All Models Are Wrong

Latest Episodes:

Why did Democracy fail in DAOs? w/ Theo Beutel | Devconnect 2025 Jan 19, 2026

Show notes

Continuing the publication of interviews from DevConnect in Buenos Aires, I sat down with Theo Beutel (academic secretariat at the Ethereum Foundation, researcher at Centre for Democracy Studies Aarau, University of Zurich) to reflect on attempts at democracy with DAOs. As someone who has worked as the governance lead at several DAOs, Theo had a lot of insight to share.

We discussed his recent paper Digital Democracy in Decentralised Autonomous Organisations, the role of academia in Ethereum and why plutocracy has largely dominated the DAO space. By and large it seems that innovation in governance in crypto has followed the needs of investors and not other classes of people.

This episode is sponsored by NYM, the world's most private VPN. Unlike traditional VPNs, Nym uses a decentralized mixnet to scramble your internet data — hiding who you're talking to, when, and how often. You can switch between full mixnet mode for maximum anonymity, or a faster VPN mode for everyday use.

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If you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you find content like this important consider donating to my Patreon starting at just $3 per month. It takes quite a lot of my time and resources so any amount helps. Follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist) or Mastodon (@theblockchainsocialist@social.coop) and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit.

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Is Crypto Governance Dead? w/ Eugene Leventhal | Devconnect 2025 Jan 12, 2026

Show notes

In this episode recorded at DevConnect in Buenos Aires, I sit down with Eugene Leventhal (researcher at Metagov, podcaster at Governance Futures, new head of governance at Octant) to discuss the current crisis in crypto governance. The general feeling is that governance has been declared dead, foundations are being pushed aside, and the decentralization theater is being abandoned now that Trump's election has lifted compliance pressure.

Eugene unpacks what he calls the "original sin of DAOs" (most were created purely for regulatory cover) and why most failed. But it's not all doom, we discuss the few projects still genuinely committed to decentralization, institutional interest in deliberative tooling, and why work on transparency and democratic innovation still matters, even as the industry pivots toward unregulated founder worship.

Links:

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How to send cryptocurrency to Gaza Dec 22, 2025

Show notes

Note that this is from a video essay published on YouTube here.

For over a year, I've been helping people send aid to Gaza via cryptocurrency because traditional banking systems have failed Palestinians. PayPal and GoFundMe freeze accounts, banks block transfers, and those that go through can take weeks or months. Cryptocurrency offers instant, censorship-resistant transfers that offer higher guarantees.

This comprehensive guide covers three methods for sending crypto (SimpleSwap, Revolut, and zkP2P), how to avoid tax complications when fundraising, critical safety tips to prevent irreversible mistakes, and everything you need to know about wallets, networks, and the OTC desk system in Gaza.

📖 Written Guide:

https://docs.fileverse.io/0x6a13c07622Cc1685E0a071c0d7b4Cdb41eBE24ca/1#key=alyL1ETXBR_r16AVQuDNArf8IbD5PJXoHIZq7pjh_J7kXsIkC8a-3cR-bdRQdPlw

💡 Three Methods Explained:

Method 1: SimpleSwap - Buy crypto with your debit card and send directly. May require KYC verification.

Method 2: Revolut - Best for regular sending. Buy and send crypto within the Revolut app. Convenient but creates a transaction record.

Method 3: zkP2P (Zero-Knowledge Peer-to-Peer) - Best for privacy. No KYC required. Uses apps like Wise, PayPal, Venmo, etc. More complex but maintains privacy.

🤝 Support Ibrahim in Gaza:

Ibrahim has been surviving the genocide while supporting his extended family and local community. To send crypto aid:

ENS Name: casinoberlin.eth
Full Ethereum Address: 0xFe70d2Fe8a0cCce98fB595f0Ef98C1522d6310b6
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pulses_of_mercy/
Chuffed: https://chuffed.org/project/117754-support-for-survival-from-genocide

This is our verified collective wallet that we've been using for months to get funds directly to Ibrahim and those who need it most.

⚠️ Important Disclaimers:

I am not a lawyer or tax accountant—check your country's laws
Different countries have different donation limits and tax obligations
Cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible so be careful
Always verify everything before sending

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Is the state DEAD? Farewell to Westphalia with Jarrad Hope and Peter Ludlow Nov 23, 2025

Show notes

In this episode I spoke to Jarrad Hope, founder of Logos, and Peter Ludlow, philosopher and research advisor at the University of Hong Kong, and co-authors of the new book 'Farewell to Westphalia.' In the book they detail the historical trajectory of nation states and what they perceive to be their failures as well as propose an alternative to Network States through Blockchain Communities.
We discuss critiques of traditional nation states, the potential of blockchain for decentralized governance, and the importance of transparency and privacy.

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Free Markets Are Planned: The Neoliberal Paradox with Christoph Sorg Nov 20, 2025

Show notes

Dr. Christoph Sorg is a social scientist at the Humboldt University of Berlin. He researches theories of capitalism and post-capitalism and the new debate on economic planning in times of digitalization and the climate crisis.

During the interview we spoke about his work around understanding economic planning and his recent publication Finance as a form of economic planning. His work shows how even in the free market capitalism we live in today, there is actually a significant amount of planning, it's just that the planning is for facilitating capitalist economies, the neoliberal paradox.

As the co-founder of projects like Bread Cooperative where we are trying to build out apps that facilitate post-capitalist economic relations, I think it's important for us to properly understand the current state of capitalism so that we know the kind of meaningful interventions we could make.

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Weaponized Design and the Digital Identity Event Horizon with Cade Diehm Oct 21, 2025

Show notes

I spoke to Cade Diehm, Head of Research at the World Ethical Data Foundation and founder of New Design Congress, an independent research group confronting the gap between what is said to be happening and what is actually happening in digital societies. His career also involves working at Deloitte Australia, as leading design for CoinJar, the largest crypto exchange in Australia and Tactical Tech.

I had him on to talk about his work on Weaponised Design (when an interface or system harms its users whilst performing entirely within its expected behaviour), his recent alarming research on the brittleness of digital identity and his experience with crypto.

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Nepal, DAOs and Secret Voting with Aragon CEO Leuts.eth Sep 24, 2025

Show notes

I spoke to Leuts.eth, CEO of Aragon, a DAO tooling protocol that gives organizations the tools to build, govern, and accrue value effectively onchain. Aragon was probably the first organization I became interested when I got into crypto since they were the first to take seriously the potential for DAOs and onchain governance,

We spoke about the history of Aragon, their latest feature enabling private voting and whether Nepal is actually a DAO now.

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NETWORKED REALISM: Whoever Controls the Infrastructure, Controls Reality Aug 28, 2025

Show notes

It's feeling like we're living in a very strange moment in time where liberal norms of openness have been shattered by the same class of tech industry titans who expressed these values just a decade ago. In this episode I spoke to Nick Houde and Severin Matusek from co-matter, a research and strategy studio based in Berlin, who recently published an incredible memo that is chock full of incredible analysis and insight into our current moment.

"New World Order: The Return of Hard Power and Soft Beliefs is a 35-page research memo about what happens when power, infrastructure and ideology collide.

A manual for anyone trying to make sense of the present, New World Order contains ideas, context and language to participate in shaping the world that emerges in front of our eyes."

The memo is chock full of useful and powerful concepts that help explain this moment. You can order a copy of the memo on Metalabel here. (I've already got my copy!) Lots of great quotes like "Yesterday's moral stance is tomorrow's liability" and "Whoever controls the infrastructure controls reality itself."

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Slavoj Zizek on Network States Aug 17, 2025

Show notes

The one and only Slavoj Zizek published a piece on Network States and of course I had to read it and share it with you all. It's normally behind a paywall on his Substack but was put on Fileverse by recent guest Naomi for all to read.

Check out the article on Fileverse here.

I really want to know who is in Zizek's ear talking about crypto stuff so much that he knows what DAOs are...

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ICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix Itand is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking.
The book is officially published and you use this linktree to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

How Urbit Failed with Adina Glickstein Aug 08, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, I talk with Adina Glickstein — Master’s student in Media Studies under Nathan Schneider at UC Boulder and editor-at-large at Spike Art Magazine — whose recent Compact Mag article, The Rise and Fall of Urbit finally gave me the excuse to talk about Urbit on the podcast and why its failing.

We unpack what Urbit is trying to be (although many don't seem to agree), its creator Curtis Yarvin (aka Mencius Moldbug, philosopher of the alt-right), and how its governance structure mirrors his anti-democratic ideals. Adina shares her experience moving from enthusiasm to disillusionment — from Berlin meetups to Urbit Assembly, to witnessing the project lean into neo-colonial “exit” politics.

We also get into the reactionary politics inside the Urbit community, the recent leadership coup pitting long-time developers against Yarvin and his backers, and how this drama unexpectedly created a demand for “voice” in a system designed entirely around “exit.”

Links: