Host Ron Steslow welcomes Mike Brock, CEO of TBD, a subsidiary of Block Inc. (formerly Square), the financial technology firm led by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.

The Internet is dominated by massive, corporate walled gardens like Google, Facebook, and Twitter (now X), where centralized control makes their users (us!) vulnerable to censorship and manipulation.

In this episode, we explore how the movement to decentralize technology empowers individuals, protects against corporate and government abuse, and addresses real problems in finance and social media.

We’ll also discuss how decentralized technology can enhance financial access and freedom, bypassing intermediaries and censorship, and shifting power from financial corporations to individuals.

Finally, we turn to the political landscape, focusing on the Democratic party’s approach to decentralized technology and early signs it may be changing.

Segments to look forward to:

(04:45) Mike’s background

(10:50) Empowering individuals through decentralized finance and identity

(15:45) Building infrastructure for a decentralized future

(19:10) The potential of decentralized identity

(29:49) The importance of Bitcoin’s decentralization

(31:31) Financial Access and Freedom

(34:27) Preserving agency

(44:44) Changing the balance of power

(50:54) The varied stance of the Democratic party

Follow Ron and Mike on X (formerly Twitter):

https://twitter.com/RonSteslow

https://x.com/brockm

Email your questions to podcast@politicology.com or leave us a voicemail at ‪(202) 455-4558‬

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