The Transformation of Value with Cody Ellingham

We look for truth in many places. From Bitcoin and science to AI and technology, but where does truth come from, and what does Christ mean in our always-online digital world? More episodes - https://thetransformationofvalue.com/

Technocracy was a 1930s movement that wanted to replace elected governments with engineers and scientists running society through rationality and systems. What does it mean today in our world of algorithms and Big Tech? Anton Cebalo is a writer and historian. He has been published by Noema, The Guardian, The Brooklyn Rail, and Palladium. Anton's substack - https://novum.substack.com/ Welcome t...

What are loot boxes in video games? What about market places for in-game weapons and character "skins"? How can we look at the way game companies like Valve design economies around these systems and act as virtual central banks? What can this teach us about Bitcoin and the wider economy? I talk with my friend Anthony Lam, a serial entrepreneur and builder, as well as founder of a fintech...

What is the difference between reporting and journalism? Is the news a "product" or can it be something more? Christ Gilbert is an NZ journalist living in Japan. Chris Gilbert IG - https://www.instagram.com/cagilbz/ Chris Gilbert LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopheralangilbert/ Chris Gilbert's company - https://www.itsferret.com/

Where did this show come from? How did it start? What does The Transformation of Value mean for me?--The Transformation of Value by Cody Ellingham - https://thetransformationofvalue.com/🎧 Music by Simon James French - https://kyotoinsound.com/

My writing and thoughts - https://codyellingham.substack.com/ See more episodes - https://thetransformationofvalue.com/

Neoliberalism is the political-economic system that has dominated the world for 40 years, but what does it really mean and how does it relate to Bitcoin? Free markets, deregulation, and a disdain for the state are all hallmarks of Bitcoin thinking, but these echo the same political ideas that shook the world since the 1980s. Roger is the author of Would Mao Hold Bitcoin?: The Past, Present and Fut...

RECORDED 26th February 2026. In the 1970s Mehdi Bassiri worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Imperial Government of Iran, including as an attache in London before coming to Tokyo, where he rose to the position of first secretary at the Iranian Embassy. In 1979, the Iranian revolution took place and Mehdi found himself navigating between the old and the new regimes. Support my work - ht...

What is the underpinning of the modern world? Where do we get our morals from? Have we forgotten our past? James Kierstead co-hosts Free Kiwis!, a podcast dedicated to free speech in New Zealand, and previously was a Research Fellow with the New Zealand Initiative, focussing on higher education policy, including academic freedom. James studied classics at Oxford and Ancient History at the Universi...

We live in the most culturally productive moment in human history and yet something feels strangely empty. David Marx is an American author living in Japan. He writes about fashion and culture. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and The New Republic. David’s books include Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style, as well as Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Crea...

How does science fiction explore ideas of money, economics, and government? What is the role of speculative fiction in shaping how we see the world around us as well as helping imagine new possibilities? Eli K. P. William is a Canadian sci-fi novelist, game writer, and translator based in Japan. In 2015 he published his first sci-fi novel, Cash Crash Jubilee, the first book in his “Jubilee Cycle”...

What is Ecash and how does it relate to Bitcoin? Why is a layered approach to digital money important? Why is it important to get the UX of payments right? In 2024 Erik Cativo left his design job at Ericsson in Sweden to start building on Bitcoin full-time. This year he received a grant from the Human Rights Foundation to work on improving the user experience of Ecash, including both the Cashu and...

Athena Tong previously served as Director of Public Relations for the now disbanded pro-democracy Demosistō party in Hong Kong. Now based in Japan as a visiting Researcher at the University of Tokyo, Athena focuses on infrastructure resilience, political warfare, and economic security, with an emphasis on communist China’s influence in East Asia and the Indo-Pacific. Her writing has been published...

Greg Girard is a Canadian photographer who has spent much of his career capturing the urban landscapes and people of Asia. He has authored several photographic books, including City of Darkness: Life in Kowloon Walled City, Phantom Shanghai, and most recently his upcoming book Snack Sakura, which explores Japan’s iconic night-time snack bars. Greg Girard on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/gr...

What are charter cities? Is law really just like computer code that can be forked and modified? How do you bootstrap an economy? Patri Friedman founded The Seasteading Institute, a non-profit exploring the creation of sovereign ocean colonies. He is on the board of the Startup Societies Foundation, advising a variety of new governance projects. Most recently he founded Pronomos, the first charter...

Kevin Whitmore is Chair of the Bitcoin Policy Institute New Zealand, and CEO of Cashbucket. On November 12th, 2025, the institute held its official launch event in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital, and released its first tax policy paper. The event had a great turnout, with leaders from the Bitcoin community, industry, and across government, including Minister for Courts and Associate Minister of...

Taiwan sits at the heart of global geopolitics, caught between history, identity, and rising tensions with China. In this episode, Chris Horton takes us inside the island’s struggle for survival and what it means for the world today. Chris is a journalist based in Taiwan since 2015, covering the country’s foreign relations, domestic politics, economy, and society. Chris’ writing has appeared in Th...

Peter Fzero is a tattoo artist, designer, and decade-long Bitcoiner. He is part of the 2140 Art Collective which includes over 50 artists exploring themes of Bitcoin / privacy / freedom / and consciousness through art. Peter's website - https://fzero.pro/ 2140 Art Collective - https://2140.wtf/ Ivy Lumi - https://ivylumi.com/ SUPPORT ME - https://www.thetransformationofvalue.com/support

It has become increasingly difficult, and even dangerous to report on China. What does this mean for journalists covering sensitive topics like military defence, human rights, and politics? Peter Langan is a journalist with extensive experience including almost 20 years with Bloomberg News in various roles such as: Asia Editor-at-Large and Tokyo Bureau Chief. He later worked as senior editor for t...

For over 20 years Stiven Kerestegian has been exploring questions of design, innovation, and disruption, working with some of the world’s biggest brands including Microsoft, LEGO, and recently as Head of Global Innovation at IKEA. But since discovering Bitcoin in 2017 everything has changed, Stiven has turned his focus towards applying design thinking to this new form of money, and how we might us...

Mishima Yukio was an iconic Japanese author who wrote on the deepest questions of beauty, life, and death. But who was he as a man? Paul McCarthy holds a Ph. D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard, and has taught Japanese, Anglo-American, and Comparative Literature at universities in the US and Japan as well as translating many works of Japanese literature. Paul met Mishima Yuki...

How does population density effect the economic development of an entire continent? What about agricultural and manufacturing industrial policy? What lessons can we learn from the economic growth of Asia for understanding Africa? Joe Studwell is a journalist and bestselling author known for his work on East Asian economic development. His 2014 book, How Asia Works , explores the different economic...

What does it mean to have the ability to simply exit and walk away from a nation state or a company? What does it mean when you can’t? In the situations where it is harder or impossible to leave, what is the role of voice , of expressing your opinion, and trying to affect change in these relationships from the inside, and what happens when they don’t listen? German economist Albert Hirschman wrote...

Why does Bitcoin struggle to find its place in the real economy of supply chains, factories, and things? What role does credit play in building the economy, and could a new layer on top of Bitcoin be the missing piece? Hubertus Hofkirchner is an economist and entrepreneur from Austria. Hubertus is a key figure in developing the Bitcredit Protocol, an open-source initiative focussed on building a f...

What do we mean when we talk about mass adoption of Bitcoin? Is it even possible? Or is something like parallel resistance more likely? SUPPORT ME - https://www.thetransformationofvalue.com/support