Round the Fire with Momo

Momo Tahmasbi

Round the Fire with Momo is a cozy space where I sit down with friends and inspiring voices to share stories, ideas, and real-life experiences. There’s no set agenda—just honest conversations about the things that shape us. That said, many episodes naturally drift toward topics I’m passionate about, like Bitcoin, keto, and the carnivore lifestyle. So if you're into deep chats, hard money, or healing through food, pull up a seat by the fire.

  1. 13 JAN

    What Is Really Happening in Iran? Exposing the Regime’s Lies About the Revolution #kingrezapahlavi

    In this episode, Ziya and I speak openly about what is happening in Iran, not as outsiders, but as Iranians who have spent most of their lives in Iran and whose families are still living there. What the regime and much of the media describe as “protests” is, in reality, a nationwide revolution against the Islamic Republic.At the time of publishing this video, the Iranian regime has shut down the internet for more than four consecutive days in an attempt to suppress information, isolate the population, and escalate violence without scrutiny. During this uprising, more than 12,000 people have been killed by the regime’s oppressive forces.We address the roots of this revolution, the regime’s long history of massacres and misinformation, the role of censorship, and the deliberate distortion of events—particularly around support for the exiled Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi. This conversation is an effort to document the truth while Iran is being forced into silence.---00:00 Iran’s Nationwide Uprising and the Regime’s Digital Blackout03:18 Why Iranians Are Rising Up Against the Islamic Republic11:10 A History of Massacres and Systematic Repression in Iran14:12 What the Iranian People Are Revolting Against16:37 Why Global Media and Activists Remain Silent on Iran19:09 How Protesters Were Killed: Claims and Reality21:50 The Ukrainian Flight: How the Regime Shot It Down and Covered It Up23:04 Mahsa Amini: State Violence Enforced Through Mandatory Hijab25:25 Palestinians and the Islamic Republic: Reality vs Regime Narrative27:32 Is Opposing the Islamic Republic “Islamophobic”?28:56 The MEK Question: Are They Leading or Exploiting the Revolution?30:43 The One Thing the Islamic Republic Excels At37:13 Internet Censorship in Iran and the Role of Starlink---🟩 To help spread knowledge and information, you're free to reuse the content on this page—no permission needed. 🟩---Follow Momo:https://linktr.ee/mktahmasbi---Buy me a coffee ☕️http://coff.ee/roundthefire

    45 min
  2. 11/11/2025

    95 - Are Spark and Ark Real Bitcoin L2s? Justin Explains

    In this interview, Justin (Shocknet) shares his view that projects like Spark and Ark are presenting themselves as Bitcoin “Layer 2” solutions while still relying on trusted, centralized models. He argues this reflects an evolution of the old shitcoin mentality within Bitcoin. We explore his perspective and what he believes defines a truly Bitcoin-native Layer 2.---00:00 – Intro01:17 – Justin’s Journey: How He Got Into Bitcoin and Building on It05:13 – Spark and Ark: LARPing as Real Bitcoin Layer 2s?16:01 – Lightning Network Pain Points26:12 – Scaling Bitcoin by Making Trust Local: ShockWallet and Lightning.Pub28:38 – The Role of Nostr in ShockWallet32:56 – The Case Against Using Lightning Over Tor35:40 – What Makes Running a Lightweight Lightning Node Possible38:13 – Nostr’s Precursor: Gun, Created by Justin42:58 – The Role of Nostr in Bitcoin Development45:46 – The Downsides of BOLT1247:54 – Lightning.Video: Better Than OnlyFans?55:21 – Setting Up Your Lightning Node with Lightning.Pub and ShockWallet01:01:34 – Does an Internet Cutoff Pose Risks to Lightning Channels?01:04:37 – Do We Need Another Bitcoin Soft Fork for Better Layer 2 Development?01:10:03 – Is Cashu Really Private?01:15:49 – Where to Follow Justin’s Work--- Follow Justin and his work:[https://shock.network](https://shock.network/)https://shockwallet.app/https://lightning.pub/https://lightning.video/https://x.com/shocknet_justinNostr Npub: npub1xvtwx6tduaxnn9v3y7uasskl277achgu0tu2qncmc7hdsz6y2zyqce64saLearn more about Gun, the Nostr's pre-cursor: https://gun.eco/--- 🟩 To help spread knowledge and information, you're free to reuse the content on this page—no permission needed. 🟩---Follow Momo:https://linktr.ee/mktahmasbiBuy me a coffee ☕️http://coff.ee/roundthefire

    1h 18m
  3. 10/10/2025

    94 - How RSA Turned Beautiful Math into Unbreakable Encryption

    In this episode, Momo sits down with his friend and long-time flatmate, Sohail, a mathematician, for a relaxed conversation about RSA cryptography—how it works and why it was revolutionary. Sohail breaks down the math behind RSA with clear, accessible examples and shares bonus fun facts about mathematics, broken predictions, and the future of math in an open-source world.---Hardy writes: "The 'real' mathematics of the 'real' mathematicians, the mathematics of Fermat and Euler and Gauss and Abel and Riemann, is almost wholly 'useless'."A similar quote is attributed to Gauss, Sohail’s beloved mathematician. He jokingly said "I must have committed blasphemy by attributing it to someone else." Here’s the exact quote:"Mathematics is the queen of the sciences, and number theory is the queen of mathematics. She often condescends to render service to astronomy and other natural sciences, but under all circumstances she is entitled to first rank."---00:58 – Sohail’s background in mathematics03:23 – Math and real-world applications08:11 – Asymmetric cryptography (like public-key cryptography) vs. symmetric cryptography (like the Caesar cipher)11:18 – Remembering Gauss and Gauss Junior15:55 – Is asymmetric cryptography mind-blowing?17:53 – Why RSA cryptography was ground-breaking21:01 – Explaining RSA through the “suitcase” analogy25:09 – The math behind RSA32:18 – What kinds of functions can be used in RSA?34:58 – Clock-like modular functions in RSA40:59 – Fermat’s Little Theorem as the basis of RSA48:11 – A more complex function than Fermat’s Little Theorem used in RSA50:43 – How your password reaches your bank securely using RSA59:41 – Do my function and my bank’s function need to match in RSA?01:01:19 – The importance of prime numbers in cryptography01:04:06 – Accessible resources for math enthusiasts01:05:40 – Nuance: which exponentiation operations are invalid in RSA01:10:25 – Can a hacker intercept and decode an RSA-encrypted message?01:12:28 – Why the move to elliptic curves?01:14:00 – Other real-world applications of number theory01:19:03 – The future of mathematics---Fermat's little theorem explanation:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermat's_little_theoremThe channel for explaining math concepts in simple words, 3Blue1Brown. This source doesn’t explain Fermat’s Little Theorem, but it is an accessible source for math enthusiasts without specialized training.https://www.youtube.com/@3blue1brownEnigma Cipher Center, the cryptography museum in Poznan, Polandhttps://csenigma.pl/en/My Nostr post about the internet and cryptography:https://primal.net/e/nevent1qqs9x3rxx3s9fhg6jwzvafgh6vvvxe658junc0vt4lphmcdl4w9ccrs9rk8dd---🟩 To help spread knowledge and information, you're free to reuse the content on this page—no permission needed. 🟩---Follow Momo:https://linktr.ee/mktahmasbi---Buy me a coffee ☕️http://coff.ee/roundthefire

    1h 25m

About

Round the Fire with Momo is a cozy space where I sit down with friends and inspiring voices to share stories, ideas, and real-life experiences. There’s no set agenda—just honest conversations about the things that shape us. That said, many episodes naturally drift toward topics I’m passionate about, like Bitcoin, keto, and the carnivore lifestyle. So if you're into deep chats, hard money, or healing through food, pull up a seat by the fire.