InFi: the Future of Finance

Spurred by the NYC rent freeze, Bob lays out the theory and history of rent control, explaining why it hurts the people it ostensibly is supposed to help. He also shows why a "revisionist" paper actually confirms the textbook arguments against rent control. Related: - https://mason.gmu.edu/~atabarro/RentControl   - https://sci-hub.st/10.1016/j.jue.2006.06.004   Watch the video version of this epis...

Using the 2009 testimony of Brad DeLong as a foil, Bob defends the gold standard from the typical accusation that it was responsible for the Great Depression. Bob shows that even after leaving gold, both the UK and US remain mired with double-digit unemployment for longer than prior depressions had lasted. Related: - https://infineo.ai/resources/blog/Did-Gold-Cause-the-Great-Depression   - https:/...

Bob presents several lines of evidence to argue that the Federal Reserve under Alan Greenspan helped fuel the housing bubble in the early to mid-2000s. He also pushes back against the claim that it was an Asian savings glut to blame. Related: - https://cdn.mises.org/understanding_money_mechanics_with_cover_image_attached.pdf   - https://mises.org/mises-daily/did-fed-or-asian-saving-cause-housing-b...

Bob goes through a recent Substack post (adapted from his book) by Arin Dube, a leading economist pushing for aggressive minimum wage hikes. Bob shows the weaknesses in Dube's results, and gives an alternative measure detailing just how chilling minimum wage hikes may be on teen employment. Related: - https://arindube.substack.com/p/a-minimum-wage-natural-experiment   - https://www.econlib.org/lib...

Brent Johnson (of "dollar milkshake" fame) recently posted a video relaying the Triffin Dilemma to our current monetary situation. Bob pushes back, arguing that there was no problem with the dollar being tied to gold, and that its days as the global reserve are fewer than Brent thinks. Related: - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bej0-8r8Rmk   - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ghdkFVKBW4   - https:...

Bob launches a 10-part series on money, banking, insurance, and blockchain. This initial lecture gives the definition of money, explains the properties of a good money, and surveys various monies through history. Related: - https://miltonfriedman.hoover.org/internal/media/dispatcher/215061/full   - https://courses.cit.cornell.edu/econ4260/out/radford_pow.pdf   - https://cdn.mises.org/Study%20Guide...

Bob points out the numerous fallacies in a recent video arguing government debt is simply national savings. Related: - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMfCrIhlAm8   - https://infineo.ai/resources/blog/richard-murphy-on-the-economics-of-christmas   - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fj0zRmEWYc   - https://infineo.ai/resources/blog/a-biz-vs-a-bank-vs-the-fed-part-3-of-3   - https://www.econlib.org/l...

Robert Rapier has decades of experience in fossil and biofuels, including six years with ConocoPhillips. He joins Bob to correct a common misconception about US refineries. Although in practice they focus on heavy sour crude (sourced from Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), they are physically capable of handling the light sweet produced by the fracking boom. It just makes more economic...

Bob draws on the work of Robert Aro to show how the Fed's massive reverse repo operations explain (a) why consumer price inflation wasn't worse after Covid and (b) why the Fed's tightening hasn't yet led to a market crash. Related: - https://mises.org/podcasts/human-action-podcast/robert-aro-feds-reverse-repo-trick   - https://infineo.ai/podcast/71 Watch the video version of this episode here: htt...

Bob gives the historical context and the implications of the US federal debt exceeding 100% of GDP. He also shows why the dismissal by MMTer Stephanie Kelton misses the mark. Related: - https://www.newsweek.com/us-debt-bigger-than-gdp-does-it-matter-11903945   - https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61270   - https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/RS22331   - https://www.fxcintel.com/research/analysis/cip...

Bob looks at the latest figures to give an update on the US oil and gasoline status, in light of the ongoing standoff with Iran. He points out that certain "irrational" government policies now seem understandable. Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/Y7CsutJkguE   Subscribe to our YouTube channel:  https://bit.ly/3XXfmGS   Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com...

Bob unpacks the alarming remarks from former Treasury Secretary (and Goldman CEO) Hank Paulson in a Bloomberg interview. Paulson actually recommends the creation of an emergency "break the glass" plan if the Fed should become the only buyer of Treasuries. Related: - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQY_h48GbQM   Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/Ns66NY127LQ   Subscribe...

Tony Garcia has a master's degree and decades of experience in cybersecurity. He joins Bob to discuss what happened in the Drift heist, and what lessons can be learned—in a context of tradeoffs where security is only one of several goals. Related: https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/01/de-fi-platform-drift-suspends-deposits-and-withdrawals-after-millions-in-crypto-stolen-in-hack   Watch the video versi...

Michael Fraser is co-founder of Action / Insight, a business AI consulting firm out of Toronto. He is also an amateur expert in Austrian economics, and recently presented a conference paper arguing that today's leading LLMs (such as Claude or ChatGPT) satisfy the criteria for "action" laid out by Ludwig von Mises. Related: - https://infineo.ai/podcast/22   - https://actioninsight.ai   Watch the vi...

Murphy analyzes three recent news items: progress on the CLARITY Act, the SEC clarification on which blockchain items are NOT securities, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn's proposals to regulate AI. Related: - https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/03/20/congress/senators-strike-deal-with-white-house-to-resolve-bank-crypto-clash-00837464   - https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/atkins-rem...

A popular objection on social media states that the US only gets 2% of its crude oil via the Persian Gulf, and so therefore the conflict in Iran shouldn't affect prices at the pump for Americans. Murphy explains the various problems with this argument. Related: - https://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2008/Murphyoil.html   - https://mises.org/mises-daily/social-function-call-and-put-options   -...

Murphy explains the economics of the interruption of oil exports from the Persian Gulf. He shows that the recent peak in crude prices was nowhere near the (inflation-adjusted) 2008 spike, and offers further commentary on the position of China. Related: - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeOaei2ADDA   - https://journal.apee.org/ARTICLES_2018_Journal_of_Private_Enterprise_Vol_33_No_1_Spring_parte5  ...

Responding to a discussion on X, Murphy documents the official rise in grocery food prices over the last 30 years, and then explains the role of monetary inflation. Related: - https://infineo.ai/why-are-groceries-so-expensive-part-1-of-2   - https://infineo.ai/podcast/116   Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/kAW2_zLvJtc   Subscribe to our YouTube channel:  https://bit.l...

Murphy analyzes the past 15 year performance of gold versus Bitcoin. He also offers thoughts on the recent spike in gold. Related: - https://infineo.ai/gold-versus-bitcoin   - https://infineo.ai/tether-is-becoming-a-market-based-central-bank   Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/Ty9SXtO0EbI   Subscribe to our YouTube channel:  https://bit.ly/3XXfmGS   Follow us on Instag...

Julia Cartwright is a Senior Researcher with the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER). She joins Murphy to diagnose the demographic, fiscal, and monetary quagmire of Japan, and warns that other countries in Europe and Asia are sinking into the same abyss. Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/NB48N4kZyvQ   Subscribe to our YouTube channel:  https://bit.ly/3XXfmG...

The editor of the Modern Age magazine joins Murphy to discuss a California ballot initiative that would assess a 5% wealth tax on any billionaires in the state. Related: - https://chroniclesmagazine.org/web/from-rock-to-tech-talent-flees-taxes   Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/kIdumAhu2iM   Subscribe to our YouTube channel:  https://bit.ly/3XXfmGS   Follow us on Inst...

In the wake of an X Spaces discussion, Murphy critically assesses various explanations for why the USD has value, such as the military and power to tax. He also explains the contributions of Ludwig von Mises to monetary theory. Related: - https://cdn.mises.org/ understanding_money_mechanics_ with_cover_image_attached.pdf Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/WW4e8SpBADU  ...

Alex Stevens and Sam Peterson of the Institute for Energy Research join Murphy to explain why government policy, not AI data centers, are to blame for surging electricity prices. Related: - https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/12/24/energy-prices-regulation   Watch the video version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/2eDDMoj26Mw   Subscribe to our YouTube channel:  https://bit.ly/3XXfm...

Recently President Trump called for a 10% cap on credit card interest rates, and $200 billion of purchases of mortgage-backed securities. Both moves were intended to help the average American. They each have unintended economic consequences, but the policies are structured differently and require different tools of analysis. Related: - https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/09/trump-orders-mortgage-bond-pur...

Anirudh Pai is a partner at Robot Ventures, who has a long history in innovative finance. He has a broad discussion with Murphy covering various topics including smart contracts, decentralized governance, and prediction markets being used as insurance. Related: -   https://robvc.com   - https://electricsheep.substack.com   - https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=qEa2AEr0jcc - https://x.com/ani_pai   Wa...