#231 – Alex Gladstein: Bitcoin, Authoritarianism, and Human Rights

Alex Gladstein is the Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation and the Oslo Freedom Forum. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
- Stripe: https://stripe.com
- Paperspace: https://gradient.run/lex to get $15 credit
- Codecademy: https://codecademy.com and use code LEX to get 15% off
- NI: https://www.ni.com/perspectives
- Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com/lex and use code LEX to get special savings

EPISODE LINKS:
Alex's Twitter: https://twitter.com/gladstein
The Little Bitcoin Book: https://littlebitcoinbook.com/
Human Rights Foundation: https://hrf.org/

PODCAST INFO:
Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/
YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman
YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips

SUPPORT & CONNECT:
- Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast
- Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman
- Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman

OUTLINE:
Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) - Introduction
(08:36) - Universal human rights
(22:35) - Authoritarianism
(32:46) - AIs impact on civil liberties
(44:09) - Edward Snowden and government surveillance
(47:48) - Money
(52:01) - Bitcoin
(1:07:48) - Government response to Bitcoin
(1:18:19) - The blockchain
(1:23:42) - Can Bitcoin fail?
(1:26:33) - Bitcoin scams
(1:30:17) - Patriotism
(1:32:41) - Human Rights Foundation
(1:37:15) - Conflict with China
(1:40:05) - Corporate accountability
(1:55:27) - Garry Kasparov and the HRF
(2:00:36) - Journalism, conversations, and truth
(2:07:50) - Alex's book recommendations
(2:15:56) - Attacks on Bitcoin
(2:17:35) - The future of humanity
(2:21:57) - Advice for young people
(2:33:13) - Meaning of life

Alex Gladstein is the Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation and the Oslo Freedom Forum. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:

– Stripe: https://stripe.com

– Paperspace: https://gradient.run/lex to get $15 credit

– Codecademy: https://codecademy.com and use code LEX to get 15% off

– NI: https://www.ni.com/perspectives

– Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com/lex and use code LEX to get special savings

EPISODE LINKS:

Alex’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/gladstein

The Little Bitcoin Book: https://littlebitcoinbook.com/

Human Rights Foundation: https://hrf.org/

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8

RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/

YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman

YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips

SUPPORT & CONNECT:

– Check out the sponsors above, it’s the best way to support this podcast

– Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman

– Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman

– Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman

– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman

– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman

– Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman

OUTLINE:

Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.

(00:00) – Introduction

(08:36) – Universal human rights

(22:35) – Authoritarianism

(32:46) – AIs impact on civil liberties

(44:09) – Edward Snowden and government surveillance

(47:48) – Money

(52:01) – Bitcoin

(1:07:48) – Government response to Bitcoin

(1:18:19) – The blockchain

(1:23:42) – Can Bitcoin fail?

(1:26:33) – Bitcoin scams

(1:30:17) – Patriotism

(1:32:41) – Human Rights Foundation

(1:37:15) – Conflict with China

(1:40:05) – Corporate accountability

(1:55:27) – Garry Kasparov and the HRF

(2:00:36) – Journalism, conversations, and truth

(2:07:50) – Alex’s book recommendations

(2:15:56) – Attacks on Bitcoin

(2:17:35) – The future of humanity

(2:21:57) – Advice for young people

(2:33:13) – Meaning of life