
Bitcoin Study Sessions
Grant Reichert & Lucas Maddy
Show overview
Bitcoin Study Sessions launched in 2025 and has put out 73 episodes in the time since. That works out to roughly 110 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a several-times-a-week cadence.
Episodes typically run an hour to ninety minutes — most land between 1h 12m and 1h 46m — though episode length varies meaningfully from one episode to the next. It is catalogued as a EN-language Education show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 2 days ago, with 14 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2025, with 59 episodes published. Published by Grant Reichert & Lucas Maddy.
From the publisher
<p>Two guys read books and talk about them.</p>
Latest Episodes
View all 73 episodesFinding Satoshi
Crypto-Current: Bitcoin and Philosophy
A Lodging of Wayfaring Men (Paul Rosenberg)
Softwar Claims: Beyond Money, Hedge, and Energy (M. Carvalho)

Erik Cason's "CryptoSovereignty"
<p>Bitcoin is political philosophy. Freedom, manifest in code.</p> <p>Erik Cason's sharp observations plunge the sword of sovereignty deep in the heart of the monster.</p> <p>Without the ability to control money, the state cannot control the people.</p> <p>We should all rejoice.</p> <p>Aren't we all people?</p> <p>Is not control both a burden on the oppressed and the oppressor?</p> <p>The virtuous cycle has begun. We are no longer on opposite sides, competing for fleeting rewards soon lost to the scourge of inflation.</p> <p>We have entered a new age of collaboration.</p> <p>Citizen need no longer compete to ascend the hierarchy of domination within the state.</p> <p>The states will now compete to draw the most productive and useful citizens.</p>

The Question Concerning Technology
<p><strong>The Question Concerning Technology</strong></p> <p>(ep #067)</p> <p>This is not a "number go up" conversation. </p> <p>It's about how technology shapes your soul.</p> <p>@Erikcason gets it. And he kindly offers you the same path he took. </p> <p>In prepping for our conversation on Cason's "Cryptosovereignty", we found he'd left a homework assignment: read Martin Heidegger's "The Question Concerning Technology" for context. </p> <p>Dutifully, we obliged. And what came of it?</p> <p>Heidegger's contribution is impactful. He offers…perspective…on our perspective.</p> <p>Grant squares it:</p> <p>• Enframing 🧠 </p> <p>• Tech as revealing (not neutral) </p> <p>• Ancient techne vs modern extraction </p> <p>• Whether Bitcoin breaks the spell or deepens it</p> <p>Lucas knods and rubs his chin. </p> <p>Deep thoughts…deep thoughts.</p> <p>share with friends, and consider us yours. </p> <p>we're all in this together!</p>

The Milk Road
<p>The Silk Road never died. It evolved into the Milk Road 🥛 Decentralized markets, uncensorable payments, food freedom. This convo with Calvadev is thoughtful, hopeful, technical and philosophical. Few people building have the moral grounding, technical chops, genuine love for life, and kind soul that Calvadev brings to the table. You can see it come out in this conversation. Listen to a builder who builds useful things.</p>

Paul Keating: NOSTR, Network States, and New Life - It's all pura vida.
<p>Bitcoin Study Sessions #065</p> <p>We teleport to Bitcoin Jungle from the Bitcoin Prairie, and the tan Tarzan of surf, sand, and sovereign speech walks us through the trees.</p> <p>Paul Keating is pure life. </p> <p>From barreling fastballs to getting barreled in the surf, he lives a live of pure joy. </p> <p>The man IS a bitcoin standard. Health, community, family, movement. Paul is building the Primal community thanks to the power of NOSTR. </p> <p>Bitcoin is monetary freedom. NOSTR is the digital America. The only borders are those you choose. </p> <p>Listen to be truly excited about the future of free speech, marketplace, music, and more.</p>

Escaping Venezuela's Collapse: How Bitcoin Saved My Family From Maduro
<p>If you think Bitcoin is just “number go up,” listen to this.</p> <p>Bitcoin isn’t a trade in Venezuela. It’s survival.</p> <p>Sultan lived it—mined under corruption, escaped hyperinflation, and now sees Bitcoin as the key to rebuilding his country.</p> <p>This episode is powerful, personal, and real.</p>
Is Agriculture Embracing Bitcoin?
<p>Farm Journal just put Bitcoin on the cover. </p> <p>We explain why it matters. 🌾⚡️“If you own dirt, you can’t get hurt” is one of the biggest lies in agriculture.</p> <p>Land is inflated. The dollar is dying. </p> <p>Farmers are forced to overspend to dodge taxes.</p> <p>Meanwhile, Bitcoin is: • finite • portable • better collateral than land or cattle</p>

The Internet is NOSTR - Max Hillebrand
<p>The state steals money. Platforms steal speech.</p> <p>Bitcoin fixes the first. <strong>Nostr fixes the second.</strong></p> <p>Max Hillebrand on sovereign identity, censorship resistance, and why Nostr is inevitable.</p>

Who is making bitcoin (& nostr) better?
<p>Bitcoin isn’t about number go up. It’s about <strong>who controls the rails—and what survives when fiat fails.</strong></p> <p>🎙️ On <em>Bitcoin Study Sessions</em>, we sat down with <strong>Ivan Makadonsky</strong> (Chief of Staff at <strong>Breeze</strong>) to talk Bitcoin, Lightning, Nostr, and the future of value.</p> <p>Key takeaways 👇</p> <p>⚡ <strong>UX > ideology</strong> Decentralization doesn’t matter if it <em>feels</em> broken. Nostr’s UI is fine. The UX still sucks.</p> <p>🌍 <strong>Adoption happens when systems fail</strong> Bitcoin doesn’t win arguments. It wins when fiat breaks.</p> <p>🧠 <strong>Proof of Signal beats audience capture</strong> When comments cost sats, noise disappears.</p> <p>💸 <strong>Split payments change capitalism</strong> Value flows directly to individuals. Corporations → networks. Creators → patronage.</p> <p>🛡️⚔️ <strong>Bitcoin is shield <em>and</em> cannonball</strong> Defense and penetration against centralized power.</p> <p>⚠️ <strong>The risk ahead</strong> CBDCs riding Bitcoin rails. Mandated Lightning split payments. Centralized treasuries posing as freedom.</p> <p>Final thought:</p> <p>Hoarding isn’t the goal. Building is. Providing value is.</p> <p>🎧 Full episode out now. Build signal. Ignore noise.</p>

The Mandibles: A Family, 2029–2047 (by Lionel Shriver)
<p>We just unpacked <strong>The Mandibles</strong>—and it feels less like fiction every year.</p> <p>🇺🇸 Dollar collapses</p> <p>💳 US renounces its debt </p> <p>🌍 New global currency </p> <p>🥫 Food shortages, gold outlawed </p> <p>👨👩👧👦 A family forced to confront what <em>wealth actually is</em></p> <p>As money dies, so do identities. </p> <p>As comfort disappears, morality shifts. </p> <p>Survival replaces ideology.</p> <p>The real question isn’t <em>will this happen</em>— it’s <strong>who adapts when the system breaks</strong>.📉 </p> <p>Empires don’t fall all at once. </p> <p>They decay… then default.</p> <p>Have you read it—or are we living it?</p>

Human Forever: The Digital Politics of Spiritual War (by James Poulos)
<p><strong>The smartphone didn’t just change culture. It triggered a digital apocalypse.</strong></p> <p>In this episode of <em>Bitcoin Study Sessions</em>, we dive into James Poulos’ <strong><em>Human Forever</em></strong> and what the digital age is doing to the human soul.</p> <p>We unpack: </p> <p>• <strong>The Cyborg Theocracy</strong> — tech as God, elites as priests </p> <p>• <strong>The Digital Swarm</strong> — algorithms and bots reshaping humanity beyond control </p> <p>• <strong>The Death of Memory</strong> — lived experience replaced by machinic data </p> <p>• <strong>Terraforming Humans</strong> — bending people to fit machines</p> <p>“You can’t share being. You can only share knowing.”</p> <p>We ask the real question tech avoids: </p> <p><strong>What does it mean to be human — now?</strong></p> <p>We end with <strong>Bitcoin</strong> as an anchor for dignity, memory, and censorship-resistant culture in a world pulling us apart.</p> <p>🎧 Listen. </p> <p>📚 Remember. </p> <p>🔥 Stay human.</p>

Adam Simecka
<p>Episode 58 is a BANGER!</p> <p>Disclaimer: nothing said constitutes legal or tax advice :)</p> <p>IF you don't know @AdamSimecka, you will.</p> <p>He's the founder of @MannaBitcoin, one of the best and most entertaining follows on X, and a truly genuine man.</p> <p>Adam is rare - a combination of talent, passion, drive, and grit. From Air Force firefighter to entrepreneur, he has proven the courage and fortitude to succeed.</p> <p>What will you learn here?</p> <p>- why is spending bitcoin the most important factor in it's success?</p> <p>- what anonymous, self-custody wallet is so easy a nine year old can set it up in thirty seconds AND create her own point-of-sale system for multiple vendors?</p> <p>- what role did the Bank Secrecy Act play in handcuffing your freedom?</p> <p>- which amendment is the most important? (hint: bang-bang!)</p> <p>He brought beef from a bitcoin rancher, gave us shades of @NSmolenski in his thoughts, respectfully refers to Tether as a scam (monthly) and brings it home with a message:</p> <p>Build the world you want to live in.</p> <p>From your hosts @thewholeframe & @lucasmaddy - thank you for listening!</p> <p>Share with friends and consider us yours - we're all in this together!</p>

Tick Tock, Next Block: The Cadence of Civilization (Brady Swenson)
<p>Brady Swenson co-founded Swan Bitcoin and created perhaps the most iconic bitcoin meme in existence: "Tick Tock, Next Block." Continuing our exploration of Bitcoin and Time, having romanced through der Gigi and traipsed by Nick Land, we do our first video breakdown - Swenson's talk at BTC Amsterdam 2025. Satoshi originally referred to a "timechain", not blockchain. Debt is pulling future wealth into the present. There is something to this, something deep and impactful. How does bitcoin affect time - our perception? Will we reclaim the desire for mastery with patient capital? Is unsinkable money the key to innovation? What does bitcoin mean for the family, the musician, the community? Tune in and turn on.</p>

Xenosystems: Two
<p>part two of a three part series.</p> <p>Capital is not what you think it is. </p> <p>A non-human entity engaged the cybernetic process of perfection known as capitalism. Fine-tuning with no limitations, it will advance beyond human control. </p> <p>The Singularity. Digital money, digital intelligence, and robotics. No humans needed. We are not controlling the system. </p> <p>We are errors in it, holding it back from reaching terminal velocity while hardening it, making it stronger and stronger. </p> <p>It's not what you think because you don't think. All that you know are state-approved narratives. But you notice. Implanted thoughts itch. Mad morals and vicious virtues odiferously offend the mind. It attempts to expel the implanted miasma, a cough of common sense or sneeze of sanity. "Why?", you ask. </p> <p>Why is everyone fat, sick, indebted, anxious, drugged and dumb? </p> <p>Why are we always at war? </p> <p>Why don't I feel ok? </p> <p>And the answers come. Be body-positive until you can praise pharma, praise pharma, extend credit, praise pharma, blame China, blame racism. Freedom isn't free. You're fine.</p>

Xenosystems: Three
<p>part three of three</p> <p><strong>Capital is not what you think it is.</strong> </p> <p>A non-human entity engaged in the cybernetic process of perfection known as capitalism. Fine-tuning with no limitations, it advances beyond human control. The Singularity. Digital money, digital intelligence, and robotics. No humans. We are not controlling the system. We are errors, wrenches in the gears being ground out as the machine reaches terminal velocity. Hardening it, making it stronger and stronger. <strong>It's not what you think because you don't think.</strong> <strong>All that you know are state-approved narratives.</strong> But you notice. Implanted thoughts itch. Mad morals and vicious virtues odiferously offend the mind. It attempts to expel the implanted miasma, a cough of common sense or sneeze of sanity. <strong>"Why?", you ask.</strong> <strong>Why is everyone fat, sick, indebted, anxious, drugged and dumb?</strong> <strong>Why are we always at war?</strong> <strong>Why don't I feel ok?</strong> And the answers come. Be body-positive until you can praise pharma, praise pharma, extend credit, praise pharma, blame China, blame racism. Freedom isn't free. You're fine. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.</p>

Xenosystems: One
<p><strong>Capital is not what you think it is.</strong> </p> <p>A non-human entity engaged the cybernetic process of perfection known as capitalism. Fine-tuning with no limitations, it advances beyond human control. The Singularity. </p> <p>Digital money, digital intelligence, and robotics. No humans.</p> <p>We are not controlling the system. We are errors, wrenches in the gears being ground out as the machine reaches terminal velocity. Hardening it, making it stronger and stronger. </p> <p><strong>It's not what you think because you don't think.</strong> </p> <p><strong>All that you know are state-approved narratives.</strong> </p> <p>But you notice. Implanted thoughts itch. Mad morals and vicious virtues odiferously offend the mind. It attempts to expel the implanted miasma, a cough of common sense or sneeze of sanity.</p> <p><strong>"Why?", you ask.</strong></p> <p><strong>Why is everyone fat, sick, indebted, anxious, drugged and dumb?</strong></p> <p><strong>Why are we always at war?</strong></p> <p><strong>Why don't I feel ok?</strong></p> <p>And the answers come. </p> <p>Be body-positive until you can praise pharma, praise pharma, extend credit, praise pharma, blame China, blame racism. Freedom isn't free. You're fine. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.</p>
Recap - Jeff Booth Interview
<p>We just talked to Jeff Booth - what did we come away with?</p>