In Episode 2 of Say WoT?, Avi sits down with Gzuuus to “debug the intersection of AI and the Web of Trust,” tracing his build path through DVMCP, ContextVM, and his latest project, Relatr, with the goal of engineering machine intelligence that amplifies human reputation instead of harvesting it.

Gzuuus explains why ContextVM evolved from an earlier “kitchen sink” approach into a cleaner design that lives at the transport layer, using Nostr keys for authentication/authorization, and leaning into ephemeral events plus a single kind for communications to keep things minimal and composable.

Then the conversation drops into Relatr: a fully open-source, self-hostable Web-of-Trust service designed to run “anywhere” (even on a Raspberry Pi), with real-world performance on a cheap VPS and fast search response times. Relatr supports two complementary interfaces: ContextVM’s request/response pattern (needed for things like search) and NIP-85 Trusted Assertions (a more native produce/consume model that’s easier for clients to integrate).

On scoring, Gzuuus describes a tunable weighted formula that outputs a float from 0 to 1, anchored by social graph distance (hops) mapped through a decay function, with weights configurable by anyone running an instance. Finally, they explore practical client UX (like Amethyst consuming trusted assertions for spam mitigation) and the broader interoperability headaches haunting secure messaging, including MLS complexity and the risk of siloed implementations.

Links

• ContextVM
• Relatr
• Gzuus Github | ContextVM Github
• Enemies of Nostr Article

Avi and guest OpenMike riff on the weird gap between “real-world popularity” and how few followers some incredible musicians have on Nostr, then use that as a springboard into what it looks like to actually build culture: paying creators directly, making venues more resilient, and turning community into infrastructure.

The conversation detours into Tunestr and OpenMike’s search for a true “home base” venue, landing on Maggie Mae’s on 6th Street in Austin, right across from Rogan’s Comedy Club, as a potential flagship location to revitalize a legendary (and struggling) music corridor with Bitcoin/Nostr-native tooling.

Near the end, they preview a Value-for-Value music fest in Belgrade (week after BTC Prague), with a floating-club venue on the Danube called Zappa, plus a mix of independent and bigger acts.

Executive Producer (top booster from last episode): Rod Palmer

Find today's artists on nostr:

• Doomtree (Lazerbeak)
• Theo Katzman
• Sam Means
• Henry Invisible
• Suzanne Santo

Avi opens Episode 147 with “The Return of the Local Oracle,” a sermon on outsourced knowing, supply-chain truth, and rebuilding trust through people you can look in the eye: ranchers, butchers, and neighbors with gardens.

Tom Taber returns to unpack his work with the Beef Initiative, arguing that ranching culture runs on integrity, “cowboy code,” and accountability in a world he frames as increasingly Truman Show-ish.

They dig into the initiative’s mission: connecting consumers to ranchers (via beefmaps.com) while building something bigger. Tom explains that Texas Slim acquired beef.com, positioning it as a “digital ranch” with privacy protections and a marketplace for ranching trade beyond just beef.

The conversation turns to rebuilding independent micro-processing centers, and why Bitcoin capital can fund real-world infrastructure that saves ranches.

Links

• Beef Initiative on X
• Tom Taber on X
• Tom on nostr
• Avi's New Book – July 18
• Finding Home Episode 3 – Paraguay [IndeeHub Code: PIONEER21 ]
• Avi's First Book – 24 (2nd Edition)

Sunday Brunch is your lightning-laced decompression chamber: no sermon, no prepared questions, just coffee, a record player, and a guest DJ, with Value-for-Value splits (90% of boosts/streams during songs go to the artist; talk-time splits go to the guest + show).

This episode’s guest is Rod Palmer (Bitcoin Bugle), spinning a playlist that sparks a wide-ranging riff on staying sovereign through the noise: “the remnant will subscribe,” waves of normie dilution, and why the frontier always keeps a core that survives every cycle.

Between tracks, Avi and Rod go from “slop culture” (AI-generated everything and the new “hurdle rate” for art) to modern “glazing” as a social currency, plus a youth-perspective detour via E-Cash Sailor, broccoli haircuts, and peak timeline absurdity.

Links

• Rod's Playlist
• Avi's New Book – July 18
• Finding Home Episode 3 – Paraguay [IndeeHub Code: PIONEER21 ]
• Avi's First Book – 24 (2nd Edition)

Avi opens with a sermon on “embracing the outsider” and argues that the real mission isn’t winning debates, but building a parallel city, with art as core infrastructure and Bitcoiners as the new patrons.

Guest Dion Wilson, former professional dancer (including the touring cast of Disney’s The Lion King), shares his path from the demanding Broadway ecosystem into Bitcoin and launches Bitcoin for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) designed to support artists, institutions, and nonprofits with Bitcoin microgrants plus practical education on living and creating on a Bitcoin standard.

They talk NYC’s cultural cycles, fiat’s squeeze on artists (rising costs, stagnant artist pay), and a hopeful vision of a Bitcoin-driven Harlem renaissance.

Bitcoin For The Arts

Avi's New Book – July 18

Finding Home Episode 3 – Paraguay [IndeeHub Code: PIONEER21 ]

Avi's First Book – 24 (2nd Edition)

Say WoT? with host Avi Burra kicks off by staking the claim that Nostr’s “exit ramp” from addictive, black-box feeds is Web of Trust, and then immediately drops into the engine room with Vitor Pamplona (Amethyst), Derek Ross (Soapbox), and David Strayhorn (NosFabrica).

The trio breaks down NIP-85 trusted assertions as a simple delivery mechanism for portable, personalized trust scores (clients shouldn’t compute them), and tackles the “is this a social credit score?” fear head-on: the key difference is user-chosen providers + user-specific perspective, not a single global, centralized rating. They close by mapping real use-cases: spam/scam suppression (especially in notifications), better sorting and discovery, and the longer arc toward contextual trust (different signals and scores depending on what you’re trying to find).

Links

• NosFabrica
• Soapbox
• Amethyst

Welcome to the inaugural serving of Sunday Brunch – a new weekly format from Plebchain Radio designed to be your decompression chamber after a long week in the fiat mines. No roadmap grilling, no deep-dive technicals, just coffee, conversation, and a curated playlist of independent Value-for-Value music.

To kick things off, Avi is joined by Oscar Merry, the creator of Fountain, to spin tracks, discuss the state of the Open Music ecosystem, and chat about everything from the rise of Arsenal FC to the surprising resilience of London's food scene.

In this episode:

• The Brunch Format: Why we need "slow content" and spaces to relax, listen, and discover music without the pressure of constant learning.
• Life in London: Oscar debunks the "decline of London" narrative, shares his amateur football career, and discusses the cost-of-living crisis vs. salary stagnation in the UK.
• The State of V4V Music: The growth of independent music on Fountain, the ease of onboarding for artists, and the roadmap for 2026 – including live stream splits and better listener curation tools.
• The Playlist: A deep dive into 6 tracks from independent muscians, ranging from acoustic ballads to high-energy indie rock and symphonic metal. Links
• Oscar's Playlist
• Follow Hartlight on nostr

This week, I strip it back. No interviews. No sermon. Just signal.

I explore the philosophy of the Exit. Why fighting the system is a trap, why building alternatives is the only winning move, and how to navigate the inevitable friction this creates with the people we love.

I perform a reading of four essential essays by Max Hillebrand, woven together with a custom musical score to help the signal land.

The Program:

• Builders, Not Talkers: Why waiting for mass adoption is a waste of time. Societies break down collectively, but they are rebuilt individually.
• The Quiet Departure: Fighting the system validates it. Leaving it renders it irrelevant. The door is open for anyone willing to walk through.
• What Your Loved One Is Trying to Tell You: Reframing the conflict at the dinner table. It isn’t aggression; it is desperation born of care.
• The Candle’s Work: A tactical shift for your relationships. Stop preaching. Stop arguing. Just stay lit. Music:
• Interludes: "Rubble and Dust" & "Who Or Where You Are" by Steve Thorne.
• Exigenesis
• Score: Original Neo-Classical Arrangement (Mureka).

Avi's New Book – July 18

Finding Home Episode 2 [IndeeHub Code For 21% off: PIONEERCHAIN21 ]

Avi's First Book – 24 (2nd Edition)