Will Luther is an associate professor of economics at Florida Atlantic University and a fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute. Josh Hendrickson is a professor of economics and the chair of the economics department at the University of Mississippi. Josh is also a fellow at BPI. Will and Josh return to the show to defend the idea of a strategic Bitcoin reserve, discuss the future of Bitcoin, and contend with the problem of Bitcoiners, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links.

https://www.mercatus.org/macro-musings/will-luther-and-josh-hendrickson-future-bitcoinRecorded on June 25th, 2025

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:39 - Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

00:23:33 - Future of Bitcoin

00:45:07 - Scaling Bitcoin

00:50:46 - Outro

Rashad Ahmed is a former Treasury and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency financial economist and is currently an economist at the upstart Andresen Institute for Finance and Economics. In Rashad’s first appearance on the show, he discusses the real-world impacts of the GENIUS Act, what US stablecoin regulation means for the rest of the world, the state of crypto adoption, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links.

Recorded on June 27th, 2025

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Bumper

00:00:31 - Intro

00:01:44 - Rashad’s Career

00:07:33 - Global State of Crypto

00:23:48 - Stablecoins and Safe Asset Prices

00:40:00 - Sovereign Default Risk and Cryptocurrency Adoption

00:56:51 - Outro

Paul Kupiec is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. In Paul’s first appearance on the show, he discusses life at a think tank, the insolvency of the Fed, theories on how to fix the Fed’s balance sheet, Ted Cruz’s call to end interest on reserves, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links.

Recorded on June 24th, 2025

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:14 - Paul’s Career

00:08:12 - Think Tanks

00:10:42 - Current State of the Fed’s Balance Sheet

00:20:22 - The Federal Reserve and Gold

00:23:04 - The Fed’s Unique Accounting

00:39:28 - Ending Interest on Reserve Payments to Banks

00:50:08 - Outro

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George Hall is a professor of economics at Brandeis University and formerly worked as an economist at the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank. George returns to the show to discuss the current fiscal status of the US, how the Big Beautiful Bill will impact the fiscal outlook going forward, the history of running deficits in the US, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links.

Recorded on June 24th, 2025

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Bumper

00:00:29 - Intro

00:01:55 - Current US Fiscal Status

00:05:45 - What Is Inflation?

00:10:18 - Fiscal Consequences of the US War with COVID

00:23:21 - World War COVID

00:25:05 - Before and After War

00:34:02 - Financing with Inflation

00:38:47 - World War II Period vs. Today

00:38:47 - World War II Period vs. Today

00:44:19 - Who Bears the Fed’s Losses?

00:47:14 - How to Foot the Big, Beautiful Bill

00:52:10 - Outro

Ben Harris served in numerous high-ranking roles as a public sector economist and is now the vice president and director of economic studies at the Brooking Institution. In Ben’s first appearance on the show, he discusses the fiscal health of the US government, including the rising primary deficient, the impact of the Big Beautiful Bill, the proposition of stablecoins and AI as a solution to our debt, his love of basketball and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links.

Recorded on June 18th, 2025

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:02:01 - Ben’s Career

00:05:18 - Fiscal Health of the United States

00:07:57 - Big Beautiful Bill

00:12:15 - Debts and Deficits

00:14:47 - Costs and Risks of the Rising US Debt

00:37:05 - Stablecoins as a Potential Solution to US Debt

00:41:49 - Debt Ceiling

00:50:02 - AI and the Economy

00:54:58 - Outro

Luis Garicano is a former member of the European Parliament and a professor at the London School of Economics. In Luis’s first appearance on the show he discusses his new book, Crisis Cycle: Challenges, Evolution, and the future of the Euro, the ever-changing landscape of digital money, his suggested reforms to the Euro, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links.

Recorded on June 18th, 2025

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:55 - Future of Money

00:08:46 - Bank Regulation

00:12:51 - Stablecoins

00:23:35 - Crisis Cycle

00:56:05 - Outro

Mark Blyth is a professor of international economics at Brown University. In Mark’s first appearance on the show, he discusses his new book Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers, the concept of angrynomics, a new way to look at price controls, demographic decline, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links.

Recorded on June 4th, 2025

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:50 - Angrynomics

00:03:56 - Motivation for ‘Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers’

00:08:27 - Five Things They Don’t Tell You About Inflation

00:14:32 - Good, Bad, and Ugly Inflation

00:18:14 - Interest Rates and Inflation

00:21:33 - Price Controls

00:26:13 - Stories About Inflation

00:35:03 - Hyperinflation

00:42:24 - Pandemic Inflation

00:58:00 - Disinflation, China, and Demographic Decline

01:00:30 - Recommendations for Policymakers

01:02:00 - Outro

Sam Schulhofer-Wohl is a senior vice president and the senior advisor to President Lorie Logan of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Sam returns to the show to discuss recent macroeconomic conferences in the context of changes in the Treasury market and with central bank operating systems around the globe.

Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links.

Recorded on May 27th, 2025

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Bumper

00:00:20 - Intro

00:01:19 - Monetary Policy Conferences

00:03:15 - Role of Nonbank Institutions in the Treasury and Money Markets

00:07:48 - Central Clearing

00:33:19 - Operating Systems in Central Banks

00:49:52 - Outro