Month: April 2020

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CoinDesk Podcast Network - LTB!: Lightning Network Messaging, Political Expediency and What Crisis Has Revealed

On today's show we've got a pair of interviews for you. First we speak with John Cantrell, the author of Juggernaut, a new messaging layer 3 application being built on top of layer 2 lightning network, which is itself built on top of layer one bitcoin. It's a lot of layers, but as a technological concept currently in beta it's a fascinating project, and we talk about it. (Juggernaut on Github)

After the break we're joined again by Alex Gladstein of HRF.org for a discussion on political expediency in the age of pandemic and what crisis has revealed about various governments, and different types of governments around the world. Alex is one of my favorite returning guests, with his global human rights focused work taking him to some of the most interesting and most oppressed places around the world

"What's interesting is that citizen journalists I know in Taiwan have pressed the government on this and they've gone to parliament and it's all on record, and they've said 'Have these (...) digital contact tracing or cell phone surveillance things been useful?' And the governments said "Only in one case.... Only in one case was this sort of mass surveillance approach been useful', so they've actually been honest with the people... But at the end of the day it does teach us that even the most progressive governments are going to be lured by the sirens call of using surveillance to tackle problems." - Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer HRF.org

This episode of Let's Talk Bitcoin is sponsored by eToro.com and features content from John Cantrell, Alex Gladstein and Adam B. Levine. Todays show features music by Jared Rubens and Gurty Beats with editing by Jonas. Album Art original photo by Goh Rhy Yan on Unsplash

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Consider This from NPR - Q & A: Ethical Dilemmas And Disinfectants

A scientist and a philosopher answer listener questions on 'The National Conversation with All Things Considered,' NPR's nightly radio show about the coronavirus crisis. Excerpted here:

- Aerobiologist Joshua Santarpia discusses disinfectants.
- Professor David Chan talks through the day-to-day ethical dilemmas during the pandemic.

If you have a question, you can share it at npr.org/nationalconversation, or tweet with the hashtag, #NPRConversation.

We'll return with a regular episode of Coronavirus Daily on Monday.

This episode was recorded and published as part of this podcast's former 'Coronavirus Daily' format.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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More or Less: Behind the Stats - Comparing countries’ coronavirus performance

Many articles in the media compare countries with one another - who?s faring better or worse in the fight against coronavirus? But is this helpful - or, in fact, fair?

Tim Harford and Ruth Alexander discuss the limitations that we come across when we try to compare the numbers of Covid-19 cases and deaths in different countries; population size, density, rates of testing and how connected the country is all play a role.

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Byzantium And The Crusades - Manzikert 1071 Episode 3 The Seljuk Turks

This podcast series presents a new angle on the Crusades based on the book called The Byzantine World War by Nick Holmes. It explains that Byzantium was the original cause of the First Crusade, following its devastating defeat at the Battle of Manzikert. Byzantium also continued to play a critical role throughout the Crusades, up until the Fourth Crusade sacked Constantinople in 1204. But what really happened at Manzikert? In a mini-series of podcasts devoted to this battle, we try to unravel the truth about what really happened. This episode looks at the Seljuk Turks and their extraordinary rise to becoming a medieval superpower.

Please take a look at my website nickholmesauthor.com where you can download a free copy of The Byzantine World War, my book that describes the origins of the First Crusade.

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CoinDesk Podcast Network - RESEARCH: Bitcoin Halving 2020 the ‘Arms Race’ for Miner Efficiency Intensifies

In this episode of the Bitcoin Halving 2020: Miner Perspective podcast series, we take a trip down memory lane back to the early days of bitcoin when miners first began competing for network rewards. 

“I think the introduction of [Application Specific Integrated Circuits] was a watershed moment in terms of changing the way bitcoin was mined and secured,” said Galen Moore, senior research analyst for CoinDesk. “If you know that a more powerful machine will get you more reward, make your business more profitable, you’ll be looking for the next more powerful machine all the time knowing that your competitors are doing the same.”

Dave Carlson who participated as a bitcoin miner in the arms race for more advanced cryptocurrency mining machinery back in 2012 and 2013 admitted that at the time “the Chinese engineering firms and Chinese producers of this technology far surpassed our ability and speed to get something to market.” 

However, there was a turning point in 2015 and 2016 when mining operations in China started to subside and coalesce in other regions parts of the world such as North America. More efficient power production, Carlson said, was the primary motivation for this shift. 

In lead-up to the next bitcoin halving event in May, some bitcoin miners are looking at leveraging what Moore and Carlson describe as “surplus energy” to make operations even more cost-effective. Surplus energy is the run-off or waste fuel released by natural gas and hydro power plants that can be repurposed to mine bitcoin for zero cost. This could be a major technological breakthrough for mining if proven to work at a large scale, Carlson said. 

To download or stream this episode, you can go to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica or RSS. For early access to future episodes, be sure to click subscribe on these channels. 

For more information about the bitcoin halving, download the free CoinDesk Research  explainer report which features over 30 different charts and additional commentary from mining industry experts.

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