What Bitcoin Did
Hosted by Peter McCormack, What Bitcoin Did features open conversations with experts in Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and financial markets. Peter interviews a wide array of guests – from developers and analysts to investors and skeptics – exploring topics around Bitcoin adoption, economics, energy, privacy, and beyond in a down-to-earth style.
#161 - Lyn Alden - Why Everything Feels Harder - Debt, Inflation & The System
In this episode, Lyn Alden explains how the modern fiat monetary system—rooted in central bank ledgers and fractional‑reserve banking—creates perpetual debt and inflation that erodes wages and savings, especially for lower‑income households. She argues we are in the later, more turbulent phase of a 55‑year experiment that began when governments abandoned the gold standard in the 1970s, and she details how governments, corporations, and wealthy individuals effectively "short" the currency by issuing bonds that siphon value from everyday savers. Alden highlights the historical shift from precious‑metal money to today’s digital ledger, noting that each technological advance in money aims to reduce friction but also introduces new systemic risks. Her perspective as a seasoned macro‑economist and author of *Broken Money* underscores the urgency of understanding these dynamics before a potential sovereign debt default.
#160 - Mark Suman - Who Controls AI Will Control Society
In this episode, host Peter McCormack talks with AI privacy expert Mark Suman about the concept of "thought capture"—how advanced AI models learn and predict individual thought patterns, potentially allowing unprecedented influence over personal beliefs. They discuss the opaque nature...
#156 - Dr Tim Gregory - Nuking Net Zero
In this episode, nuclear chemist Dr. Tim Gregory argues that the UK’s net‑zero ambitions are unrealistic without a substantial expansion of nuclear power, warning that reliance on intermittent wind, solar and limited battery storage will likely lead to rolling blackouts....
#155 - Connor Leahy - "We Don't Know How It Works": An AI Engineer's Warning
In this episode, AI engineer Connor Leahy discusses the fundamental mystery surrounding both human intelligence and modern neural networks, emphasizing that we build powerful models without truly understanding how they work. He traces his journey from early self‑taught experiments to...
#143 – Emmanuel Maggiori – The Economics of State Failure
In this episode, Emmanuel Maggiori examines how inflation, distorted incentives, and the erosion of monetary rules gradually undermine an economy, using Argentina’s black markets and capital controls as a cautionary tale. He explains that inflation first destroys trust in institutions...
#139 - Simon Dixon - How the Financial-Industrial Complex Runs the World
Simon Dixon explains that modern Western politics is less chaotic than it appears, operating under a financial‑industrial complex where money creation, debt roll‑overs, and asset managers dictate outcomes more than elections or ideology. He details how governments function as balance...
#138 – Steve Baker – The Structural Failure of Government
Former Conservative MP Steve Baker argues that Britain’s systemic failure stems from a self‑reinforcing political machine that rewards power without accountability, leading to declining living standards and growing voter powerlessness. He highlights how incentives in politics, unchecked money flows, and...
#134 - Steve Keen - How Modern Economics Became Ideology
In this episode, heterodox economist Steve Keen argues that modern economics has become ideology, critiquing neoclassical, Keynesian and Austrian models for ignoring how banks create money and how private debt drives crises. He explains the mechanics of money creation, the...
#133 - Karl-Friedrich Israel - Inflation, Inequality, Socialism & the Future of Europe
Economist Karl‑Friedrich Israel argues that inflation is a deliberate political tool that covertly taxes the poor, inflates asset values and deepens inequality, while official CPI figures mask the true cost of living. He links this hidden tax to Europe’s slow...
#121 - Curtis Yarvin PT.2 - From Caesar to Satoshi: Why Political & Economic Systems Fail
In this episode Curtis Yarvin critiques modern political and economic structures, arguing that monarchy is the most honest form of rule and exposing the shortcomings of free‑market libertarianism. He contrasts Austrian economics with Keynesian and Listian ideas, highlighting how GDP...
