Exploring Prosperity- Challenging Pessimism in the US

For generations, college was a reliable path to a better career. But as tuition costs rise, job requirements change, and AI reshapes the workplace, that assumption is becoming harder to defend.Jon Carson, founder and CEO of Career Guidance Network (formerly College Guidance Network), returns to Exploring Prosperity to discuss a fundamental problem: students are making some of the most consequential decisions of their lives with remarkably little personalized guidance.The average high school counselor may have less than an hour of individual time per student each year. Jon believes AI can change that equation.His company has developed...

AI is already prompting dramatic predictions about jobs and big policy proposals in response. But we still know remarkably little about what AI is actually doing to the economy. The reason isn’t that the data has been lost or hidden. It’s that much of the data we would need isn’t being collected.Dr Erica Groshen, former Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, joins me to explain why. She recently helped lead a group, under the auspices of the American Statistical Association, that produced 30 recommendations for modernizing the U.S. federal statistical system. The U.S. has no...

Can AI solve mathematics without understanding it? And if machines become better than humans at finding answers, who will come up with the questions?I traveled to Cornell University to sit down with mathematician and bestselling author Steven Strogatz to explore what AI's remarkable advances mean for mathematics, human creativity, and our future. Our conversation comes ahead of the publication of his new book, Big Math, coauthored with Alex Townsend, which explores how mathematics underpins the technologies transforming our world and can be pre-ordered here: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Math-Hidde....

Steve explains why solving difficult mathematical problems...

Last week, Evan Hubinger, who leads alignment science at Anthropic, said he believes artificial intelligence has a greater than 10 percent chance of killing every human within the next decade. His position makes the warning impossible to ignore: he works on the safety of Anthropic’s AI systems. His chief concern is that a future, more capable AI might escape human control.

Concern about that possibility has also reached Congress. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Greg Casar have announced a proposal to ban artificial superintelligence and pause advanced AI development while safety rules are established. A proposal of th...

Bitcoin treasury companies were easy to launch when Bitcoin was rising. Then the market turned and the industry had to learn.Tim Kotzman has had a front-row seat to that process. As host of the Bitcoin Treasuries Podcast and co-founder of Bitcoin Treasuries Media, he has interviewed many of the executives, investors and analysts building this emerging industry.In this conversation, we explore what the recent bear market taught Bitcoin treasury companies, why Tim believes digital credit may be the industry's most important innovation, what separates the companies that adapted from those that struggled, and what could happen if...

Artificial intelligence is already changing the practice of law. The question is no longer whether lawyers will use AI, but what happens to the legal profession when they do.Stephen Lofchie, one of the country’s leading financial-services regulatory lawyers, and Ty Greenberg of Caffrey.ai join me to explore how AI is changing legal research, the economics of legal services, and where lawyers will continue to create value as intelligence becomes cheaper and more abundant.We discuss why law is particularly susceptible to AI, whether greater productivity will reduce the number of lawyers or expand demand for legal se...

Can free will exist in a deterministic universe? What does that imply for artificial intelligence, capitalism, scientific progress, and the future of prosperity?In this conversation, I sit down with Samir Varma to explore the common thread running through his work in economics, physics, mathematics, and computer science.We discuss his theory of free will, why AI may be fundamentally unpredictable, how computational irreducibility changes the AI debate, and why principles may matter more than constraints.--------------------------Interested in Bitcoin treasury companies? Many of the executives and investors shaping this industry will be at the Bitcoin Treasuries Conference in New...

Artificial intelligence is advancing faster than almost any technology in history, yet surprisingly few people understand what large language models are actually doing behind the scenes.In this masterclass, Albert Berdellans, Global Head of AI at Inveniam, explains AI in plain English. We explore why ChatGPT doesn't actually "think," how large language models generate answers, why hallucinations occur, what context rot means, and where AI is likely to transform knowledge work over the next decade.Whether you're an investor, business leader, student, or simply curious about artificial intelligence, this conversation provides a practical framework for separating hype from reality...

Education was never designed to fail students. It was designed to solve one of humanity’s greatest challenges: how to provide education at scale to millions of people.The factory model of education succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations. Standardization, age grouping, and shared curricula helped create the most educated societies in history.But scale came with tradeoffs. Some students sit in classrooms moving too quickly to keep up. Others sit in classrooms moving too slowly to stay engaged. Too many become passengers in their own education.Artificial intelligence may offer something previous generations could only imagine: personalization at scale.In t...

Today's guest is Lyn Alden, one of the world's leading macroeconomic analysts and the author of Broken Money and The Stillguard Incident.We explore one of the defining questions of the modern era: humanity has more information, more connectivity, and more problem-solving capability than ever before, yet trust in institutions is falling and agreement on basic facts appears increasingly difficult.Topics include:• AI generated content and the future of truth• Social media algorithms and attention economics• Bitcoin, cryptographic verification, and digital authenticity• The historical relationship between technology and progress• Energy, hydrocarbons, and human prosperity• Fiscal dominance, inflation, and rising asset prices...

What does it take for one of the world's largest financial institutions to adopt an entirely new technology?Morgan Stanley's Head of Digital Asset Strategy, Amy Oldenburg, joins Exploring Prosperity to discuss the hidden challenge of bringing crypto, tokenization, stablecoins, and blockchain technology into a global financial institution.Most conversations about digital assets focus on prices, regulation, or the latest market cycle. This conversation focuses on something deeper: how innovation actually moves from the outside into the institutions that society already depends upon.Drawing on more than two decades at Morgan Stanley, Amy explains why large organizations often struggle...

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming investing, wealth management, and the global economy — but what happens to human judgment when information becomes instantly accessible?Ram Ahluwalia hosted me as a guest this week and in this conversation we discuss:• how AI compresses the time between information and decision-making• why human judgment still matters in investing• the collapse of traditional institutional advantages• how technology historically reshapes financial markets• why AI may expand entrepreneurship instead of eliminating work• the future of portfolio management, investing, and financial intelligenceThe discussion explores the evolution from the fax-machine era of Wall Street to AI-native investing tools, the limits of...

Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly, but how realistic are the fears about rogue AI, AGI, and machines turning against humanity?In this conversation, a clip from my previous interview with Albert Berdellans, Global Head of AI at Invenium, he discusses some of the biggest misconceptions surrounding artificial intelligence, autonomous agents, AI safety, and the future of large language models.We discuss:• whether AI can actually “want” things• the fear of rogue AI and the “Terminator” scenario• recent stories involving Meta and Alibaba AI systems• why current AI models simulate reasoning rather than think• AI-enabled weapons and the future of warfare• why fear...

Jeff Park joined usfor a deep discussion on Bitcoin, AI, Federal Reserve policy, financial markets, volatility, and the future of the global monetary system.Jeff explains why “money is always political,” why markets are beginning to behave more like wartime markets than peacetime markets, and why the relationship between the Treasury and Federal Reserve may become one of the defining macro stories of the next decade.We discuss:- Bitcoin as political money- AI and the rising cost of capital- why markets no longer trade purely on fundamentals- Fed independence vs Fed interdependence- the future of Bitcoin treasury companies- Micr...

Artificial intelligence is triggering widespread fear about the future of work, white-collar employment, and the long-term value of highly educated workers. After Citadel founder Ken Griffin described feeling “depressed” after seeing the latest advances in AI, many people interpreted it as another warning about technological disruption and economic displacement.But what if we are asking the wrong question?If AI allows researchers, engineers, analysts, and entrepreneurs to solve problems in days that previously took months, does that necessarily make human beings less economically valuable?Or does it simply lower the cost of solving problems?Historically, when technology lowers the cost...

Why are stocks hitting new highs during war and geopolitical instability? Why are Bitcoin miners suddenly becoming AI infrastructure companies? And could sovereign nations eventually adopt Bitcoin as a reserve asset?In this conversation, Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Asset Research at VanEck and portfolio manager of the Vaneck Onchain Economy ETF (ticker: NODE), explains how AI, de-globalization, energy infrastructure, Bitcoin mining, stablecoins, and sovereign debt are converging into a massive new investment cycle.We discuss:• Why markets continue rising despite war and political instability• The US investment cycle• The AI-driven electricity and infrastructure boom• Why Bitcoin miners may become m...

AI is changing cybersecurity—and it may be increasing the scale of digital threats beyond what banks, platforms, and institutions can manage.

In this video, I break down how AI-driven attacks could expose vulnerabilities in financial systems, online accounts, and digital identity infrastructure. Based on real-world fraud experiences and insights from Foundation CEO Zach Herbert, we explore why traditional security models may be insufficient and what individuals can do to protect themselves.

Key topics:

* AI cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities

* Digital identity theft and account breaches

* Bank fraud, SIM swaps, an...

Credit stress is beginning to reappear in parts of the economy—especially in private credit markets where institutional capital has surged in recent years.In this episode of Exploring Prosperity, I sit down with veteran distressed real estate investor Bill Landis, co-Founder and Managing Partner of Raith Capital Partners, to break down what actually happens when markets stop clearing. We explore how distressed capital restores liquidity, how assets transition into stronger hands, and why this process becomes essential when traditional lenders pull back.If the current strains in credit markets continue to build, understanding this overlooked part of the fi...

Artificial intelligence is changing finance, healthcare, education, and the future of work — but what is it actually doing under the hood?In this conversation, I sit down with Albert Berdellans, Global Head of AI at Invenium, for one of the clearest explanations I’ve heard of how large language models actually work, what AI can and cannot do, where the risks are overstated, and how it may reshape society in the years ahead.We discuss:• how large language models generate answers• why AI does not actually “think”• hallucinations, context rot, and why AI gets things wrong• whether AI will replace jobs• ho...

Are we actually progressing—or quietly getting weaker?In this conversation, I sit down with Aleks Svetski, author of The Bushido of Bitcoin, to explore a deeper question that sits beneath economics, technology, and politics: what actually drives long-term human progress?Many believe that fixing money—through systems like Bitcoin—can restore discipline, align incentives, and solve structural problems in society. But as Aleks argues, that’s only part of the story. Human nature, culture, and values ultimately determine whether societies rise or fall.We discuss:- Why hard money is necessary—but not sufficient- The role of character, virtue, an...

In this episode of Exploring Prosperity, I sit down with investor Ram Ahluwalia to examine one of the most important — and least discussed — risks in the AI buildout.OpenAI reportedly has nearly $1 trillion in committed obligations tied to data center capacity and compute infrastructure. With revenue far below that scale, the key question is simple:Can the math foot?This conversation is not anti-AI. AI is clearly transformational. But the expansion of AI depends on capital markets. If funding conditions tighten, what happens to the trillion-dollar commitments already in place?We discuss:• OpenAI’s revenue performance obligations and data center e...

More than 27 million financial reports are filed each year under the Bank Secrecy Act, flagging ordinary banking activity as “suspicious.” Yet, as the data shows, only 370 investigations were tipped off by these reports. In this conversation, Nick Anthony of the Cato Institute explains how U.S. financial surveillance expanded quietly over decades, why routine cash transactions now generate government reports, and how banks have effectively been deputized as law enforcement investigators. We discuss the real-world consequences for individuals, including account closures, the "sense of confusion" that comes with debanking, and the steady erosion of financial privacy.The interview also exam...

Families navigate the college decision process rarely—but the consequences can last decades.In this episode of Exploring Prosperity, I speak with Jon Carson, CEO of College Guidance Network, about why the traditional college guidance system no longer works—and why rising costs, declining ROI, and information asymmetry have made the decision riskier than ever.We break down the real math behind high school counseling, why most students receive only about one hour of guidance per year, and how parents are left without the tools they need to make informed decisions. We also explore how colleges market to families, how...

In this episode of Exploring Prosperity, I’m joined by Zach Pandl, Head of Research at Grayscale, to explore why 2026 may mark the true beginning of crypto’s institutional era.We discuss how regulatory clarity — including the impact of Grayscale’s successful challenge of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — shifted crypto from the margins into mainstream finance, and why Bitcoin ETFs were only the first step.Zach explains:

* What the “institutional reset” really means for crypto markets

* Why privacy is non-negotiable as institutions move on-chain

* How AI increases the need for cryptographic...

I sat down with Jordi Visser to discuss a historically new phenomenon: economic growth without job growth—and what artificial intelligence means for the future of work, capital, and capitalism itself.We discuss I why economic growth is increasingly happening without job creation and what artificial intelligence means for the future of work and capitalism. This conversation explores how AI is breaking the historic relationship between capital and labor, why this moment feels different from past technological shifts, and why the transition path may be more destabilizing than the destination itself.Read my Substack on this essay here: https://ro...

Inflation isn’t 3%. In this episode of Exploring Prosperity, I’m joined by Stefan Rust, CEO of Truflation, to explain what real-time inflation data is actually showing — and why the official CPI number may be missing what’s really happening to prices.See my essay about this interview here: We discuss how Truflation measures inflation daily across thousands of goods and services, how its methodology differs from CPI and PCE, and what the data reveals about tariffs, energy prices, food costs, and the U.S. dollar. We also explore whether inflation can be anticipated at all, how global inflation dynamics...

In this episode, I sit down with investment manager and author Lawrence Lepard (The Big Print) to examine how America’s monetary system actually works—and why its failures increasingly feel moral, not just economic.

Larry breaks down the Cantillon Effect: how Federal Reserve money creation and artificially low interest rates disproportionately benefit Wall Street, large financial institutions, and asset owners, while eroding the purchasing power of wages and savings on Main Street. What emerges is a system that rewards proximity to newly created money rather than productive contribution.

We discuss what Larry calls the “Gradua...

Ethel Walker head of school Meera Viswanathan joins Exploring Prosperity to explain what’s really happening to today’s students — from the rise of social media, smartphones, and anxiety to the decline of confidence, resilience, and curiosity.Drawing on insights aligned with Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation, and current research on teen mental health, Meera breaks down:- How phones and social media are reshaping childhood- The real drivers behind rising anxiety and self-doubt- Why schools are struggling — and how to fix them- What great teachers and parents can do right now- Why education is still a fundamentally hopeful institut...

Artificial intelligence is transforming the global economy — but will America stay ahead? In this audio edition of Exploring Prosperity, host Robert Dewey examines whether U.S. innovation can outpace regulation, comparing today’s AI revolution to past eras when new technologies reshaped productivity, jobs, and global power.

From Silicon Valley’s open-source momentum to Europe’s regulatory headwinds and China’s centralized push, this essay explores the balance between freedom, experimentation, and control — and why the future of prosperity may depend on which model wins.

Topics include:

* The real drivers of America’s AI edge

...

Gold just surged 30% in only 56 days — its fastest rise since 1979.In this episode of Exploring Prosperity, Bob Dewey revisits a roundtable with Lyn Alden, Bob Murphy, and Troy Cross to ask: what does this record-setting move reveal about the weakness of fiat money and the enduring power of hard money?

The discussion explores:

* How fiat money distorts price signals and encourages debt-driven growth

* Why gold and Bitcoin represent sound-money alternatives in a financialized economy

* How hard money could reshape investment, innovation, and wealth distribution

* What might have happened if th...

Every generation inherits miracles that once seemed impossible. Childbirth used to be among humanity’s greatest risks—today, it’s routine.

In this episode of Exploring Prosperity, I look at the extraordinary fall in infant mortality and what it reveals about the quiet triumph of modern medicine.

From 1800—when nearly half of all children died before age five—to today’s rates in the US at 0.5%, this is one of history’s clearest measures of human progress.

Yet our healthcare system, despite these miracles, has become a source of frustration and pessimism. Why? Costs, complex...

In this episode of Exploring Prosperity, I sit down with Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise, and Ryan Rasmussen, Head of Research, to unpack their groundbreaking report on Bitcoin’s long-term capital market assumptions. We cover why Bitcoin is increasingly viewed as a hedge against U.S. debt and deficits, how institutional investors are approaching allocation, the rise of corporate treasuries adopting Bitcoin, and the risks every investor should understand.

Key topics we discuss include:

* Why Bitcoin is gaining traction with pensions, endowments, and other institutions

* The surge in corporate Bitcoin buyers and the im...

For nearly 80 years, the world’s leading powers have avoided direct war — a stretch historians call the “Long Peace.” This video explores why peace has lasted so long, what forces have kept it in place, and how fragile it may be in the years ahead.

Drawing on my essays from my research, (https://robertdewey3.substack.com/p/g...) we look first at the historical rarity of 80 years without great power conflict. Then we examine the global forces that shaped this era: U.S. hegemony after World War II, nuclear deterrence and the Cuban Missile Crisis, economic interdependence between...

What if the key to prosperity isn't natural resources, but human labor itself? In this podcast, we explore economist Saifedean Ammous's compelling argument from "The Bitcoin Standard" that human ingenuity, not scarce resources, drives economic growth—but only when amplified by two critical factors: abundant energy and sound money. Through historical data and charts spanning from the gold standard era to today's fiat currency system, we examine why living standards exploded after 1750 and why they may be at risk today. The evidence reveals a striking pattern: the 1971 end of the gold standard coincides precisely with the divergence of productivity an...

In this revealing interview from Digital Future Fest, David Nage, Portfolio Manager at ARCA, breaks down the dramatic regulatory shift that's transforming crypto from "enemy of the state" to innovation enabler. Nage shares with co-host Eleanor Terrett (co-founder of Crypto in America) and me his firsthand experience meeting with SEC officials who are now actively seeking industry input, drawing compelling parallels to the 1990s encryption export battles that ultimately unleashed the secure internet. He explains why this regulatory clarity is unlocking real-world blockchain applications and creating genuine investment opportunities beyond speculative trading.

Nage dives deep into the...

In this episode, we explore whether modern society is actually solving more injustices than it creates—despite widespread pessimism about the future. Drawing from history, we look at how injustice was once the default condition of human life, and how today’s systems—though imperfect—offer unprecedented tools for redress and reform. From coerced labor and systemic brutality to algorithmic bias and executive overreach, we examine how far we’ve come, where risks remain, and why the arc of justice still bends forward.

🚀 The Enterprise Blockchain Revolution is Here In this exclusive interview from Digital FutureFest, I sit down with John Wu, President of Ava Labs, to discuss the massive shift happening in blockchain adoption. We're witnessing traditional enterprises move from proof-of-concept experiments to full production deployments.

🔥 Key Topics Covered: Why 2025 is blockchain's enterprise inflection point How companies like BlackRock and Apollo are tokenizing real assets Why enterprises need custom blockchain environments Maple Story's 200M users moving to blockchain gaming The regulatory changes driving institutional adoption Washington's dramatic shift on crypto policy

💡 Major Insights: Apollo reduced 3,000 operational steps to one cl...

One of the biggest reasons Americans feel pessimistic about the next generation's prospects is our mounting national debt and structural deficits—and the very real threat they pose to the dollar's purchasing power through inflation. Understanding and accurately measuring inflation isn't just an academic exercise; it's fundamental to preserving American prosperity and ensuring we can address these fiscal challenges before they become existential ones.

Which makes yesterday's Wall Street Journal revelation that the Bureau of Labor Statistics has been forced to cut back on price data collection due to staffing shortages from the Trump administration's hiring freeze al...

Part I: Why This Series Matters—and What Comes Next

This three-part series with Erik Townsend began with a simple but urgent question:How do we power a prosperous future for everyone—without wrecking the planet in the process?

The stakes are real. Economic growth has always been tethered to rising energy consumption. And as billions of people in the developing world continue their climb out of poverty—and as AI and digital infrastructure drive an explosion in electricity demand in the developed world—the question isn’t whether global energy consumption will rise. It’s by how muc...

In this episode of Exploring Prosperity, we dive into the nuclear energy race that should define the 25 years. Host Robert Dewey and MacroVoices founder Erik Townsend explore how China is sprinting ahead with mass production of nuclear reactors—and why America is falling behind.

With the U.S. now responding through a new executive order from President Trump ("REINVIGORATING THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRIAL BASE"), this conversation breaks down the urgent need for policy reform, mass-scale deployment of advanced reactors, and why this isn't just about energy—it's about global power.

Thank you to our sponsors! Truflation: Lear...