"Ethereum is Power to the People" with Jason Chaskin from the Ethereum Foundation | ZEROPOD S3 E1
Jason Chaskin is the newly minted head of app relations at the Ethereum Foundation, and he joins ZEROPOD as our first guest of season 3!In this conversation, host Toady Hawk chats with Jason about his journey from the halls of high finance to the trenches of ETH hackathons, his new EF role helping apps survive and thrive, and why he believes that Ethereum is uniquely positioned to bring power back to the people. If you enjoy this episode, you can collect an onchain version right here and support our ongoing work. --- Timestamps: 00:00 Why Ethereum? Open networks vs Big Tech servers 02:00 Introducing Jason + his background 02:44 Growing up in Connecticut, sports & early life 03:29 College years at Illinois, studying finance 07:00 First exposure to crypto during the ICO era 08:54 Corporate banking and investment banking disillusionment 11:30 Discovering crypto podcasts & influences 13:01 COVID money-printing → aha moment for Bitcoin & Ethereum 14:13 Entering NFTs and first onchain experiences 15:05 Learning to code + ETH Global hackathons 16:33 How Jason taught himself (CS50, Patrick Collins course) 17:22 Pivot point: job applications & rejection at Privy 18:18 Blogging, Farcaster channels, and breaking into EF 21:59 Landing a role with the Ethereum Foundation 22:42 Announcing his new role: Apps Relations & Research 24:59 What the new EF focus means for apps & use cases 27:03 Why stablecoins on Tron succeeded & lessons for ETH 30:03 Should Ethereum fight for stablecoin market share? 32:11 The bull case for apps on Ethereum 34:43 Vitalik’s vision, decentralization, and values 39:23 Are stablecoins bullish or bearish for Ethereum? 40:29 Favorite Vitalik blog posts + public goods funding 46:01 Why Ethereum is a counterbalance to centralization 49:41 Competition with Solana & L1 debates 53:10 Are L2s parasitic to Ethereum? 57:12 EF’s L1 vs L2 scaling roadmap explained 59:59 What new blockspace should be used for (apps, experiments) 1:01:21 Bull case for Farcaster & community building 1:03:50 Thoughts on Nouns DAO and funding public goods 1:09:37 Ethereum’s biggest challenges ahead 1:12:49 EF restructuring and adapting to regulation 1:16:28 Why EF is leaning into ecosystem support & comms 1:18:54 Reflections on FTX, regulation, and industry reputation 1:19:41 Looking ahead to 2025: apps, stablecoins, institutions 1:21:49 Lightning Round Q&A (food, music, hobbies, books, travel, inspirations) 1:28:06 Closing thoughts --- Podcast produced, edited and hosted by Toady Hawk. Zero Rights Reserved and Open Source (Just like Ethereum)Cover art commissioned from the talented @0xAprilia Funding provided by The Yellow Collective on Base, an onchain culture club for curious creators and artists. Find out more at yellowcollective.xyz.
AI, Movies, and Marketing Insights: A Conversation with Matt Hixson
In this episode, I sit down with Matt Hixson, founder of Telegance and veteran of enterprise software, to explore the rise of AI and its ripple effects across industries. With over 17 years leading initiatives in social media and analytics—including a decade working closely with YouTube and Google—Matt brings a unique perspective on how data is shaping the future. We dive into: 🎬 How AI is transforming movies and storytelling 🎨 What it means for creativity and creator tooling 💼 The impact on jobs, disruption, and new opportunities 📊 Why social data is a marketing goldmine for businesses Matt’s journey from CPA to entrepreneur and AI thinker makes for a fascinating conversation about technology, culture, and the future of work. If you enjoy the episode, don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of tech, creativity, and culture.
Signals & Storytelling: Farokh on Prediction Markets and Presidential Moments
I sat down with Farokh Sarmad, President of DASTAN and visionary behind Myriad Markets, to dive deep into: Media & community: How Myriad is reimagining reader participation by rewarding engagement and realigning media incentives. Farokh laid it all out at Consensus—saying “the participant actually gets a piece… gets reputation on-chain” instagram.com Prediction markets: From Polymarket to niche events, Farokh explored the future of decentralized event-driven finance, tying it into crypto culture, all while redefining how creators and communities interact Acquisitions & integration: How DASTAN is building across platforms like Rug Radio and Decrypt, integrating prediction tools into media ecosystems. And THAT one big interview: The world-leading moment when Farokh interviewed Donald Trump on X Spaces—the first crypto-company-affiliated presidential interview. Trump declared a vision of America becoming the “crypto capital of the world,” and Farokh pressed in on context, intent, and what it all means.
"Roller Coasters Before Gift Shops" | A ZEROPOD Spotlight on LAWL from CC0 Studios
Join JackWyldes and Toady Hawk for a casual chat between three zero rights maxis, as they interview LAWL about his copyright-free animation shop CC0 Studios and their newest show, The Normal MFer.
Reply Like It's Your Job... Because Now it Is with TheClipDotFun
An official ReplyGuy orientation video, hosted by JackWyldes' large suit and brought to you by Zero Rights Media and The Clip dot fun. "Comment to Earn" has arrived on Base. *Sponsored video from theclip.fun*
Proof of Legacy: Why Bitcoin might be art’s most profound frontier with Danny Yang
In this episode, we sit down with Danny Yang, founder of Onchain Monkey, to explore why more artists are turning to Bitcoin as a canvas. We dive into the rise of Bitcoin-based art, the unique qualities that make Bitcoin appealing to creators, and how permanence and provenance are all part of the story. From Ordinals to onchain evolution — if you’re curious about where art is headed, this one’s for you. 🔗 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and drop your thoughts in the comments. #Bitcoin #OnchainArt #OnchainMonkey #Ordinals #CryptoArt #DigitalArt #ProofOfArt
#11 - Toady Hawk, BETRMINT
Jeff is joined by Toady, Founder of BETRMINT. BETRMINT is a native Farcaster Mini App that gamifies support for creators. Users bet on “Based Creators”—posts or profiles they back—and can win Base ecosystem memecoins in return. Learn more by checking out https://betrmint.fun/mint-spin-win/betr-tipnFollow BETRMINT on Farcaster: https://farcaster.xyz/betrmint Follow Toady on Farcaster: https://farcaster.xyz/toadyhawk.ethFollow Toady on X: https://x.com/toady_hawk
BETRMINT: Mint, Spin & Win!
BETRMINT is a mini app on Farcaster, built by Zero Rights founder Toady Hawk. It turns supporting onchain creators into a dopamine-inducing game of chance, and has paid out over $13,000 in creator rewards so far! Animation by @jorges on Farcaster, commissioned by BETRMINT.
Digital Fashion & Creative Freedom | Alice Delahunt (SYKY)
In Episode 2 of The Good News Is..., we’re joined by Alice Delahunt, founder and CEO of SYKY, for a conversation about the future of fashion in a digital world. From her leadership roles at Burberry and Ralph Lauren to launching a next-gen platform for emerging designers, Alice has been at the forefront of where tech meets creativity. We dive into how blockchain is reshaping the fashion industry, what digital identity really means, and why empowering creators is central to the next era of culture.
Mini Apps Are the New App Store | NAC Ep. 21
Coop turns 30, markets melt, and Farcaster mini apps take center stage. This episode dives into the future of crypto distribution and why devs are skipping Apple and shipping onchain instead. Timestamps: - [09:33] Paperview joins Base Incubator → Lucas preps for demo day - [11:52] Farcaster mini app growth → what’s working, what’s broken - [16:07] Coop Records goes mobile → iOS vs Farcaster tradeoffs - [23:00] Louder token revival → buybacks, quests, and real utility - [35:03] Daniel Allan’s rise → content discipline + fanbase building - [44:25] Pump.fun + Circle IPO → market cycles and raising money - [52:09] Building for real users in a post-meme coin market
