an academic background in astrophysics and is a global thought leader in the growing commercial space sector. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nam Sardar is the founder and CEO of Neel Capital, a returns-focused cryptoasset investment firm that combines fundamental analysis with an active management approach. She became interested in cryptocurrency and DeFi in early 2020, and has since made it her mission to help others understand blockchain technology and its potential, hedge against inflation in a sustainable and emerging asset class,...

Rik Ferguson is vice president of security research at Trend Micro and is actively engaged in studying online threats and the underground economy. He also researches the wider implications of new developments in the Information Technology arena and their impact on security. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the past several years, Gary Rockis has been highly successful in providing leadership in collaborative efforts among business, industry, and education. He is the recipient of numerous national and state awards, and has written three textbooks. Much of his recent work has focused on the internet of things and smart homes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eric Yakes graduated with a double major in finance and economics from Creighton University, and 3 years later earned his CFA charter. He began his career at FTI Consulting in their Corporate Finance and Restructuring group and then moved to Lion Equity Partners, a distressed buyout private equity fund. All the while he intently followed Bitcoin, and its development eventually led him to author th...

Nathan Young is a corporate strategist and marketing expert who has been exceptionally active in the Effective Altruism movement, the prediction markets community, and in discussions around designing good policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

George Selgin is a senior fellow and director emeritus of the the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute and professor emeritus of economics at the University of Georgia. His research covers a broad range of topics within the field of monetary economics, including monetary history, macroeconomic theory, and the history of monetary thought. Learn more about your ad cho...

John Spencer is a pioneering outer space architect with design awards from NASA for his work on the International Space Station (ISS). He is the founder of the Space Tourism Society, co-founder of the Space Tourism Conference, and co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Mars World Enterprises, Inc. His work aims at promoting and developing the Space Experience Economy (SEE). Learn more about your...

Elaine Pofeldt is an independent journalist and speaker specializing in careers and entrepreneurship. In 2018 she published a well-received book called "The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business", and she joins us to discuss her newest book "Tiny Business, Big Money". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Velina Tchakarova is the Director at the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy (AIES) in Vienna, Austria. Her work includes research, consulting, and lectures on Global System Transformation and the geostrategy of global actors, particularly the EU's role in Eastern Europe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Samo Burja is a sociologist and the founder of Bismarck Analysis, a firm that analyzes institutions, from governments to companies. His research work focuses on the causes of societal decay and flourishing and he writes on history, epistemology and strategy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Cushman is the former president of Engaging Change, head of strategy at the Garlic Media Group, and the managing director of the consulting arm of the Da Vinci Institute, as well as a noted expert on the future of education, the future of real estate, and myriad other topics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lyn Alden began her career as an electrical engineer in the aviation industry before pivoting full-item into investment. Featured across major media and popular podcasts, Lyn focuses on macroeconomic research for retail and institutional clients, and in recent years has taken a progressively deeper look at digital assets such as bitcoin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...

Trent Fowler is a machine learning engineer, author, and co-host of the Futurati Podcast. As someone who's worked at several crypto startups, he has years of experience dealing with blockchain data and thinking about the blockchain’s mechanics. This episode is adapted from a talk he recently gave explaining at a high level how this remarkable technology works and what it might mean for the future....