Activist #MMT - podcast Jeff Epstein

John Harvey reads the introduction to (chapter one of) his book, Contending Perspectives. Here's the original video from where this audio came.
Here's a list of links to John reading every chapter (released so far) in his 2021 book Contending Perspectives.
Note the original video is unedited, but the audio has been edited to eliminate obvious mistakes, coughs, interruptions, and etc.
Audio chapters Use the below timestamps to navigate to each major section and occurrence in this section:
0:00 - The Cowboy Economist's cousin, John Harvey, introduces himself 0:41 - Page 1: Introduction 8:56 - Page 4 14:35 - Page 6

Here's the original video from where this audio came.
Here's a list of links to John reading every chapter (released so far) in his 2021 book Contending Perspectives.
Note the original video is unedited, but the audio has been edited to eliminate obvious mistakes, coughs, interruptions, and etc.
Audio chapters Use the below timestamps to navigate to each major section and occurrence in this section:
0:00 - Opening thoughts by John's cousin, the Cowboy Economist 6:37 - Page vi: Acknowledgements

Welcome to episode 147 of Activist #MMT. Today's the second in my two-part conversation with author, mathematician, and bond analyst Brian Romanchuk (Twitter/RomanchukBrian), on the basics of the secondary market and how it relates to the primary market. Today in part two, Brian continues describing the participants in the secondary market, why they do what they do, and shares several anecdotes from his many years of experience as a bond analyst for fixed income recipients in Canada.
A fuller introduction can be found before part one. But for now, let's get right back to my conversation with Brian Romanchuk. Enjoy.
A fuller introduction can be found at the beginning of part one, but for now, let's get right back to my conversation with Brian Romanchuk. Enjoy.
Audio chapters 4:03 - The internet allows you to do a large quantity of small transactions BUT everyone can see it (it's publicly viewable) 4:47 - "Reallocation between bonds and equities." 8:19 - What is the population of who purchases bonds? 26:24 - The rich don't just buy bonds themselves, as individuals. 28:22 - Municipal bonds don't play a large role in the macro economy 30:01 - Z-1 document from the Federal Reserve 32:11 - Who exactly are the supposed bond vigilantes? (The really powerful bond purchasers would never say anything publicly. It would be a breach of their fiduciary duty! Anyone talking on the news is only talking for themselves.) 33:57 - The most important players keep their mouth shut 36:07 - Speaking publicly is marketing and manipulation 41:40 - Anthropomorphic 45:08 - What people say, when not under legal obligation to be truthful, is sometimes manipulation and marketing. 49:03 - Reasonable people know the national government isn't really going to default 55:28 - Bringing it back to the beginning: The three core reasons why the government, not the market, is in control 58:47 - How would everything we've discussed change is we lived in a ZIRP world? 1:03:12 - ZIRP is bad only in the sense that 1:15:15 - Duplicate of introduction, with no background music (for those with sensitive ears)

Welcome to episode 146 of Activist #MMT. Today I talk with author, mathematician, and bond analyst Brian Romanchuk, on the basics of the secondary market and how it relates to the primary market. Brian starts with a brief tutorial of how bonds are priced, which is seen very differently from the points of view of the primary and secondary markets. For an in-depth treatment of this topic, you can listen to episodes 30 and 31 of MMT Podcast with Steven Hail.
(Here's a link to part two. A list of the audio chapters in this episode can be found right below [above the full-question list].)
Brian then describes bonds (and more broadly, securities) in general, the population of who buys and sells them, some of the reasons why they are bought and sold, and several anecdotes of how it all happens.
What can be said is this: rich people rarely if ever buy US treasuries on their own, as individuals. Additionally, the biggest players in securities trading never speak publicly in order to prevent jeopardizing their advantage – they keep their mouths shut. These two facts alone put a huge hole in the idea of so-called bond vigilantes. Although I'm not necessarily interested in the idea of bond vigilantes, it's one of the most obvious and common myths that comes up regarding the secondary market.
Whatever the case, the idea that the market can somehow overrule the national government is clearly false. This is for at least the following three reasons:
only the national government can create and delete its own bonds. Only the national government can create and delete its own money – which is required to purchase those bonds. And the national government (for countries such as the United States, UK, Australia, Japan, and Canada) have little to no foreign denominated debt, which means they do not offer to convert their money into anything else. What this means is that the national government, through the collective action of its citizens (US!), has the power to stand up to the market even if they somehow object to the actions of that government.
The only way the market can overpower the national government is if the government chooses for it to be that way – such as when representatives and regulators are bought off by the biggest players in that market. This is further bolstered by the populace being sufficiently duped into believing it all to be "unfortunate, but necessary." This is a primary battle-front in the centuries-long war between rich and poor, which, unfortunately, the rich have all but won.
And now, onto my conversation with Brian Romanchuk. This is part one of a two-part conversation. Enjoy.
In order to preserve both my podcast and my sanity as I proceed through Torrens University and Modern Money Lab's graduate program in MMT and ecological economics (🦉🤝🌍), I've slowed my podcast from one episode a week, to once a month. For as little as a dollar a month, patrons of Activist #MMT can hear all three parts with Brian right now. You can start by going to patreon.com/activistmmt.
Resources The Federal Reserve's Z1 document Brian's July 2023 Q&A with Torrens University students Audio chapters 5:33 - I don't care about bond vigilantes per es, it's just the most common (mythical!) topic discussed. 7:43 - The core reasons why the government, not the market, is in charge. 11:18 - The definition of money. Even a pizza coupon is money, but not as understood by the general public. 12:04 - A government bond is a security, governed by securities laws. 12:49 - The basics of price and yield 21:41 - Price and yield versus par value and coupon rate – terms as used in the primary versus secondary market 24:45 - Computer era versus pre-computer era 29:48 - despite lots of corruption and instability, he will always get $100 back from that. 33:14 - Primary market 36:05 - "Basis points" 44:34 - Your company benefitted fixed-income earners 47:11 - Does your company know when bonds are purchased from primary or seco

Welcome to episode 142 of Activist #MMT. Today's the final part of my three-part conversation with Emily Ruhl, on his 2008 paper, Religiously-defensible, divinely-supported genocide. Today we discuss principles seven to ten. My full and detailed question and summary list can be found in the show notes to part one. Also, be sure to see the list "audio chapters" in all three parts (look below!) to find exactly where each topic is discussed.
You can financially support this podcast by going to Patreon.com/ActivistMMT. For as little as a dollar a month, all patrons get exclusive, super-early access to several full episodes and some unique patron-only opportunities, like asking my academic guests questions (like my episodes with Dirk Ehnts, John Harvey, and Warren Mosler). In addition to this podcast, patrons also support the development of my large and growing collection of learn-MMT resources, and my journey through the Torrens graduate program. To become a patron, you can start by going to Patreon.com/ActivistMMT. Every little bit helps a little bit, and it all adds up to a lot. Thanks.
And now, let's get right back to my conversation with Emily Ruhl. Enjoy.
Audio chapters 3:01 - Different levels of Nazis: killing versus deciding who to kill (doctors, commandants, soldiers) 6:44 - Symbols as an expression and reminder of power (pledge of allegiance) 8:02 - Charismatization: The charisma of the individual, and of the world (institutions) around him — including reactions to him. 18:17 - Calmly stirring up the crowd into a frenzy, and further into genocide. 19:03 - The pursuit of Atlantis and the holy grail (Indians Jones) 28:10 - Nazi pseudo-religion is a tool to justify genocide. False economics is a tool to justify mass neglect and exploitation. 34:44 - Connecting false economics and Nazi Germany's pseudo-religion 38:47 - In the national context, there is no such thing as "finding money" Their decision to do something IS the the funding. 41:38 - Final question: Polanyi, "latent anti-Semetism" versus venting frustrations from a lifetime of mass neglect and exploitation 51:00 - Reality of hyperinflation, the treaty of Versailles 52:28 - Final comments 54:44 - Goodbyes  

Welcome to episode 144 of Activist #MMT. Today's part two of a three-part conversation with historian, author, and Harvard master's graduate, Emily Ruhl, on her new paper and master's thesis, In League with the Devine: How Religion Influenced Nazi Perpetrators of the Holocaust. You will find my detailed question list at the bottom of the show notes for part one. Also, be sure to see the list "audio chapters" in all three parts (look below!) to find exactly where each topic is discussed.
A full introduction can be found at the beginning of part one, but for now, let's get right back to my conversation with Emily Ruhl. Enjoy.
Audio chapters 2:43 - German pseudo-religion: three parts: anti-Semitism, Blut und Boden (blood and soil), and Volksgemeinschaf (the German worldview) 3:50 - Racism is an impossible concept. The only way to preserve the German Aryan theory is to exterminate anyone not "definitely" Aryan. 7:21 - The order in which you kill changes it from murder to sanctioned by God 11:12 - Religion is both coercion and a salve once what they were coerced to do is done. 20:31 - The biggest bias in sources is the power of those who created (wrote, filmed, etc.) it. 29:21 - "No punishment" for those refusing to kill, but only if they didn't threaten the regime. 30:12 - Religious symbols: pins (SS lightning bolts), belt buckles, architecture, white doctors coats. 44:28 - Symbols in architecture 48:59 - Different levels of Nazis: killing versus deciding who to kill (doctors, commandants, soldiers) 55:30 - Duplicate of introduction, with no background music (for those with sensitive ears)