First-ever guest episode! I’m joined by novelist and Bitcoiner Avi Burra for a soul-to-soul conversation about art, risk, and what Bitcoin does to our lives and relationships. We unpack his fiction 24 and the sequel July 18 without spoilers—touching on grief, double lives, treasure hunts, OP_RETURN breadcrumbs, and a dash of magic realism inspired by hypnotherapy and Rudolf Steiner. Avi shares how leaving a Web3 job, grappling with the blocksize-era culture wars, and rediscovering craft led him from quant/engineer to writer and filmmaker. We talk frankly about “Bitcoin wrecks relationships,” the strain of mission-driven work on marriage, and how meaning, faith, and responsibility keep us moving forward. We also dig into building for builders vs. consumers, why I’m launching Magic Internet Math to raise pleb signal against quantum FUD and other hype, and why Avi is aiming his next book beyond the Bitcoin-maxi echo chamber. Along the way: mentors, product–market fit for culture, generational roles, compassion vs. performance, the power of story (Finding Forrester, Fripp/King Crimson, Phish), and Avi’s Bourdain-esque travel/food series Finding Home. It’s an honest, hopeful, first-principles chat about telling the truth, chiseling away illusion, and trusting the leap when the net isn’t yet visible.

'24 — Avi Burra': https://www.casanostra.ink/book
'July 18 — Avi Burra': https://www.ryefieldbooks.com/books/july-18/9798989580521
'Finding Home — Episode (IndeeHub)': https://indeehub.studio/film/finding-home/season/1/episode/3
'Rock Paper Bitcoin — Podcast': https://rockpaperbitcoin.fm/
'Magic Internet Math — Project': https://magicinternetmath.com/
'Rudolf Steiner Archive': https://rsarchive.org/
'Robert Fripp — Biography': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Fripp
'King Crimson — Band': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Crimson
'Phish — Band': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phish
'Finding Forrester — Film': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finding_Forrester
'Bell Labs': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Labs
'OP_RETURN — Bitcoin Wiki': https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/OP_RETURN
'Atlas Shrugged — Penguin': https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/82962/atlas-shrugged/9780451191144
'Dynamic Hedging — Open Library': https://openlibrary.org/books/OL3295027W
'Ungovernable Misfits — Podcasts & Articles': https://www.ungovernablemisfits.com/
'Avi Burra — Nostr Profile': https://nostr.com/npub1hqaz3dlyuhfqhktqchawke39l92jj9nt30dsgh2zvd9z7dv3j3gqpkt56s