I was just thinking about how much I miss you in the podcast world and then I found this. Holy shit. After binge listening to so much of your work during the panini I was close to tearing up hearing your voice again. I’m so, so happy you’re back. The series is perfect too.
I don’t have anything insightful to post, but I did want to echo what everyone else is saying: it’s so much fun having PJ back in my life. This sounds weird, but I feel like I was missing a friend.
Hi PJ - Really enjoying the new podcast. Also really resonate with reading books people specifically recommend, I've added Big Magic to my list. I was wondering if there's a book you or others would recommend about cryptocurrency for those new to it, written from a neutral stance. Thanks for all your work!
Thanks Norm. I'm not sure it's exactly what you're looking for because it's not so much an overview book, but recently I've been really enjoying the Cryptopians by Laura Shin. A good history of some of the interesting / outlandish personalities involved in all this. Well told as a story, too.
Welcome to Substack! I've missed you and your voice, PJ. I just binge listened to all of the episodes. I don't have a ton of interest in crypto as much as I enjoy your reporting. I will hoard episodes and play them at half speed just so they last longer. :-)
I think Cas Pian got something wrong in the most recent ep. He said something to the effect of, crypto wont change out psychology in the same vein that no technology has. I think a bunch of tech has changed our psych. Facebook, the endless scroll of social media, phones in general, to name three.
I’m still debating this with myself. I thought @yishan’s recent thread on Elon Musk and Twitter touched it when he spoke about the early days of the internet when the early adopters thought it was going to liberate us from the societal problems of the physical world until everyone else joined and made the virtual world as bad as the physical one. Isn’t a lot of ideological web3 fueled by the same naive idea?
I agree! As someone who graduated high school in 2001 I think my own psychology has changed a lot in the past 20 years after I started buying smartphones and interacting with new technology - and mostly in a good way, in that it has opened my mind to new ways of thinking about the world. I think one of the neat possibilities of cryptocurrency is that it has so much potential to challenge our pre-existing ideas about money, ownership, etc.
Currently catching up with the series and enjoying it so far! If you're interested in hearing from more skeptics I can't recommend Dan Olsen (Folding Ideas) and his video "Line Goes Up" enough.
Like Cas, I had long had a skepticism of Crypto scams but kept hope for the technology. Olsen's video led me down a rabbit hole where the more I learn about blockchain technology the more I become convinced that it's increased applications add little value or are outright dangerous.
I've been subscribed since the beginning, but through some quirk of how my podcast app works, heard this one for the first time when flying from HNL to LAX and ended up in my 'downloaded' queue.
One, I'm definitely going to join as a paid subscriber. I've missed P.J. so much.
Two, I'm joining because I want to be a part of the community, and share feedback, which P.J. says he reads. Because this episode was indulgently long and tangient-filled, but surprisingly light on substance. And by that I mean, so much time was dedicated to Cas Piancey as a notable skeptic, and I didn't hear anything especially insightful or provocative from the guy. Unless crypto is so hype-driven that someone going "but maybe" counts as a controversial opinion?
I'm engaged by the state of Hawaii itself to help everyday citizens understand crypto, but as a born and raised journalist, have always had a skeptic hat on. I would love more substantive critique's of the space. More Cas Piancey but getting more into the weeds.
P.J., I'm certain you've come across "Line Goes Up" by Folding Ideas. This massive, 2+ hour YouTube essay is what planted the strongest seeds of skepticism in my mind. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Even putting myself in the headspace of a true believer, I couldn't credibly respond to a lot of what he asserts:
I was just thinking about how much I miss you in the podcast world and then I found this. Holy shit. After binge listening to so much of your work during the panini I was close to tearing up hearing your voice again. I’m so, so happy you’re back. The series is perfect too.
^^^ this
I don’t have anything insightful to post, but I did want to echo what everyone else is saying: it’s so much fun having PJ back in my life. This sounds weird, but I feel like I was missing a friend.
Thanks Chapman. It's nice to be telling stories again.
Hi PJ - Really enjoying the new podcast. Also really resonate with reading books people specifically recommend, I've added Big Magic to my list. I was wondering if there's a book you or others would recommend about cryptocurrency for those new to it, written from a neutral stance. Thanks for all your work!
Thanks Norm. I'm not sure it's exactly what you're looking for because it's not so much an overview book, but recently I've been really enjoying the Cryptopians by Laura Shin. A good history of some of the interesting / outlandish personalities involved in all this. Well told as a story, too.
Welcome to Substack! I've missed you and your voice, PJ. I just binge listened to all of the episodes. I don't have a ton of interest in crypto as much as I enjoy your reporting. I will hoard episodes and play them at half speed just so they last longer. :-)
Alan, that's so kind of you. Thanks for following me down this rabbit hole.
I think Cas Pian got something wrong in the most recent ep. He said something to the effect of, crypto wont change out psychology in the same vein that no technology has. I think a bunch of tech has changed our psych. Facebook, the endless scroll of social media, phones in general, to name three.
I’m still debating this with myself. I thought @yishan’s recent thread on Elon Musk and Twitter touched it when he spoke about the early days of the internet when the early adopters thought it was going to liberate us from the societal problems of the physical world until everyone else joined and made the virtual world as bad as the physical one. Isn’t a lot of ideological web3 fueled by the same naive idea?
https://twitter.com/yishan/status/1514939157931454466?s=21&t=18RRJlXgmGKd5RWj6p02xg
I agree! As someone who graduated high school in 2001 I think my own psychology has changed a lot in the past 20 years after I started buying smartphones and interacting with new technology - and mostly in a good way, in that it has opened my mind to new ways of thinking about the world. I think one of the neat possibilities of cryptocurrency is that it has so much potential to challenge our pre-existing ideas about money, ownership, etc.
As another Theranos encounter story: https://www.askamanager.org/2021/10/when-the-red-flags-are-even-more-ominous-than-you-know.html
Love this guest!
Currently catching up with the series and enjoying it so far! If you're interested in hearing from more skeptics I can't recommend Dan Olsen (Folding Ideas) and his video "Line Goes Up" enough.
Like Cas, I had long had a skepticism of Crypto scams but kept hope for the technology. Olsen's video led me down a rabbit hole where the more I learn about blockchain technology the more I become convinced that it's increased applications add little value or are outright dangerous.
I've been subscribed since the beginning, but through some quirk of how my podcast app works, heard this one for the first time when flying from HNL to LAX and ended up in my 'downloaded' queue.
One, I'm definitely going to join as a paid subscriber. I've missed P.J. so much.
Two, I'm joining because I want to be a part of the community, and share feedback, which P.J. says he reads. Because this episode was indulgently long and tangient-filled, but surprisingly light on substance. And by that I mean, so much time was dedicated to Cas Piancey as a notable skeptic, and I didn't hear anything especially insightful or provocative from the guy. Unless crypto is so hype-driven that someone going "but maybe" counts as a controversial opinion?
I'm engaged by the state of Hawaii itself to help everyday citizens understand crypto, but as a born and raised journalist, have always had a skeptic hat on. I would love more substantive critique's of the space. More Cas Piancey but getting more into the weeds.
P.J., I'm certain you've come across "Line Goes Up" by Folding Ideas. This massive, 2+ hour YouTube essay is what planted the strongest seeds of skepticism in my mind. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Even putting myself in the headspace of a true believer, I couldn't credibly respond to a lot of what he asserts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ_xWvX1n9g
When is the next episode dropping?
Should be this week. It's a complicated one so it has taken a minute! Excited to share it though.