#239 – Niall Ferguson: History of Money, Power, War, and Truth

About this episode

<p>Niall Ferguson is a historian at Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is the author of 16 books on the history of money, war, power, and catastrophe. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:<br /> &#8211; <b>The Prisoner Wine Company</b>: <a href="https://theprisonerwine.com/lex">https://theprisonerwine.com/lex</a> to get 20% off &#38; free shipping<br /> &#8211; <b>Stripe</b>: <a href="https://stripe.com">https://stripe.com</a><br /> &#8211; <b>Coinbase</b>: <a href="https://coinbase.com/lex">https://coinbase.com/lex</a> to get $5 in free Bitcoin<br /> &#8211; <b>Four Sigmatic</b>: <a href="https://foursigmatic.com/lex">https://foursigmatic.com/lex</a> and use code LexPod to get up to 60% off<br /> &#8211; <b>Indeed</b>: <a href="https://indeed.com/lex">https://indeed.com/lex</a> to get $75 credit</p> <p><b>EPISODE LINKS:</b><br /> Niall&#8217;s Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/nfergus">https://twitter.com/nfergus</a><br /> Niall&#8217;s Website: <a href="https://www.niallferguson.com">https://www.niallferguson.com</a><br /> University of Austin: <a href="https://uaustin.org/">https://uaustin.org/</a><br /> Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe (book): <a href="https://amzn.to/3wt7AI8">https://amzn.to/3wt7AI8</a><br /> Kissinger: The Idealist (book): <a href="https://amzn.to/3CVXvGc">https://amzn.to/3CVXvGc</a><br /> The Ascent of Money (book): <a href="https://amzn.to/3kCK0Ev">https://amzn.to/3kCK0Ev</a><br /> The Square and the Tower (book): <a href="https://amzn.to/307YfK8">https://amzn.to/307YfK8</a><br /> The Age of AI (book): <a href="https://amzn.to/3BUgTSH">https://amzn.to/3BUgTSH</a></p> <p><b>PODCAST INFO:</b><br /> Podcast website: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/podcast">https://lexfridman.com/podcast</a><br /> Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://apple.co/2lwqZIr">https://apple.co/2lwqZIr</a><br /> Spotify: <a href="https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8">https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8</a><br /> RSS: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/">https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/</a><br /> YouTube Full Episodes: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexfridman">https://youtube.com/lexfridman</a><br /> YouTube Clips: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexclips">https://youtube.com/lexclips</a></p> <p><b>SUPPORT &#38; CONNECT:</b><br /> &#8211; Check out the sponsors above, it&#8217;s the best way to support this podcast<br /> &#8211; Support on Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman">https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/lexfridman">https://twitter.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman">https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman">https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Medium: <a href="https://medium.com/@lexfridman">https://medium.com/@lexfridman</a></p> <p><b>OUTLINE:</b><br /> Here&#8217;s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.<br /> (00:00) &#8211; Introduction<br /> (09:14) &#8211; University of Austin (UATX)<br /> (42:09) &#8211; Sam Harris<br /> (1:00:36) &#8211; Elon Musk<br /> (1:08:55) &#8211; Money<br /> (1:18:50) &#8211; Hyperinflation<br /> (1:24:15) &#8211; Bitcoin<br /> (1:40:57) &#8211; Ethereum and smart contracts<br /> (1:49:43) &#8211; Worst disasters in human history<br /> (2:11:41) &#8211; How history will remember the current pandemic<br /> (2:25:16) &#8211; Hope for the future<br /> (2:33:46) &#8211; Love<br /> (2:40:24) &#8211; Meaning of life</p>