Episode
Explained: Cryptocurrency
Overview
Cryptocurrency has made people billionaires, but is digital cash the next revolution? Learn about this anonymous currency and how it's coveted.
Details
- Series
- Explained
- Season
- Season 1
- Episode
- Episode 5
- Air date
- 2018-06-06
- Runtime
- 18 min
Episode context
Cryptocurrency is Episode 5 in Season 1 of Explained. It aired on 2018-06-06. The runtime is 18 min.
Previous / Next
Episode 4: K-Pop
Elaborate music videos, adoring fans, killer choreography. Learn about the global music phenomenon from South Korea that goes beyond "Gangnam Style."
Episode 6: Why Diets Fail
Atkins. Paleo. Keto. Do any work in the long term? Experts look at marketing, food environments and genes to explain why diets are often unsuccessful.
More episodes from this season
Episode 3: Monogamy
What do biology, human history and the promiscuity of bonobos reveal about monogamy? Experts and everyday couples weigh in on shifting cultural norms.
Episode 7: The Stock Market
Does the stock market accurately reflect the status of the economy? Finance specialists discuss market history, valuations and CEO incentives.
Episode 2: Designer DNA
Scientific feat or terrifying social experiment? Specialists in the field discuss the high stakes and ethical controversies of gene editing.
Episode 8: eSports
Is fake violence a sport? Fans, shoutcasters, and eSports icons break down today's video games and the explosive popularity of competitive gaming.
Episode 1: The Racial Wealth Gap
Cory Booker and others discuss how slavery, housing discrimination and centuries of inequality have compounded to create a racial wealth gap.
Episode 9: Extraterrestrial Life
Despite decades of searching, we have yet to discover extraterrestrial life. Scientists discuss the reasons, including: Are aliens just too snobby?
Episode 10: !
Do we overuse exclamation points!? Linguists and copy editors look at how the punctuation has adapted across history, literature and internet-speak.
Episode 11: Cricket
Cricket experts look at how the confusing sport became so popular and discuss its evolution in becoming more accessible entertaining and profitable.
Episode 12: Weed
Marijuana experts discuss the rise of potent "sexually frustrated" cannabis plants, the quests for consistency in weed strains and the history of hemp.
Episode 13: Tattoo
They've been used to command respect, punish criminals and mark achievements. Tattooists speak about the origins of tattoo traditions and rituals.