It’s easy to oversimplify the conflict in Ukraine and America’s response to it: Russians are bad. Sanctions are good.

But would your perspective be different if you had traveled extensively in that part of the world? Or if you knew exactly how those sanctions might impact your ability to access the commodities you need?

My globetrotting friend Joel Bowman is a libertarian writer, thinker and cryptocurrency enthusiast. He is also a repeat offender here on The Wiggin Sessions. 

Joel is a regular contributor to Bonner Private Research, recently penning two thought-provoking editorials on the conflict in Ukraine, inflation and weaponized money, ‘Death in the Afternoon’ and ‘Stairway to Hell.’ 

On this episode of The Wiggin Sessions, Joel joins me to describe his experience traveling in Moldova and Ukraine in 2018, sharing his informed take on the media’s mass propaganda around the Russian invasion. 

 Joel discusses the real reason for the inflation of commodities in the US, explaining why we can’t blame it all on Putin and how sanctions on Russia will impact the American economy moving forward.

Listen in to understand how Argentines have adapted to an inflation rate of 50% and hear Joel’s concern that central bankers might leverage negative sentiment toward Putin to ban crypto.

Key Takeaways

Joel’s travels through the separatist region of Transnistria on the western border of Ukraine

Joel’s take on the mass propaganda around the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the media’s oversimplified, black-and-white view of the conflict

How being de-platformed has become a tool of 21st century warfare

How sanctions imposed by Western corporations affect people in Belarus and Russia who have nothing to do with Putin or Lukashenko

The real reason for the inflation of commodities (and why we can’t blame it all on Putin)

How government sanctions on Russia will impact the US economy

How the people of Argentina have adapted to an inflation rate of 50% and the rising black market for alternatives to pesos in Argentina

What makes a global currency war a real possibility and why investors are looking at Bitcoin as a safe alternative to fiat money

Joel’s fear that central bankers might leverage the negative sentiment toward Putin to ban crypto

Why it’s usually a good bet to invest in things that China bans

Why Joel foresees short-term pain for crypto but is bullish on blockchain in the long term

How the energy required for Bitcoin produces a fraction of the carbon footprint of Pornhub

Connect with Joel Bowman

Joel on Twitter

Joel at Bonner Private Research

‘Death in the Afternoon’

‘Stairway to Hell’

Morris, Alive by Joel Bowman

Connect with Addison Wiggin

Consilience Financial

Be sure to follow The Wiggin Sessions on your socials. You can find me on—

Facebook @thewigginsessions

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Twitter @WigginSessions

Resources

5-Minute Forecast

Joel Bowman on The Wiggin Sessions EP035 

Dan Denning, Anya Leonard & Joel Bowman on The Wiggin Sessions EP013 

Classical Wisdom

Demetri Kofinas

‘Here Comes $7 Gas’

Brian Maher in The Daily Reckoning

Byron King

‘How to Ruin Your Economy, Like Argentina’

Adam Sharp

Jim Rickards

HIVE Blockchain Technologies

Mark Moss on The Wiggin Sessions EP030