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PODCAST

The Pregame (NYC)

PubKey Media House

Good drinks, bad opinions, great company. This show is where guests make their pilgrimage to PubKey NYC, where they warm up in our VIP-only Parlor before their live show downstairs. This is THE PREGAME.

technology

All Episodes

00:55:07

Your AI Agent Will Want Bitcoin (w/ HRF & Marks)

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2026/02/22

In preparation for their LIVE AT PUBKEY show downstairs, Marks⁠ (CEO of ⁠MapleAI⁠) and ⁠Harrison Friedes⁠ (Freedom Tech Grants Lead at ⁠HRF⁠) grab a cold one with host ⁠Frank Corva in the PubKey NYC Parlor, where they let loose for an UNFILTERED conversation about the future of AI, how activists can safely useW AI in authoritarian countries, and what it all means for Bitcoin.▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Welcome home. PubKey is a bar and cultural venue located in New York City and Washington D.C. (With more

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00:47:12

Can a New Attorney General Save Bitcoin? (w/ Frank...

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2026/01/25

In preparation for their LIVE AT PUBKEY show downstairs, ⁠Frank Corva and Khurram Dara grab a cold one with host ⁠Thomas Pacchia in the PubKey NYC Parlor, where they let loose for an UNFILTERED conversation about:Why swapping out New York’s AG would change the state’s crypto business climate “overnight”How Khurram's career path runs straight through capital markets, early Ethereum DeFi, Coinbase’s SEC fight, Bain Capital Crypto, and now politicsA deep dive into the BitLicense and why it's a monopoly

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00:25:30

Why AI Must Be Open-Source (w/ HRF & Alex Hancock)

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/12/23

In preparation for their LIVE AT PUBKEY show downstairs, Harrison Friedes (AI for Individual Rights Program Associate at HRF) and Alex Hancock (senior software engineer at Block) grab a cold one with host ⁠Thomas Pacchia in the PubKey NYC Parlor, where they let loose for an UNFILTERED conversation about:The expansion of Human Rights Foundation’s freedom tech mission beyond Bitcoin into AI and open protocolsWhy Human Rights Foundation launched the AI for Individual Rights programHow Goose emerged

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00:25:49

Ross Ulbricht Was Just the Beginning (w/ The Mises...

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/12/16

In preparation for their LIVE AT PUBKEY show downstairs, ⁠Angela McArdle (chair of the Mises Caucus) and Amber Harris (executive director of the Mises Caucus) grab a cold one with host ⁠Thomas Pacchia in the PubKey NYC Parlor, where they let loose for an UNFILTERED conversation about:The takeaway from Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet: the government is escalating war on Bitcoin privacy toolsHow Angela led the charge on freeing Ross Ulbricht (and what she said to President Trump to persuade

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00:52:58

You Can't Censor America (w/ Preston Byrne)

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/12/02

In preparation for his LIVE AT PUBKEY show downstairs, ⁠Preston Byrne (Managing Partner at Byrne & Storm) grabs a cold one with host ⁠Thomas Pacchia in the PubKey NYC Parlor, where they let loose for an UNFILTERED conversation about:Preston's fight against the U.K.’s Online Safety Act, a global censorship weapon aimed at Americans who never set foot in BritainWhy Preston stepped in alone to defend Gab, Kiwi Farms, 4chan, and others when every big law firm refusedThe UK’s thirty-year slide

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01:01:50

How Bitcoin Defeats Nihilism (w/ Erik Cason)

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/11/24

In preparation for his LIVE AT PUBKEY show downstairs, ⁠Erik Cason (author of Cryptosovereignty: The Encrypted Political Philosophy of Bitcoin) grabs a cold one with host ⁠Thomas Pacchia in the PubKey NYC Parlor, where they let loose for an UNFILTERED conversation about:How Bitcoin introduced a new form of political power that will reshape the structure of nation-statesWhy fiat’s century-long decay (from greenbacks to 1971 to the GFC) created today’s nihilism, instability, and rising extremismWhat

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00:52:18

Is Digital Privacy Under Attack? (w/ Frank Corva &...

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/11/10

In preparation for their LIVE AT PUBKEY show downstairs, Frank Corva and David Z. Morris (journalist at The Rage) crack open a few cold ones with host Thomas Pacchia and pregame in the PubKey NYC Parlor, where they let loose for an UNFILTERED conversation about the Samourai Wallet trial verdict:Why the DOJ dropped money-laundering charges against the devs but still pushed for a max sentence under “unlicensed money transmission”How Keonne Rodriguez's handwritten letter advocating for his innocence

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00:41:14

Has AI Broken the Internet? (w/ HRF & Will Casarin)

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/10/27

In preparation for their LIVE AT PUBKEY show downstairs, Frank Corva, Zac Guignard⁠ (Financial Freedom Content Associate at ⁠HRF⁠), and ⁠Will Casarin⁠ (founder of ⁠Damus⁠) crack open a few cold ones and pregame in the PubKey NYC Parlor, where they let loose for an UNFILTERED conversation about: Yes, centralized platforms strip autonomy, but Nostr’s open protocol flips control back to the userHow Damus broadcasts to 100+ relays at once, making deplatforming nearly impossibleWhy vibe coding is

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00:49:59

What's the Final Boss of Bitcoin? (w/ HRF & Jorge...

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/10/20

Thomas Pacchia and Jorge Jraissati (Venezuelan activist and president of the Economic Inclusion Group) crack open a few cold ones and pregame in the PubKey NYC Parlor, where they let loose for an UNFILTERED conversation about: How Jorge's fight for financial inclusion led to building a pro-Bitcoin advocacy group in WashingtonWhy the Bank Secrecy Act (and the ways it enables financial surveillance and censorship) is the real “final boss” for BitcoinersThe quiet alliance between big banks and

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00:47:50

Why OpenAI Can't Save You (w/ CK, Matt Ahlborg, &...

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/10/02

In preparation for their Live at PubKey show downstairs, Christian "CK" Keroles, Matt Ahlborg, and Kyle Olney (with host Thomas Pacchia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) crack open a few cold ones and pregame in the PubKey NYC Parlor, where they let loose for an UNFILTERED conversation about: Why Tether adoption in Argentina exploded while Bitcoin lagged behindThe problem with centralized AI APIsWhy OpenAI’s success mirrors Stripe’s (but who really controls the Internet?)How PayPerQ could reshape AI access for

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00:47:12

Who's Afraid of Bitcoin? (w/ Max Keiser & Stacy Herbert)

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/09/29

Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert pre-game at the PubKey NYC Parlor (with hosts Thomas Pacchia and Mike Germano) in preparation for their LIVE AT PUBKEY show downstairs. They let loose for an unfiltered, beer-fueled conversation about: How Max’s early Wall Street failures, stand-up gigs, and film sets converged into his Bitcoin origin storyWhy punk rock and NYC “asshole culture” are the real foundation of Bitcoin maximalismStacy’s reflections on cultural power, media collapse, and why El Salvador is the

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00:35:30

PRE-GAMING (w/ Quoth the Raven & Matt Kita)

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/08/04

Quoth the Raven pre-games at the NYC Parlor with Thomas Pacchia and Matt Kita in preparation for his LIVE AT PUBKEY show downstairs. They let loose for an unfiltered, beer-fueled conversation about: Quoth the Raven's journey from disillusioned English major to bartender to short-seller... to accidental Bitcoin convertWhy the Fed is cornered the U.S. fiscal outlook is “beyond repair,” leaving most market participants due for a brutal reckoningWhat the Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad campaign says

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00:54:22

How AI Unlocks Free Speech Social Media (w/ HRF &...

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/07/21

Thomas Pacchia sits down for a livestreamed chat in the PubKey Parlor with Alex Li (Bitcoin development lead at the Human Rights Foundation) and Alex Gleason (currently Soapbox, formerly ex-Head of Engineering at Truth Social). They discuss:Why Nostr's keypair system makes it more secure than Twitter (or even Mastodon)How Alex Gleason’s open-source software got co-opted by Truth Social, and how he discovered Trump Media wasn't TRULY interested in free speechThe massive vulnerabilities in

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00:50:09

What's the 2025 Bitcoin Meta? (w/ Alex Leishman)

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/07/08

Thomas Pacchia⁠⁠ and ⁠Drew Armstrong⁠ sit down for a livestreamed chat in the PubKey parlor with ⁠⁠Alex Leishman⁠⁠ (CEO and CTO of ⁠River⁠). They discuss:Why River prioritizes operational excellence over financial engineeringHow states like Ohio and cities like Roswell, NM are quietly becoming pro-BitcoinWhy the rise of Bitcoin treasury companies could create systemic risks (and how River’s approach differs from the $MSTR playbook )Whether "paper Bitcoin" is a threat among custodians like

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00:49:48

The Importance of Bitcoin Culture (w/ Peter & Conor...

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/06/24

Thomas Pacchia⁠ and Mike Germano sit down for a livestreamed chat in the PubKey parlor with ⁠Peter McCormack⁠ and his son ⁠Conor⁠, the father-son duo behind Real Bedford FC. They discuss: How buying an F-tier football team accidentally became a Bitcoin branding masterstroke What it takes to build a winning squad while orange-pilling a town in real time Why Bedford might become the first truly Bitcoin-native city The challenges of stacking sats, managing payroll, and selling out stadiums without fiat

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00:35:23

The OP_RETURN Limit Debate (w/ Antoine Poinsot ,...

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/06/17

Thomas Pacchia and Drew Armstrong sit down for a livestreamed chat in the PubKey parlor with ⁠Antoine Poinsot⁠ and ⁠ArbedOut⁠. Partway through, ⁠American HODL⁠ crashes our studio to stir the pot. They discuss: What really caused the OP_RETURN firestorm, and why it’s about more than just inscriptions How the push for more data storage is creating incentives for harmful workarounds and network bloat Why Bitcoin Knots is no longer “just a slightly modified Core," and why that should concern you

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00:47:25

The Bitcoin Las Vegas 2025 Wrap-Up

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/06/08

The team is back from Bitcoin 2025 and the Oslo Freedom Forum! Thomas Pacchia hosts a packed post-conference debrief with Mike Germano, Drew Armstrong, and Frank Corva to break down what went down in Las Vegas and Oslo: What ACTUALLY happened behind-the-scenes at the Bitcoin Conference Why corporate treasury strategies dominated this year’s Bitcoin conference What it means when Bitcoin miners start acting like MicroStrategy Why some fear the next crash will be triggered by the new wave of public BTC

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00:58:45

From Louis Vuitton to Ledger (w/ Ian Rogers)

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/05/31

Thomas Pacchia and Mike Germano sit down for a livestreamed chat with ⁠Ian Rogers⁠, who went from managing the Beastie Boys’ digital presence to running Beats Music, building luxury tech at LVMH, and now pushing self-custody mainstream as Chief Experience Officer at Ledger. They discuss: What the Beastie Boys taught Ian about decentralization LONG before Bitcoin How iTunes reshaped digital commerce (and what it got wrong) Why Louis Vuitton made him rethink scarcity, status, and what it means to

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00:56:37

The Non-Profit MSTR (w/ HRF & Alex Gladstein)

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/05/20

Thomas Pacchia sits down for a livestreamed chat with Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation. They discuss: How HRF became an early Bitcoin-native organization (yes, even before Strategy) The hidden power of activist-developer collisions at the Oslo Freedom Forum Why authoritarian regimes (like North Korea) embracing Bitcoin might actually accelerate their collapse The plan to bring open-source AI tools to human rights defenders and keep them out of OpenAI and

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00:42:42

Stateless, Exiled, Still Fighting (w/ HRF & Berta Valle)

The Pregame (NYC) ·

2025/04/30

Berta Valle, a Nicaraguan journalist and vocal critic of the Daniel Ortega regime, joins Arsh Molu (Financial Freedom at the Human Rights Foundation) and Thomas Pacchia for a live-streamed chat in the PubKey Parlor, where they dive deep into:How Berta’s husband Félix Maradiaga went from professor to political prisonerThe moment her family lost access to all their savings overnightHow Nicaraguan police used banking data to hunt journalists and dissidentsHow exiled Nicaraguans are using freedom tech

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46 results

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