What’s In Your Wallet? Fiction, Says Author Jacob Goldstein

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KQED

News, News Commentary, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 28 September 2020

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Many of us take money for granted as a certainty, but what exactly is money? Jacob Goldstein, co-host of NPR’s Planet Money podcast, explores that question in his book, “Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing.” Goldstein argues that monetary systems depend on a collective belief that an object, such as a piece of metal or paper, is worth a given amount. The history of money stretches back centuries and continues to evolve in surprising ways. We’ll talk with Goldstein about the origin of money as a fictional concept that nonetheless shapes our lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:51.3	Music From KQED. From KQED. From KQED Public Radio in San Francisco, I'm Nina Kim.
1:20.7	Coming up on forum, Jacob Goldstein, co-host of NPR's Planet Money, has written a book about, well, money that tackles the question, what exactly is money? Where did the concept come from and how did it evolve into the monetary system we have today? The book's illustration of how money is central to our lives, yet ultimately a shared fiction backed by nothing, brings context to the dramatic actions of the Federal Reserve in response to the pandemic and even Trump's tax returns.
1:22.9	Goldstein joins us after this news. Thank you. This is Forum. I'm Nina Kim. The paradox of money has something that's essential, with real impacts on our lives, yet as a construct
1:44.9	with no intrinsic value except what we've all agreed to give it, is at the heart of Jacob
1:49.1	Goldstein's new book, Money, the true story of a made-up thing. It shows us the fascinating history
1:53.8	of money, how it's evolved, and what it teaches us about our current moment. And we want to hear
1:58.6	from you, what's been your relationship to money? How would you describe what money is? But before we dig into all of that, we get an update on the fires
2:06.8	that are burning out of control in Sonoma and Napa counties. It's engulfed some 11,000 acres
2:12.2	and threatens more than 8,500 structures. We're joined now by Lynn Tolmachov, a spokesperson for Cal Fire. Thanks so
2:20.1	much for joining us. Thank you for having us. Those numbers that I just gave, is there an update
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