The Becoming Sovereign Podcast

In this episode of the Becoming Sovereign podcast, host Brandon Karpeles sits down with Paul in the Jungle and Director Hodl Matthew, the creators behind the independent documentary Hummingbird , currently streaming on IndieHub. What originally began as a plan to film a quick five-minute hit piece on Costa Rica's local circular economy radically transformed after an offhand comment during an i...

In this episode of the Becoming Sovereign podcast, host Brandon Karpeles sits down with Zack, a veteran filmmaker and the founder of IndeeHub (indeehub.studio). Zack breaks down how his platform leverages cutting-edge Lightning Network infrastructure to build a direct, pay-per-second relationship between creators and audiences. They dive into a deep economic critique of Hollywood's command-and...

In this episode of the newly rebranded Becoming Sovereign podcast, host Brandon Karpeles sits down with Steve Martin, the founder of Bitcoin Beans. Steve tracks his radical lifestyle transformation from working as a corporate accountant in London to living on a functioning permaculture farm in Colombia, exploring what it truly means to apply the principles of proof of work to the food we put into...

In this episode of the Becoming Sovereign podcast, host Brandon Karpeles reconnects with Daniel Prince, host of the Once Bitten podcast and author of Choose Life . They take a deep dive into what it truly means to break away from state-mandated narratives—from abandoning an 18-year career in traditional financial services to separating your children's education from the state through worldscho...

In this episode of the Becoming Sovereign podcast, host Brandon Karpeles sits down with Adam O'Brien, the founder and CEO of Bitcoin Well. They unpack what it truly means to live with a sovereign mindset in 2026, stepping far beyond the transactional mechanics of business to look at the deeply philosophical and spiritual battles underpinning modern society. Adam shares his recent experiences b...

In this episode of the newly rebranded Becoming Sovereign podcast, Brandon Karpeles sits down with Seth, an OG Nostr developer and the creator of Zap. Cooking. They discuss the origins of Zap. Cooking as a simple, ad-free alternative to bloated legacy recipe websites and how Nostr's decentralized protocol enables true value-for-value interactions. They explore the profound importance of home c...

Welcome to the newly rebranded Becoming Sovereign podcast! In this episode, host Brandon Karpeles announces the show's name change to better reflect our mission of helping individuals take true control of their money and their lives. Following the announcement, Brandon sits down with Keith Gardner, founder of Branta. After a career at Bloomberg, Keith realized that while Bitcoin is economically pe...

In this episode, Brandon Karpeles sits down with Brian Hirschfield (also known as Fundamentals), founder of Magic Internet Math, for a deep dive into the philosophy, mathematics, and psychology of Bitcoin. Brian shares why his true mission is building people up rather than just trying to "End the Fed," and how leaving a 30-year career as an actuary taught him the value of trusting the pr...

In this episode, Brandon Karpeles is joined by Foise, the chef behind Fork & Coin and a co-founder of the Chicago Bitcoin Collective. They discuss the journey of building a physical Bitcoin hub in Chicago, taking over a commercial space, and creating a restaurant that bridges the gap between "normie" foodies and hardcore Bitcoiners. They dive into the challenges and triumphs of sourc...

In this episode, Brandon Karpeles sits down with Cedric Youngelman, host of The Bitcoin Matrix podcast, to discuss the philosophical and economic realities of shifting to a Bitcoin standard. Cedric shares his journey from being a corporate accountant trying to outpace inflation to discovering Bitcoin as the ultimate savings technology that can drain the volatility out of your life. They dive deep...

In this episode, Brandon Karpeles sits down with Matt Hill, co-founder of Start9, to discuss the critical transition from centralized cloud computing to sovereign, self-hosted computing. Matt explains why relying on third-party software providers exposes businesses and individuals to privacy invasions, security breaches, and escalating costs. They dive deep into the hardware Start9 is building to...

In this episode, Brandon Karpeles is joined by Mathieu Agee, founder of o21 Solutions and an energy sector veteran with 20 years of experience at companies like ExxonMobil and AWS. They discuss how o21 Solutions provides "Bitcoin strategy as a service" to oil and gas companies, helping them solve immediate operational problems through mining and preparing their corporate treasuries to su...

In this episode, Brandon Karpeles speaks with Mark Smith, Co-Founder and CEO of Carbon Country. After spending over a decade in corporate America navigating the political and business landscape for major brands, Mark stepped off the hamster wheel to build a regenerative farm powered by solar energy and secured by Bitcoin. They discuss the broken incentives of industrial fiat agriculture and how co...

In this episode, Brandon Karpeles sits down with Nostr legend and creative mind Avi Burra, host of Plug Chain Radio and creator of the Finding Home travel show. Avi shares his recent realization that creating artistic and philosophical content exclusively for the hardcore Bitcoin echo chamber might be a massive product-market fit error. They dive deep into the creator economy, the pitfalls of Bitc...

In this episode, Brandon Karpeles sits down with Maxx, widely known on Nostr as Source Node, to discuss his journey from corporate automotive sales to becoming the newest member of the Sovreign team. This episode takes a highly esoteric turn, venturing beyond traditional Bitcoin topics into philosophy, spirituality, and alternative history. Maxx shares why he walked away from the fiat corporate wo...

In this episode, Brandon sits down with Rev Hodl, a homesteader who left the Los Angeles post-production industry to build true sovereignty in southwest Michigan. They discuss how Rev integrates Bitcoin into his homesteading to align with the permaculture ethic of non-extraction, and how local communities are building resilient networks. Rev breaks down the concept of the "Mesh Citadel"—...

In this episode, Brandon sits down with Stu Lackey and Jon Gordon, founders of Sound HSA, to discuss the intersection of sound money and sound health. They explore how the traditional $5 trillion U.S. healthcare system is burdened by administrative bloat and misaligned incentives, and how Bitcoin offers a path forward. Stu and Jon break down the massive benefits of the Health Savings Account (HSA)...

In this episode, Brandon sits down with Halston Valencia , a marketer at Bitcoin Well, to discuss the growing crisis of financial nihilism among Gen Z and how Bitcoin offers a viable escape route from the fiat matrix. Halston shares her journey of grinding through three jobs while studying at USC, the realization that traditional economics courses weren't teaching the truth about money, and ho...

In this episode, Brandon sits down with Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, to explore the rapidly changing landscape of institutional Bitcoin adoption. Matt shares his frontline experience pitching Bitcoin to wealth advisors, family offices, and institutions, shedding light on why traditional finance has historically been so slow to adopt the asset. In this episode, we cover: Instit...

In this mind-bending episode, Brandon is joined by Eric V Stacks (co-host of the What is Money show) to discuss the intersection of Bitcoin, quantum physics, and spiritual reality. Eric shares his fascinating 17-year journey of growing cannabis in Humboldt County, California, navigating the brutal regulatory environment, and ultimately selling his farm when he realized Bitcoin was the ultimate che...

In this episode, Brandon sits down with Michael Diederich , the owner of Snorkel Hot Tubs , to discuss his transition from a corporate career at Microsoft to running a physical business rooted in craftsmanship and Bitcoin. Michael shares the story of how he found Snorkel (a company founded in 1979), why he cashed out his retirement to buy it, and how he is slowly transforming a legacy brand into a...

In this profound episode, Jeff Booth , author of The Price of Tomorrow and Founding Partner at Ego Death Capital , joins Brandon to discuss the psychological and economic shift required to live on a Bitcoin standard. Jeff challenges the very foundation of our economic reality, explaining why deflation is the natural state of the free market and why the current inflationary system is a "matrix" des...

The world is waking up to the reality of broken money. In this episode, Brandon Karpeles sits down with Sam Callahan , Director of Strategy and Research at Orange BTC (OranjeBTC), to discuss how they are bringing a Bitcoin treasury strategy to Latin America. Sam shares his unique journey from working in professional sports science (helping athletes like Derrick Rose avoid injury) to diagnosing the...

We are living in a system that is rigged against the average person. In this episode, Brandon Karpeles sits down with Natalie Brunell , host of Coin Stories and author of the new book Bitcoin Is for Everyone . Natalie shares her powerful personal story of emigrating from Poland, watching her family struggle in a new country, and realizing that the American Dream is slipping away due to a broken mo...

Real estate is the oldest asset class in the world. Bitcoin is the newest. What happens when you combine them? In this explosive episode, Brandon Karpeles sits down with Grant Cardone , the 10X mogul, real estate tycoon, and sales expert, to discuss his groundbreaking strategy to merge physical property with digital scarcity. Grant explains why the traditional banking system is broken and why he b...