Is money simply a tool for buying and selling, or is it a social technology built on trust, law, and shared belief? Why have humans continually reinvented money throughout history, from shells and coins to credit cards, cryptocurrencies, and digital payments? And what can the evolution of money teach us about human cooperation and society?

Bill Maurer is Dean of the School of Social Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, where he is Professor of Anthropology, Criminology, Law and Society, and Law. A cultural anthropologist and social-legal scholar, he is the founding director of the Institute for Money, Technology, and Financial Inclusion. His research examines the social life of money, financial technologies, payment systems, digital currencies, and the ways economic systems shape everyday human experience across cultures.

In this episode, we explore the surprisingly human story of money. Bill argues that money is far more than a medium of exchange. It is a social institution grounded in trust, relationships, and shared expectations. We discuss how different societies have created radically different forms of money throughout history, and why emerging technologies such as mobile payments, blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and artificial intelligence continue this long tradition of financial innovation rather than replacing it.

Our conversation also examines how financial technologies reshape institutions, identities, and social life. Bill explains why understanding money requires insights from anthropology as much as economics, and how studying everyday financial practices reveals broader questions about power, culture, and cooperation. This episode invites listeners to rethink one of the most familiar parts of daily life, showing that money is not simply an economic tool, but a window into how humans organize society itself.