The Breakdown of Trust with Balaji Srinivasan & Glenn Greenwald

The Breakdown of Trust with Balaji Srinivasan & Glenn Greenwald

What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack

“What I ultimately want to do with this Bitcoin discourse is try and bring as many people as possible to talk about it in a way that ceases to alienate particular ideological camps who for whatever reason have been trained quite effectively to be hostile to a technology that can actually empower them.”
— Glenn Greenwald

Location: Remote
Date: Monday 24th January
Project: balajis.com, glenngreenwald.com.br
Role: Angel Investor & Entrepreneur, Journalist and Author

US exceptionalism and continuance of its role as the world's leading power is under threat. Whilst it is arguable whether America has truly lived up to being that ‘Shining City on a Hill’, it’s potential demise and a resultant shifting balance of power eastwards should give those who believe in freedom and privacy pause for thought.

The reasons for the current predicament are varied and complex. Whilst there are powerful external forces seeking to damage the US, the most critical wounds are those that have been self-inflicted. Of these, a breakdown of public trust in government and the media are perhaps the most consequential.

The impacts are apparent to all: polarisation, ineffective governance, paranoia, stasis. All the while, China continues to make bold and aggressive moves aimed at supplanting the US.

All of this has occurred in a relatively short period of time. Just 30 years ago the Soviet Union fell, whilst Chinese nominal GDP was 6% of the US’s. Complacency and a focus on fighting imaginary enemies allowed rot to set in. Does Bitcoin offer an opportunity for the US to regain it’s discipline whilst also living up to the mantle of being the land of the free?

In this interview, I talk to angel investor Balaji Srinivasan and journalist Glenn Greenwald. We compare American incompetence to Chinese competence, how Bitcoin offers hope, why the US establishment has struggled to assimilate new technology and the damaging conflict between tech and media over the past 20 years.

This episode’s sponsors:
Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantly
BlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial services
Sportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts Bitcoin
Casa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.
Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware wallet
Compass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hosting
LVL - Bank on Bitcoin
BCB Group - Global digital financial Services


-----

WBD454 - Show Notes

-----

If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:

Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contribute

Make a tip:
Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2S
QR Codes: Bitcoin
If you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank you

Subscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS Feed

Leave a review on iTunes

Share the show and episodes with your friends and family

Subscribe to the newsletter on my website

Follow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTube

If you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

Activity

Switch to the Fountain App