Mark Thornton opens this episode with a strategic assessment of the war's economic fallout: not the headlines, but the second- and third-order effects that are only now becoming visible. Oil production facilities across the Gulf have been destroyed, disrupted, or shut down, and restarting them is not a matter of flipping a switch. Some older wells will need to be redrilled entirely. Meanwhile, the disruption to fertilizer production threatens the next crop season and potentially longer-term food prices worldwide

Mark also provides a skyscraper curse update: the Jeddah Tower, once expected to reach record height in early 2027, has been pushed further out as Saudi finances and Gulf logistics are redirected toward reconstruction. The commodity super cycle thesis, he argues, remains fully intact despite the gold correction.

The second half features a detailed interview from Palisades Gold Radio in which Mark unpacks these themes further, covering the Austrian micro approach versus the Keynesian macro framework, why the stock market can hit all-time highs while the real economy deteriorates, and why the world is slowly but steadily moving back toward commodity money.

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On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton opens with a detailed analysis of the gold correction. Is the three-month decline a sign that inflation is over, or a temporary reallocation driven by war? The answer is in the data: the CRB commodity index continues to climb, the money supply is at an all-time high, and there is no evidence of deflation anywhere in the price structure. The inflation regime remains firmly in place, and the gold correction is a normal feature of bull markets whose real-world zigzags get smoothed away on long-term charts.

The second half features a panel interview from VRC Media with Rick Rule, hosted by Darrell Thomas. Rule lays out the case for a decade-long commodity super cycle driven by 30 years of underinvestment in productive capacity. He delivers a sobering calculation: $39 trillion in on-balance-sheet federal debt plus $120 trillion in off-balance-sheet unfunded entitlement promises (a combined $160 trillion against $170 trillion in total private American net worth). The only realistic resolution, Rule argues, is a "dishonest default," inflating away the purchasing power of the dollar, just as happened in the 1970s when the dollar lost 75% of its value. Mark concurs, noting that the money supply is growing at record pace even as Washington insists it's being "restrictive."

Mark's "Gold vs CRB Index" graph is available here: https://mises.org/MI175_Graph

The original VRIC interview is online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kMiiC08TNo

20% off listener offer on the new insulated Minor Issues tumbler and three of Mark's books, signed if ordered by the end of April: https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumbler. Use coupon code Thornton.

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On this episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton shows what most economic commentary misses: the market’s intricate structure of production. Starting with a single oil-and-gas byproduct—sulfur—Mark traces how it becomes sulfuric acid, a foundational input for fertilizers, batteries, and especially metal mining. The lesson is practical: war and intervention can disrupt these unseen links, shrinking real incomes and quietly raising the cost of everything from food production to data centers, and even your next plumbing bill.

In the second part of the episode, Mark features his recent interview on The Julia La Roche Show.

20% off listener offer on the new insulated Minor Issues tumbler and three of Mark's books, signed if ordered by the end of April: https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumbler. Use coupon code Thornton.

Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues