Category: Podcast

Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? If you’ve been in the Bitcoin world for a while, you know that’s the last question you should try to answer.

However, I’ve recently come across a story that I find quite plausible, written by Phil Wilson (aka Scronty). Phil documents the thinking-process behind the Bitcoin invention, in addition to providing many historical details around the creation of Bitcoin.

(“Bitcoin Origins”: http://vu.hn/bitcoin%20origins.html)

His story also explains the perplexing existence of Craig Wright. It’s the only narrative that implies Craig is both a) Part of the Satoshi team, and b) largely fraudulent, at the same time. It explains how Craig was able to convince notable people like Gavin Andreson of being Satoshi, while also explaining his extremely poor writing and communication skills.

It also fits the facts of Satoshi’s extremely careful Op Sec – though not in the way you might think.

The story isn’t perfect – and Phil admits as much – but taken together, his story is the best I’ve heard and worthy of 7 hours of interviewing.

There is a ton of content to mine from this interview, so please feel free to chop it up and create your own video excerpts from the interview. I will be doing the same over the coming weeks and months.

My conversation with Dr. Walter Block about abortion and natural rights, which is one of the trickiest issues in any political philosophy, libertarianism included. He’s the creator of a theory called “evictionism,” which tries to take a middle ground between pro-life and pro-choice positions.

In my analysis, it’s a reasonable compromise. I cannot think of many principled objections from the pro-choice side, and though a pro-lifer might have objections, the core of Block’s argument is pro-life at heart and in the long run could result in the universal protection of pre-birth humans.

Guest’s Website

 

Julia and I have been dealing with a mystery illness for more than six years. It’s progressively gotten worse, but finally, after seeing more than 50 doctors in multiple states and countries, we’re finding answers.

Our story is not unique. There are millions of people suffering with unknown illness who get misdiagnosed or dismissed by their doctors. Too often, when a conventional doctor does not understand your sickness, they conclude one of two things: it’s either in your head, or you’re making up the symptoms outright. This is an arrogant and irrational method of thinking. The medical world could use more philosophy and critical thinking.

If you’re struggling with medical problems, hopefully you’ll find our story helpful. We waited too long to step outside the conventional medical system, due to my own dogmatic thinking surrounding “alternative medicine.” I had strong opinions about things I didn’t understand, and now that my mind has opened, I see lots of high-quality work being done, and alternative treatments are finally helping us. Just like every other area of thought, “the experts” really are clueless.

Tom Woods joins me for a great discussion about Catholicism, papal authority, and his story of becoming an independent intellectual entrepreneur. 

Was the Catholic Church really an anti-intellectual, anti-science organization throughout history, or is that simply a myth?

Does the truth stand apart from what the Pope declares? Can the Pope be wrong?

What are the arguments for Catholicism over Protestantism?

These questions and lots more.

Tom’s website
Tom’s books

 

This week’s interview is with Jeff Tucker. We’re talking about how capitalism fits into the bigger picture. Libertarians tend to assume that everybody values the creation of wealth, and therefore free markets are important. But why make this assumption? Perhaps free markets create wealth at the cost of personal or spiritual impoverishment. What to think about this objection?

We also address the staggering beauty and complexity of free markets, illustrated in proper Jeff Tucker style: by telling the romantic story of tuna fish in a vending machine.

Jeff’s Website

Jeff’s Books 

 

Is a “whole” something greater than the sum of its parts? Or, is a “whole” identical to the sum of its parts?

Dr. Andrew Brenner joins me for a fun conversation about mereology – the study of parts and wholes. While it might seem like an esoteric topic, it’s actually central to metaphysics, and the conclusions have implications on things as varied as the philosophy of mind, personal identity, and even the philosophy of mathematics and geometry.

Both Dr. Brenner and I agreed in this episode: the only things that exist are simple substances. There aren’t actually any composite objects, though we act like there are for easy navigation in the world.

Guest’s website