Tangents from Coin Center

Ivor’s background is chemical engineering, but three years ago, unsatisfied with answers he was getting from his physician about heart disease risk, he dedicated himself to researching nutrition. Now he has a popular podcast and YouTube channel where he applies his own brand of meticulous root cause and statistical analysis to questions about diet, diseases of civilization (e.g. diabetes and heart...

Neeraj Agrawal is well known on crypto twitter but perhaps less known for his home cooking.  Robin and Neeraj discuss Neeraj’s journey from “bro cook” to home chef, including the role of history, youtube and Instagram in his self education.  Enjoy this narrative on 17th and 18th century cooking, a bit about food and policy and how lessons learned from cooking can apply to your day job.

Saku is a fixture on Twitter who has crossed over into several smart communities with her consistently insightful commentary and writing. Her perspectives on the world are informed by a mix of rationalism and “tech optimism”--the idea that it’s indisputable that technology has and will continue to make the world a better place. We discussed today’s discourse around technology through that lense. R...

Former CIA analyst Martin Gurri discusses with Jerry the ideas in his prescient book, “The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium.” His thesis is that the explosion of information in the last two decades has exposed and undermined elites and led the public to revolt. In their discussion Jerry and Martin apply the framework to events in the time of Covid, Black Lives...

Why is it important for digital money systems to protect user privacy? Are cryptocurrencies networks like Bitcoin truly public goods? Is the open source software model still free and open or has it been co-opted by corporate interests? What does it mean for money to be “public?” These questions and more are discussed by Peter and Rohan, who agree on the need for privacy-protecting digital cash, bu...

Both Mark and Robin share a commitment to life work balance.  In this episode they talk about the career paths that lead them to their current jobs and the importance of the right organization and team to maintaining the balance they both have worked to achieve.  There are also a few extra tangents into COVID and working from home.

Mike is a technology journalist, Neeraj is a technology communications person. So they have different views on how things unfold on Twitter. In this unstructured conversation they share their views on how the platform has changed over the years, how people tend to use it, incentives, and more.

The topic du jour is central bank digital currency and in this episode we discuss why that is, as well as the finer points of how a CBDC could and should be designed. Is tiered anonymity acceptable and can it be built? Can privacy be reconciled with sanctions power? Would a larger Fed balance sheet politicize it? What are the prospects for continued dollar dominance? What about stablecoins? And wh...

Everyone depends on a handful of apps for online communications and productivity, and, more often than not, those apps are hosted by servers owned and controlled by a third party. Even protocols that were designed to be peer to peer, like email and bitcoin, are typically accessed by non-technical people through intermediaries, like Gmail and Coinbase. What risks does that kind of intermediation cr...