Saturday 9th March, 2024 - Breathing Difficult (Issue #154)
Social media vs personal websites, AI and deep fakes, future of money and crypto, history of Ukraine, history of curry, building the next era of the internet, social media traps
Hello and welcome to my newsletter!
Another season 2 instalment…
Short and sweet this week.
Yes I’m still ill.
No it’s not at all fun.
Yes the world keeps blocking me from getting well.
Yes energy levels very low today.
Yes I listened to some podcasts.
Here were the best ones with some comments from yours truly:
Podcasts
Nathan Schnieder (Team Human Podcast) - How governance in our online platforms can affect the way we think about governance in real life https://www.teamhuman.fm/episodes/284-nathan-schneider
Inventing Curry: The British Taste For India Ep#127 (Empire Podcast) - All the wonderful history around how curry made it’s way to Britain. This one is full of incredible stories. Amazing food finds a way. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vZW1waXJlcG9kY2FzdA/episode/MjNmYzM3MzAtZDY2MS0xMWVlLTkxY2YtN2ZlZWM5YzNmYWI3?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwioyOnmluaEAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQNg
AI Deep Fakes are cheap, easy and coming for the 2024 election (Decoder Podcast) - Are we ready for the first big election where the general public has access to powerful generative AI tools? The Decoder guys and gals explore what’s possible and what we might expect during the US 2024 elections. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vcmVjb2RlZGVjb2Rl/episode/MmNjNmNjZmEtOTljZi0xMWVlLWI2NmQtN2ZlYzYyMTQxZWY4?sa=X&ved=0CAYQkfYCahgKEwioyOnmluaEAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQzwE
Etherium and the Trillion Dollar Internet Bond (Bankless Podcast) - I mostly link to Bitcoin stuff when it comes to crypto, but Etherium is becoming interesting, especially to traditional finance folks. The big advance is that Eth now offers yield, and TradFi folks love yield. Eth is speaking their language. In this version of the future, Bitcoin is gold and Etherium is something like treasury bonds. https://www.bankless.com/ethereum-and-the-trillion-dollar-internet-bond-chris-perkins
This is Signalling An ALL-OUT Global Recession (Eurodollar University Podcast) - I thought this episode was interesting because it does an interesting macro and history retrospective. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL21ha2luZy1zZW5zZQ/episode/OWE2YzEyMWUtY2M3YS00YjVjLTg2YzEtZjcxZTE4NDQxNDcw?sa=X&ved=0CAYQkfYCahgKEwioyOnmluaEAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQhQY
The Year of Sound Money with Doomberg (What Bitcoin Did Podcast) - Peter and Doomberg compare their outlooks and discover many similarities even if Doomberg focusses on gold and property rather than Bitcoin. Doomberg also has a very expansive view of how all the major currents are currently interacting and how things might play out. Doomberg writes the #1 popular finance newsletter. https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/the-year-of-sound-money-with-doomberg
Guest host Hank Green makes Nilay Patel explain why websites have a future (Decoder Podcast) - Websites are still cool and worth the effort. Nilay runs through the history and future of social media and websites and makes the case that websites still matter. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vcmVjb2RlZGVjb2Rl/episode/MzA1Njc5ZTYtOWVhZC0xMWVlLWJkZjctYjdjMDgyYmZhMmI2?sa=X&ved=0CAYQkfYCahgKEwioyOnmluaEAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQ1gk
My conversation with Elon Musk: Cosmology, AI and dying on Mars (Into the Impossible Podcast) - Just a small snippet of a conversation but if you are at all interested in how Elon’s satellite array is affecting astronomy, specifically our ability to read the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation from earth, worth a listen. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vaW50b3RoZWltcG9zc2libGU/episode/NWM2MGMxZGEtZGExMy0xMWVlLWI4NTAtZjM4MGQ4ZWQ5N2I5?sa=X&ved=0CAYQkfYCahgKEwioyOnmluaEAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQjA4
Will Bitcoin Hit $1,000,000 This Cycle? With Tuur Demeester Ep#485 (TFTC Podcast) - I always find that Tuur has interesting perspectives when it comes to Bitcoin. Another show that proves my point. Worth a listen. https://www.tftc.io/will-bitcoin-hit-1m-this-cycle
Chris Dixon: Building the Next Era Of The Internet (Kevin Rose Podcast) - Some great stories from the early internet from these two internet entrepreneurs and pioneers, with a focus on crypto. Some interesting ways of thinking about the next phase of the internet. https://www.kevinrose.com/chris-dixon-building-the-next-era-of-the-internet
Serhii Plokhy: History of Ukraine, Russia, Soviet Union, KGB, Nazis & War Ep#415 (Lex Fridman Podcast) - Really incredible detailed history about the entire region. That area of the world is so rich in history, and it’s all the more relevant given the on-going war. Worth learning about some of the stories that have led us to where we are. https://lexfridman.com/serhii-plokhy
The Digital Future is Here (Adapt or Die) (Eurodollar University Podcast) - This is a must listen for anyone interested in the future of money. It’s an interview with world-renowned scholar, investor and, philosopher-historian Manny Rincon Cruz. They extract just the relevant history then talk about how crypto might lead to a better financial system. What primitives are becoming available to build new and exciting monetary and finance applications, and the parallels with how money evolved over the past 500 years. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL21ha2luZy1zZW5zZQ/episode/NzUyNjc5YzEtMTRiMy00NTdiLTgxZmQtZmZmYjc3MDc0ZmI0?sa=X&ved=0CAYQkfYCahgKEwioyOnmluaEAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQ0BA
Are You Caught in a Social Media Trap? Ep#579 (Freakonomics Radio Podcast) - We are all stuck in a strange trap, one that hasn’t been seen before. The freakonomics guys and gals explore the bizarre contours of this collective trap. We hate it but we can’t get enough of it. What’s that all about? https://freakonomics.com/podcast/are-you-caught-in-a-social-media-trap
I hope you are all well.
That’s all from me…
Best reguards,
Mark
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