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

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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.

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On this Minor Issues episode, Mark Thornton shares his recent interview with "Pinnacle Digest" host Aaron Hodnett. Mark uses Austrian business cycle theory to explain how “cheap money” distorts investment and leaves a fragile financial system that eventually has to correct. They dig into timing and market signals, what might finally expose the long-running “papered-over” boom, and how the Federal Reserve and policymakers typically respond when the cycle turns.

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Mark Thornton unpacks a counterintuitive correlation: as the Persian Gulf conflict escalates, oil spikes while gold and silver slide. He explains how higher oil feeds the CPI, locks central banks out of rate cuts, and pressures precious metals through the dollar and petrodollar system, distinguishing the real monetary inflation gold tracks from the statistical indexes driving Fed decisions. Stick around for a wide-ranging Commodity Culture interview with Jesse Day on the festering world war and the path back to hard money. Plus, an update on the 2026 stocks-vs-MOO prediction contest (fertilizer is running away with it).

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On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton shares his interview with Charlotte McLeod of Investing News Network, unpacking the sharp swings in gold and silver since late 2025. Mark connects the selloffs to a tightening business cycle and a growing liquidity crunch, and explains how Middle East conflict and changing energy settlement patterns threaten the petrodollar narrative.

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On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton discusses the recent whiplash in precious metals: historic run-ups, sharp pullbacks, and renewed claims of manipulation. He also explains how, as war and liquidity pressures evolve, markets pivot back to credit stress, rising interest rates, and ballooning government debt. What will central banks do next?

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On this episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton replays two short interviews: one recorded with Daniela Cambone weeks before the outbreak of war in the Middle East, and another with Dunagun Kaiser recorded days ago as the conflict escalates. Mark breaks down why precious metals are unusually volatile, how war and interventionism collide with inflationary fiat regimes, and why rising interest rates and commodity prices point to a more dangerous long-run trend. He also connects the dots between the Fed’s “liquidity” talk, a deeper leverage problem in finance, and the way wars can be used to divert attention from economic failures at home.

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On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton tackles the “Austrians don’t care about the poor” smear, arguing that Austrian monetary theory is designed to explain how political elites rig the system against working people. From Cantillon’s original gold mine thought experiment to today’s Fed-driven credit expansion, Mark explains how cheap money concentrates wealth and fuels the “K-shaped” economy, while a market-based monetary system would sharply limit this dynamic and restore more durable wage growth and stability.

"Share of Net Worth Held by the Top 1%" (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis): https://mises.org/MI_168_Graph

"Monetary Metals 101: How Gold and Silver Work in a Free Market" (Minor Issues, Episode 141) https://mises.org/MI_141

"The K-Shaped Economy" (Minor Issues, Episode 150): https://mises.org/MI_151

"Past Tense" (Minor Issues, Episode 83): https://mises.org/MI_83

"The Fed vs. the Real Economy" (Minor Issues, Episode 58): https://mises.org/MI_58

Order a free paperback copy of Hayek for the 21st Century by F. A. Hayek: https://mises.org/Hayek21

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