Building a Bitcoin Economy in a South African Township

My guest is Hermann Vivier, initiator of Bitcoin Ekasi and co-founder of The Surfer Kids, a non-profit social enterprise working for a better world. The two projects are located around the JCC township and Diaz Beach in Mossel Bay, South Africa. In an environment of poverty, violence and hopelessness the educational efforts of Hermann and his team of coaches and volunteers teach the children fundamental life skills through surfing.

Adam Back: Future of Bitcoin and Blockstream

My guest is Adam Back the inventor of Hashcash, that was used as the proof-of-work method in Bitcoin. His work is cited in the Bitcoin whitepaper as well as in the Tor Browser whitepaper. Adam is a seasoned cryptographer with a PhD in computer science and distributed systems. As co-founder and CEO of Blockstream he is building the infrastructure for the internet of the future.

Meron Estefanos from Eritrea: Bitcoin Can Take Down Dictators

Meron Estefanos is a Swedish-based Eritrean human rights activist and journalist, who works tirelessly to aid and raise awareness about the plight of Eritrean refugees, who have been kidnapped, tortured, raped and held for ransom in the Sudan and the Sinai. In her efforts to rise up against the dictatorship in Eritrea she is engaging researchers in Ethiopia, who she has been paying with bitcoin. We're also discussing the fact that Bitcoin can take down dictators and many human rights activists use bitcoin discreetly.

Andreas M. Antonopoulos: Lightning Unleashes Bitcoin

My guest is Andreas M. Antonopoulos one of the worlds foremost experts on Bitcoin and open blockchains. Andreas is an educator, author of five books and an excellent speaker. His new co-authored book "Mastering the Lightning Network" will be published at the end of 2021. I was especially excited to be able to speak with him in person while we both visited Berlin.

Miss Aurra: Bitcoin Empowers Zimbabweans

My guest is Miss Aurra from Harare, Zimbabwe. I got to know her at the beginning of 2020, when I visited Zimbabwe to research the possibilities and the use of Bitcoin in the country. In May 2020 we started a donation campaign for the school that Miss Aurra is leading. It had to be closed down due to Covid and the school lost its building. We are discussing the difficult living situation in Zimbabwe and how Bitcoin has been helping through your donations.

Nigerian Feminist Coalition: Bitcoin Is Power

I am thrilled to have Damilola Odufuwa and Ire Aderinokun Co-Founders of the Nigerian Feminist Coalition as my guests today.

If you are following the developments in Africa, then you have heard of the #EndSARS movement. A protest movement against police brutality in Nigeria. When the central bank banned the Nigerian Feminist Coalition from using the traditional financial infrastructure to collect donations, they started using Bitcoin to fund their activities. Let’s hear from Dami and Ire how they did that and how the current situation looks like.