Great simplification pulsing lines

Ep 113  |  Lyn Alden

Lyn Alden: “The Myth of Frictionless Finance”

Check out this podcast

TGS113 Lyn Alden The Great Simplification

Show Summary

On this episode, Nate is joined by investment strategist Lyn Alden to discuss how energy and technology have shaped our monetary system and current financial trends. While more people are becoming aware of energy’s foundational role in our global systems, it is still widely overlooked, especially among those working in finance. In contrast, Lyn’s biophysically rooted analysis of macroeconomic patterns expose the cyclical dysfunction of the world’s economy. How has increasing energy availability and productivity offset the inflationary nature of fiat currencies – and what happens if this trend were to slow or reverse? What assumptions and biases have led most analysts to mis-read long term trends, leaving us with vulnerable economies? Is it possible to rejigger our systems and innovate more biophysically aligned tools to enable a smoother transition into a future with a lower energy throughput?

About Lyn Alden

Lyn Alden is an independent analyst and founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy with a background in engineering management. Her work provides institutional-level research in plain English, so that both institutional investors and retail investors can benefit from it. Lyn also serves as an independent director on the board of Swan.com and as a general partner at the venture capital firm Ego Death Capital. She is the author of the 2023 best-selling book Broken Money about the past, present, and future of money through the lens of technology. Lyn has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in engineering management, with a focus on engineering economics, systems engineering, and financial modeling. She worked for over a decade as an electrical engineer at the Federal Aviation Administration’s William J. Hughes Technical Center.

In French, we have a motto that says that a simple drawing is often better than a long explanation. Jean-Marc Jancovici Carbone 4 President

That’s very understandable because with left atmosphere thinking, one of the problems is that you see everything as a series of problems that must have solutions. Iain McGilchrist Neuroscientist and Philosopher

We can’t have hundreds and hundreds of real relationships that are healthy because that requires time and effort and full attention and awareness of being in real relationship and conversation with the other human. Nate Hagens Director of ISEOF

This is the crux of the whole problem. Individual parts of nature are more valuable than the biocomplexity of nature. Thomas Crowther Founder Restor

Show Notes & Links to Learn More

00:00 – Lyn Alden Works and Info, Broken Money

06:02 – Decades with less available energy

06:45 – ESG

08:30 – Kiril Sokoloff, Jeremy Grantham, Luke Gromen

09:03 – Debt and the Economy

09:38 – Just Stop Oil

09:43 – Oil’s centrality to our current lifestyles

10:49 – Long term energy consumption

15:31 – Money and the Mechanism of Exchange, William Stanley Jevons

16:04 – Cross Atlantic Telegraph Cable

17:02 – Disruption of the money system in WW1

18:02 – Decentralization in Bitcoin

18:34 – Decentralization in communication

19:29 – Jevons Paradox

21:53 – Majority of the world lives in developing countries

23:43 – Currency debasement

27:16 – Top 1% own 50% of the wealth, and top 10% own 90% of the wealth

29:10 – Arbitrage

31:10 – Average annual money supply growth in the US is ~7%

32:10 – Technology deflationary effects

33:43 – Business expenses that were historically offset by low interest rates no longer being supported

34:45 – NVIDIA, S&P 500 Energy

35:44 – Inflationary/Disinflationary cycles

36:26 – Nifty Fifty

37:28 – Dot Com Bubble

39:07 – Modern Monetary Theory

39:40 – Stanley DruckenmillerUS Gov debt vs total unfunded liabilities

40:24 – Debt Clock, Ross Perot

44:53 – Emerging Markets

45:14 – Nixon Shock

50:39 – Fiscal Dominance

51:10 – Banks role in money creation

57:40 – Jeff Booth

1:09:17 – Small Modular Nuclear Reactor

1:14:52 – 2013 unintended chain splits, 2018 bitcoin bug

1:16:55 – Alex Gladstein

1:17:12 – Central Bank DIgital Currencies

1:17:31 – Nigeria CBDC adoption

1:18:11 – Bitcoin adoption by country

1:26:45 – Bitcoin concentration of use

1:28:10 – China and bitcoin

1:31:30 – Yield Curve Control

Download transcript
Back to episodes
How Do You Become Who You Want to Be?With Taylor GuthrieThe Great SimplificationEp 191 | Taylor Guthrie

In this episode, Nate is joined by social neuroscientist Taylor Guthrie to delve into the neuroscience of identity, exploring how the brain constructs a sense of self and the implications for our modern societal challenges. They discuss the role of values and personal narrative in identity formation, the impact of technology and consumerism on self-perception, and the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as they relate to purpose and success.

Watch nowAug 20, 2025
The Forgotten Skills of Dying and Grieving WellWith Stephen JenkinsonThe Great SimplificationEp 190 | Stephen Jenkinson

In Western culture, topics surrounding death and dying are often considered taboo and are generally avoided in everyday conversations. But this reluctance to fully acknowledge and integrate death as a natural part of the human experience has rendered us less able to cope with the end of life and less prepared to show up for ourselves and the people around us as we inevitably navigate loss. But what if a more skillful engagement with death and grief could actually offer us a more mindful approach to living?

Watch nowAug 13, 2025
The Silent CollapseWith Oliver MilmanThe Great SimplificationEp 189 | Oliver Milman

Insects, bugs, creepy-crawlies – these small animals are often considered a nuisance (or worse) by humanity, bringing up an ongoing desire to kill or mitigate these “pests” that plague our backyards, homes, and gardens. But we’re beginning to see that, despite our cultural misconceptions, insects are actually at the foundation of our biosphere, food supply, and nearly every life process on Earth. This makes recent reports of rapidly declining insect populations all the more troubling – but can we recognize the vital importance of insects and reverse the harm we’ve done before it’s too late?

Watch nowAug 6, 2025

Subscribe to our Substack

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future (ISEOF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, founded in 2008, that conducts research and educates the public about energy issues and their impact on society.

Support our work
Get in touch
x