For those that think I'm all wet in my explanation, here is a paper from a central bank in an unusual moment of clarity. Usually central banks like to obfuscate things to such a degree that we mere mortals are only supposed to trust them in they knowing what they are doing. But in this unusually clear explanation, they come clean and actually explain how money is created very plainly in a way that even lowly I can understand.

Money creation in the modern economy    download in PDF form, by the Bank of England. Don't be afraid. It is not that long or complicated to understand. After all, I figured it out.

John

A quote for the "long reads" challenged:

Whenever a bank makes a loan, it
simultaneously creates a matching deposit in the
borrower’s bank account, thereby creating new money.