I am joined by Alex Martynov, a leadership coach based in Prague originally from Ukraine. Alex founded the first website in Ukraine dedicated to Austrian economics and libertarianism and he also has an interest in Bitcoin and Freedom technology. We discuss the big questions of purpose, self-actualisation, and meaning making as well as explore the nature of liberty, and what is meant by the idea of the good life. We also talk about how psychology can be applied not only to individuals but to states and societies and the complex relationship people may have with the idea of freedom.

I talk with Sovereign Origin about his concept FITS (Financially Independent, Time Sovereign) a new alternative to the traditional FIRE movement (Financially Independent, Retire Early). While both approaches aim to escape the “rat race,” FITS redefines the pursuit of financial independence through the lens of Bitcoin, focusing on sovereignty over one’s time with a unique perspective towards wealth, work, and life. We had a great talk about the FITS concept, exploring some of the technical aspects, as well as some of the challenges inherent in the traditional FIRE approach which is built on the premise of the ongoing growth of the stock market and ultimately is not truely independent because the state can always come and turn off or confiscate your retirement fund – Something they can’t do with Bitcoin.

Robert Warren is the author of The Bitcoin Miner's Almanac: Where Code Meets Business and Everything in Between, published 2024. We discuss the book, which gives an excellent overview of what Bitcoin mining is and the operational considerations, as well as fascinating case studies of the different business models and types of mining operations. Alongside this we discuss energy and the electrical grid more broadly as well as how to communicate Bitcoin mining and the importance of maintaining the grid and producing energy for human flourishing.

Kenji Tateiwa is CEO of Agile Energy X who are mining Bitcoin in Japan and helping to reduce grid congestion with flexible load that matches the variability of renewable energy. We discuss the long term outlook for Japan as it moves towards renewable energy more broadly and the challenges with the existing infrastructure network and how the innovation of Bitcoin mining can help with this. Kenji also share his background in nuclear energy and we talk about strategies for communicating the Bitcoin mining story to the public.

James Pierog is co-founder and CEO of Bitcoin Prediction Market, a new company back by Bitcoin startup accelerator Wolf, enabling bets on real-world events using the Bitcoin Lightning Network. We explore what a prediction market is, why Bitcoin is the perfect medium for this, and what new forms of crowd intelligence through prediction markets could mean in an increasingly complex world. Along the way we discuss the intersection of philosophy and mathematics, the wisdom of the crowd, AI, and the challenge of dealing with rapid change.

Sam Trevethick is an award-winning music producer, songwriter and performer most renowned for his role as founding member of the live drum and bass group Shapeshifter. We talk about Sam’s music, his inspiration, and his Bitcoin story - drawing a thread between the dynamic creativity of music and understanding the implications of Bitcoin on the world.

Bayani Mills is the Secretary & Acting CEO at the Australian Bitcoin Industry Body, providing advocacy on behalf of their Bitcoin industry members and advancing the adoption and understanding of Bitcoin in Australia. We take a deep dive into Bayani’s work with the industry body: educating politicians, making submissions on bills before parliament, and trying to carve out a clear space for Bitcoin in the minds of the public and politicians.

Hubertus Hofkirchner is an economist and entrepreneur from Austria. Hubertus hosts the monthly Austrian Economics Salon at Vienna's Hayek Institute and he shares some fascinating insight into the nature of base money and credit money, how we can understand these from a Bitcoin and Austrian economics perspective as well as what he sees as the next step for growing the Bitcoin circular economy.Hubertus is a key figure in developing the Bitcredit Protocol, an open-source initiative focussed on building a flexible credit money layer on top of Bitcoin for enabling businesses to finance working capital needs, using bills of exchange, e-cash, and the proof of the work of the real economy.

Win Ko Ko Aung is a refugee from Myanmar formerly known as Burma, Human Rights fellow at the Bitcoin policy institute, as well as associate at the Human Rights Foundation. Win shares the story of the ongoing civil war in Myanmar under the control of the military junta and the crackdowns and human rights abuses that are taking place. Win also talks about how Bitcoin helped him escape Myanmar, what it can mean for the people, as well as some of the real infrastructure and tech challenges people face trying to get their money out of the country.

Something special for one hundred episodes. Thank you for listening. Vires in numeris.