Ben McKenzie (on cryptocurrency)
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What is discussed at the start of this section?
Welcome, welcome, welcome to Armchair Expert, experts on expert. I'm Dan Shepard. You're Lily Padman.
I am.
And we have an expert that will be confusing to people.
I was confused.
You were very confused. You saw Ben in the yard and you said, oh my God, it's that Ben.
Yeah. When I read that we were having Ben McKenzie on, and I knew it was an expert episode and I saw what the episode was about. I read the write-up. I was like, oh, okay. So there's an expert with the same name. And then Walk in and it is the actor.
It is. And I got to tell you, I say this in the fact check, he's one of the smartest actors I've ever met in my life.
Incredibly smart.
He's so fucking smart. I had such a blast talking to him. Yeah. And yes, he has done his homework. He has an incredible... um book about this topic called easy money a new york times bestseller and a new documentary that's in theaters now called everyone is lying to you for money um and he's obsessed with cryptocurrencies and are they really a currency can you use them to buy things what are their value um Very entertaining. Obviously, you know him from the O.C. Southland, Gotham. Great dude. So glad we had him.
Please enjoy Ben McKenzie.
I got to tell you one second funny story that just overlapped with you. Yeah. So I see on the schedule like a few weeks out. This is a couple years ago. Brian Cox in the schedule. And I'm like, oh, cool, the guy from Succession. I can't wait to talk to him. And I keep saying to Rob and Monica, I'm like, I'm going to try to get him in the interview to say, fuck off. You watch Succession? So... Day of, we're eating lunch about like an hour before he gets here. I say it again to them and they're like, why do you keep saying fuck off? They go, you know, it's not the actor Brian Cox, it's the physicist Brian Cox. And I was like, oh fuck. I need a lot more research to have a physicist done.
How did Ben McKenzie transition from acting to investigating cryptocurrency?
Anyways, I just saw Monica in the yard and she goes, Oh my God, I thought it was the actor.
I thought it was an expert separately just with the same name. Are you serious?
Yeah, I didn't know you also did this.
That makes me so happy.
And they're like, I really like your book. I didn't know you were an actor.
I didn't know you were an expert.
Oh, I'm always trying to snatch another identity away from acting. First it was writing, then directing, and then, yeah, anything else. I'm like, yeah, please validate me in another way.
I know, right? Because I think it is hard. As an actor, you're so not in control. and people prejudge you based off the work you've done or whatever, and it's just like a very vulnerable place to be in.
And I had made a career of playing idiots, particularly, so. Yeah, you want to show off. Yeah, yeah, I had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. You should try teen idol, you know, it's a different. I think all these things come with their trade-offs, don't they? They do. Pull that fucker a little closer to you.
What insights does Ben provide about behavioral economics?
I want to hear that.
Dulcet tone. Dulcet tone.
That's the word I couldn't remember. Feel free to... Oh, look at this.
Don't worry. Wow.
Ben is mechanical. He's a man. Oh, my God. I have the longest legs for this couch.
But that's okay.
It's not a great couch, okay?
This is a great couch. I am just too short for couches today. All couches are too deep for me. They really did go deep.
What are the implications of cryptocurrency on traditional financial systems?
They're fine for you. You can do this. Yeah, there was a paradigm shift about 18 years ago in couches, and they got deeper and deeper. These are not the couches we grew up sitting on. No, they're not.
And they are more comfortable, except I just feel like such an old man saying this. My back is always like sharp. Feel free to take that pillow.
Oh, yeah. I'm going to do that. Yes, yes, yes.
Thank you. I want you to be comfortable. We're going to be here for four hours. Oh, it's going to go deep. My spiritual headquarters is Austin, and specifically my church is Barton Springs. Yeah, buddy. It is glorious, isn't it? Yeah, did you as a little kid? Yeah. It hasn't changed, right? They haven't, like, fucked with it, have they? No, the concrete's 75 years old, and it's a grass hill.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is discussed at the start of this section?
0:00–2:16
2
How did Ben McKenzie transition from acting to investigating cryptocurrency?
2:16–3:15
3
What insights does Ben provide about behavioral economics?
3:15–3:36
4
What are the implications of cryptocurrency on traditional financial systems?
3:36–57:49
5
What are the implications of fraud in cryptocurrency?
57:49–58:20
6
How does behavioral economics explain investor behavior?
58:20–59:44
7
What challenges did El Salvador face with Bitcoin as currency?
59:44–1:01:29
8
How does the documentary 'Everyone Is Lying to You for Money' address cryptocurrency?
1:01:29–1:51:59