On this week’s Power Hour Alex Epstein interviews economist Dr. Saifedean Ammous about economics and energy.



Dr. Ammous, in part due to his influence by The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, is working on a new economics textbook that makes energy a central focus in analyzing the causes of prosperity. Dr. Ammous is best known for his popular book The Bitcoin Standard, a fascinating look at the economics of Bitcoin.



Alex and Dr. Ammous discuss a wide range of topics, including:

- How Ammous got interested in energy economics.

- What Ammous learned studying the economics of biofuels.

- Why it’s crucial to think of time as the most important resource.

- How energy relates to time.

- How economists tend to undervalue energy–and what Ammous is doing to address this.



Additionally they discuss several foundational issues in economics, such as the nature of money, economic calculation, the nature of value, and opportunity cost. I hope you enjoy the wide-ranging discussion.



As a bonus, on this episode Alex gives his first ever public explanation of “the private jet problem,” a central idea in The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels 2.0.

Economics, Energy, and Bitcoin

Every week on Power Hour energy philosopher Alex Epstein breaks down today's top energy, environmental, and climate issues.

News

News Commentary

From Alex Epstein: "Recently I was having dinner with Peter Thiel (the billionaire investor/entrepreneur who founded PayPal and Palantir) and he raised some interesting challenges to my book Fossil Future (which he has enthusiastically endorsed). I suggested, 'Let’s record a discussion where you give me all your challenges to Fossil Future and I try to answer them.' Peter loved the idea, so we made it happen—recording a 90-minute discussion at his office in West Hollywood."

Peter Thiel challenges Alex Epstein on Fossil Future

On the latest episode of Power Hour, Alex Epstein explains in detail how to create Energy Freedom Talking Points, and announces new opportunities to work for or contribute to the Energy Talking Points project. Also: How Alex and Energy Talking Points are changing AI Chat.

How to become an Energy Freedom Policy Architect

On the latest episode of Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews Senator Tom Cotton about his important new book, Only the Strong.

https://www.amazon.com/Only-Strong-Reversing-Sabotage-American/dp/1538726793



They discuss:

 Why America should have a foreign policy of self-interest
 What a principled and thoughtful policy of self-interest looks like
  How American foreign policy has devolved into various forms of international servitude
  The importance of energy security
  Senator Cotton's experiences in battle and in Congress

At the end of the show Alex shares some of his differences with Senator Cotton's book and offers some additional reading recommendations.

Senator Tom Cotton on "Only the Strong"

On this special episode of Power Hour Alex Epstein interviews Jusper Machogu, a Kenyan farmer who, thanks to the influence of Alex and others, has started to become a champion of fossil fuels in Africa.
Jusper discusses his aspirations in agriculture and in energy, and why he is asking for help to invest in his education.
You can support Jusper at his GoFundMe (Alex contributed $1000): https://www.gofundme.com/f/jusper-machogu-further-education-support

Jusper Machogu, emerging African Energy Champion

On this special episode of Power Hour to celebrate Fossil Future's launch week, I'm joined by wrestling legend and former MMA superstar Ben Askren. When Ben expressed interest in Fossil future on Twitter, I sent him an advance copy—which he read in full, and loved.
I asked Ben to come on the show to describe how the book impacted his thinking. I also asked Ben, known as one of the great innovators in modern wrestling, about the keys to his innovativeness—keys that apply to virtually any field.
This episode was both a thrill for me and a little surreal since as a longtime Jiu-Jitsu practitioner I've admired Askren from afar for many years. The fact that he responded to Fossil Future so positively is further confirmation to me that the framework and argument of this book are going to impact a lot of people's thinking for the better.

Economics, Energy, and Bitcoin

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