A 'Money Reimagined' Best of 2022 Part 2: Media in the Metaverse, With NYT’s Kevin Roose on the Future of Crypto

This episode is sponsored by Roofstock onChain.

Web 3, the metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFT) have the potential to be a force for good in the world, to improve decentralization, raise underrepresented voices and empower creators. But with a digital land grab for virtual real estate growing fast, will people soon find themselves locked out of the metaverse?

On this “Best of” episode of “Money Reimagined” recorded in January 2022, hosts Michael Casey and Sheila Warren talk with Kevin Roose, New York Times tech columnist and author of “Futureproof,” a cautiously optimistic look into an automated, AI-filled and algorithmically driven future. Roose has also delved into the world of crypto: In March 2021, he wrote a column explaining non-fungible tokens (NFT), and then sold that column as an NFT for 350 ETH ($1.14 million at current prices.).

“I don't think we should feel like this is going to be entirely a good thing,” says Kevin Roose. “… [I]f Web 3 is becoming more like the offline world, in the sense of being exclusive and gate-kept in the ways that our physical world has been for so long.”

The future is rapidly approaching and the crypto industry is determined to establish its place in it. Web 3 is shaping up in opposition to the current Web 2, moving away from the centralized, data-driven approach of today's internet. Alongside Web 3 is the metaverse, where individuals can fragment themselves into two parts: their physical self, and their digital persona.

This episode was produced and edited by Michele Musso, and our executive producer, Jared Schwartz. Theme songs used are by Dresden the Flamingo, Ryan Saranich, 6 Music, and Afternoonz.