ioRadio - The Technology and Ethics Podcast

Is Texas a crypto welfare state? We often hear that the crypto mining industry is good for the economy and the energy business. In IO Radio #5 we reacted to a propaganda video claiming that Riot and other crypto miners were good for Texas, but what do local citizens think? Adam and I talk to Jackie Sawicky - founder of the Texas Coalition Against Crypto Mining - her organization has boots on the ground in Navarro county and is trying to educate people about the lies and misinformation being spread about mining facilities being built and operated in Texas. What's at stake when a mining operation moves next door? According to Jackie it's much more than you think. Communities are being exploited and people's lives are are put at risk while municipalities give away electricity to private corporations who sell it back to the public at a huge profit. Listen to the shocking story of what's happened to the small rural Texas communities who've had bitcoin mining come to their front door, and ask yourself if government should be in the business of subsidizing the crypto industry. Full video version here: https://youtu.be/aggYYjqjPEs

This is a leading question often asked of crypto skeptics. The implication is that our dislike of the technology is based on emotion rather than on facts and evidence. In IO Radio #7 American Scream and I discuss the motivations behind our crypto criticism. Let us know what your reasons are for being skeptical of the future of finance. Did you or someone you know get scammed? Or are you crypto critical for more philosophical reasons? Full video version here: https://youtu.be/qkVjobcJjik

One of the largest Bitcoin conferences has started in Miami this weekend and we're peeking into the livestream presentations and commenting "” adding a bit of FACT CHECKING and logic, reason and evidence into the constant stream of marketing propaganda about crypto and bitcoin. Tune in to IO Radio #8 and see just how insulated this bubble really is. Coolly observe or recoil with horror as you witness how both presenters and attendees are detached from reality, with no semblance of actual understanding of money, finance or how government works. The liberal sprinkling of right wing dog whistles are an added bonus. Full video version here: https://youtu.be/WpBYW0jXRTo

Adam and I react to the "Biggest Bitcoin Ballers" panel discussion at Bitcoin 2023 in Miami. Watch Saint Adam Back, joined by fellow cultists Jack Mallers and Matt Odell, preach the gospel of FOMO and evangelize the sacred tenant of HODL. How much fiat are you donating to the church of crypto? It might be time to sell your worldly possessions and become a Bitcoin monk, while some might pray, the truly devout DCA. In IO Radio #9 we provide colour commentary while three of the world's biggest con-artists try to take every last dollar you have and stuff it into their already overflowing pockets. The only thing on stage scarcer that the panellist's sense of empathy is a real world use case. To finish, we share a sneak peak of highlights from day 1 of Bitcoin 2023. Enjoy! Full video version here: https://youtu.be/l7T6Lp_dSXs

In this episode, we interview one of the cryptocurrency industry's earliest and most staunch critic, Berkely Computer Science Professor Doctor Nicholas Weaver, who has authored various articles and presentations on how and why Bitcoin and crypto are unsuitable for any of the applications they claim, if not downright, in his own words, "criminally negligent" technology. Full video version here: https://youtu.be/FU4PSsMLWzw