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Lex Fridman Podcast

#192 – Charles Hoskinson: Cardano

Lex Fridman Podcast

Lex Fridman

Technology, Society & Culture, Philosophy, Science

4.713.6K Ratings

🗓️ 16 June 2021

⏱️ 305 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Charles Hoskinson is the founder of Cardano, co-founder of Ethereum, a mathematician, and a farmer. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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EPISODE LINKS:
Charles’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles
Charles’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/charleshoskinson
Cardano Website: https://cardano.org/
IOHK Website: https://iohk.io/

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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(09:12) – What programming language is the simulation written in?
(14:17) – Favorite philosophers
(23:18) – Theory vs engineering in cryptocurrency
(34:27) – What programming languages should everyone learn
(42:42) – Haskell and beyond
(46:26) – Plutus: Cardano’s smart contract platform based on Haskell
(50:53) – What is a blockchain?
(55:05) – Hybrid smart contracts
(1:00:55) – Proof of work vs proof of stake
(1:09:42) – Cardano’s proof of stake consensus algorithm
(1:20:14) – What is Cardano?
(1:28:55) – Cardano vs Ethereum vs Bitcoin
(1:38:50) – The problem with Bitcoin
(1:48:24) – Bitcoin Conference
(1:52:05) – Ergo and Alex Chepurnoy
(1:59:15) – Cardano’s Extended UTXO Model
(2:06:27) – Chainlink and Oracle Networks
(2:13:40) – Cardano and Wolfram Alpha
(2:18:35) – The future of video games
(2:27:10) – Smart contracts timeline for Cardano
(2:34:40) – Decentralized exchanges
(2:40:21) – Jack Dorsey and Bitcoin
(2:46:33) – Elon Musk and Tesla: Cardano, Ethereum, Bitcoin
(2:49:50) – Dogecoin and Elon Musk
(3:01:11) – Hydra vs Lightning Network
(3:08:45) – Non-Interactive Proofs of Proof-of-Work (NIPoPoWs)
(3:12:39) – Cardano failure modes
(3:21:00) – Cardano vs Polkadot
(3:26:05) – Vitalik Buterin
(3:34:16) – Corrupting nature of power
(3:44:26) – Satoshi Nakamoto
(3:50:37) – Cardano’s vision for decentralized governance
(4:03:31) – Cardano in Ethiopia
(4:07:33) – El Salvador and Bitcoin
(4:13:50) – Cryptocurrency will inject capitalism with long-term incentives
(4:23:42) – Day in the life of Charles Hoskinson
(4:30:59) – Mushrooms
(4:37:07) – Joe Rogan
(4:42:00) – Video games
(4:54:14) – Advice for young people
(4:57:23) – Meaning of life

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

The following is a conversation with Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, co-founder of

0:05.8

Ethereum, and a mathematician who is one of the most well-read and knowledgeable people

0:11.2

on the technical side of cryptocurrency that I've ever spoken to.

0:15.8

Quick mention of our sponsors, Galala Games, All Form, Indeed, ExpressVPN, and A Sleep.

0:23.4

Check them out in the description to support this podcast.

0:26.9

As a side note, let me say that Charles is not just a mathematician or cryptocurrency

0:31.4

innovator, but also a Colorado-based farmer of bison and mushrooms, a gamer, a fisherman,

0:40.5

and a world traveler.

0:41.9

When I asked him if he has a nice professional picture of himself, he set me a picture of

0:46.6

him in Mongolia with a hawk on his shoulder, meeting the Mongolian president.

0:52.8

Not to me pretty much says it all, speaking to the humor and the intelligence of a man

0:57.8

who is bold, innovative, it does not shy away from a bit of fun and a bit of controversy,

1:04.1

which makes him a fascinating human being to explore ideas with.

1:08.3

I do want to say in terms of ideas that, at least to me, cryptocurrency is much bigger

1:13.5

than just the way for a few Americans to make a quick buck through meme-driven speculation.

1:18.6

It is technology that enables freedom from oppression, from suffering in the world,

1:24.2

because money is power.

1:26.9

Mongolia, for example, was a reminder of that for me.

1:30.2

Next day, after talking with Charles, I spoke with Wyoming Park, who is a North Korean

1:34.5

defector, and who spent time in Mongolia as many defectors do, in her and their escape

1:40.6

from North Korea.

1:42.3

Her story, the story of North Korea, the story of atrocities throughout the 20th century

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