The "What is Money?" Show

The Most Important Question in the World Today | Episode 14

Episode Summary

What is money? Is it a token, a ledger, a language, or a measure of fucks given? In this series, Robert Breedlove pursues this question across a diversity of deep conversations with thinkers from radically different walks of life — economists, philosophers, entrepreneurs, and truth-seekers — each one adding another layer to the most important question of our time. Episode 14 draws together fresh perspectives on money as a medium of exchange, as an attribute of marketability rather than any fixed thing, and as the coordination mechanism that allowed human civilization to scale beyond Dunbar's number. The conversation moves through the three functions and five properties of sound money, the distinction between fiducce media and fiat currency, why fractional reserve banking on top of a zero-reserve fiat base is a pyramid scheme on top of a pyramid scheme, and why Bitcoin — as a tamper-proof cryptographic ledger — is the most honest accounting of human value ever devised. This conversation explores the deeper forces shaping human behavior, institutions, and the future of civilization.

Episode Notes

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// TIMESTAMPS //
0:00 – WiM Episode Trailer
1:23 – Episode Begins
7:00 – Money as a Ledger of Fucks Given: The Paleolithic Origins of Value
13:00 – Energy Is Money: Corruption, Productivity, and the Economy
21:56 – Mine Bitcoin with Blockware Solutions
23:00 – Money as a Medium of Exchange: The Austrian School Definition
30:00 – The Three Functions of Money: Store of Value, Medium, Unit of Account
38:00 – The Five Properties of Sound Money and Why Gold Won
42:49 – Performance Lab Supplements
44:00 – Fiat Currency vs. Fiduciary Media: Pyramid Schemes on Pyramid Schemes
52:00 – Moneyness as an Attribute: From M0 to Bitcoin
1:02:00 – The Federal Reserve and the Scrambling of Money's Definition
1:19:36 – Protect Yourself From SIM Swaps
1:20:42 – Unlock the Wisdom of the Best Non-Fiction Books

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