Show notes
My guest today is Mike Brock, CEO of TBD, (a part of Block), which focuses on building open source, decentralized technologies. In this wide-ranging conversation, Mike discusses Bitcoin's relationship to politics, culture, and decentralization. He argues against simplistic views of Bitcoin as an all-encompassing solution and for nuance over maximalism. We discuss Bitcoin as a tool, the risks of centralization, using Bitcoin to advance liberal democracy and human freedom, romantics v skeptics, and more. I really enjoy Mike's perspectives, passion for optimism and philosophy, and commitment to decentralized tech. Are we as divided as we think? Mike doesn't seem to think so, and feels we are more united and bipartisan in many ways than people, especially on social media, will have us think. https://www.tbd.website/ Mike Brock twitter: https://twitter.com/brockm Trey Walsh https://nostree.me/[email protected] SPONSOR: BitBox: Use promo-code TPB during checkout to get 5% off your purchase: https://bitbox.swiss/tpb Sazmining: Get $50 off the purchase of a miner using the following link: https://app.sazmining.com/purchase?ref=tpb Sazmining is a Hosted Bitcoin Mining provider with a commitment to using 100% renewable energy for your mining operation. A Progressive’s Case for Bitcoin: Get a copy of Jason Maier’s book “A Progressive’s Case for Bitcoin” here, https://bit.ly/3XuEcyV, using promo code TPB for 10% off the book. 00:00:00 Start 00:02:58 Mike Brock's Background 00:08:20 Bitcoin is Political But Not Partisan 00:13:44 Bitcoin Culture Lacks Diversity 00:24:00 Bitcoin as an Instrument 00:32:39 Bitcoin Adoption Will Be Gradual 00:44:54 Politics Are Calming Down 00:50:48 Leaving Twitter and Echo Chambers 01:00:10 The Risks of Centralization 01:08:12 Decentralizing Social Media 01:13:40 Promoting Open Debate in Bitcoin 01:23:29 Romantics vs. Cynics 01:27:30 Focusing On What Really Matters 01:38:04 Social Media Less Important Than We Think 01:44:10 On Political Polarization 01:49:43 Improving Bitcoin Culture SUBSCRIBE Website: https://zurl.co/z6c8RSS: https://zurl.co/wHWC Libsyn: https://zurl.co/Bkw2Apple Podcasts: https://zurl.co/WPZg Spotify: https://zurl.co/Y41f Google: https://zurl.co/Wci3 Amazon: https://zurl.co/io24 Fountain: https://zurl.co/c7bl Youtube: https://zurl.co/VT9p FOLLOW Nostr: https://zurl.co/q7qB Bluesky: https://zurl.co/0w35 Twitter: https://zurl.co/k1ay Instagram: https://zurl.co/rYZW Threads: https://zurl.co/KcMx Facebook: https://zurl.co/Zekf LinkedIn: https://zurl.co/SGY2 Send Some Sats: https://geyser.fund/project/theprogressivebitcoiner Subscriber Content via Supercast: https://progressivebitcoiner.supercast.com/ Join The Progressive Bitcoiner Community: https://t.me/progressivebitcoiner Get full access to TPB Weekly Digest at progressivebitcoiner.substack.com/subscribe
