Minor Issues

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.Purchase a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

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?Purchase a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

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.Purchase a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

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.Additional Resources"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_58Order a free paperback copy of Hayek for the 21st Century by F. A. Hayek: https://mises.org/Hayek21Purchase a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton appears on Arcadia Economics with Chris Marcus during a volatile week for gold and silver amid the escalation with Iran. They unpack the risks and “unintended consequences” of the conflict, along with what all of this means for markets, the dollar, and investor psychology. Mark closes with a hard look at the Fed-fueled, fifteen-year bubble of credit and debt, the growing stress in sovereign debt markets, and why central bankers can’t “magic away” the structural problems that created this mess.The original episode is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQn1GenrMyQOrder a free paperback copy of Hayek for the 21st Century by F. A. Hayek: https://mises.org/Hayek21Purchase a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

On this episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton appears on Reinvent Money with Paul Buitink for a “state of the system” conversation. Mark breaks down the US economy as an “everything bubble,” explains what’s really behind the trade deficit and the dollar’s reserve status, and grades Trump’s first-year economic agenda. He closes with a practical Austrian roadmap toward sound money: real savings, capital accumulation, and removing tax penalties on interest, dividends, and long-term gains.The original episode is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgqsHCQxSrwOrder a free paperback copy of Hayek for the 21st Century by F. A. Hayek: https://mises.org/Hayek21Purchase a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

On this special episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton shares his recent interview with Darrell Thomas on VRIC Media. Mark explains how Keynesian ideas normalized chronic deficits and a debt-financed state. They discuss tariffs and policy volatility, how inflation has been partly masked by cheap imports, and why distorted price signals hit entrepreneurs and small businesses hardest. The conversation also covers rising interest costs, pressure for renewed yield-curve suppression, and what it all implies for gold, silver, and commodities.The original episode is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI9Y-lITpnQPurchase a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

In this episode, Mark Thornton offers a practical “seven-word” framework for navigating economic life, especially when policy chaos and uncertainty make long-term planning harder. Mark connects everyday action (work, learning, planning, saving, spending, giving, and prayer) to core Austrian themes: purposeful choice, psychic profit, time preference, entrepreneurship under uncertainty, and the distortions created by inflation and debt-driven policy.Donate today to celebrate 20 years of Mises Media on YouTube. Donate $30 or more and we’ll send you a free, physical copy of Hunter Lewis’s book, Crony Capitalism in America: http://mises.org/youtube20Additional Resources"Billionaires, Workers, and the Exploitation Theory" by Bob Murphy (Human Action Podcast, Episode 534): https://mises.org/MI_164_AHuman Action by Ludwig von Mises: https://mises.org/MI_164_BMan, Economy, and State by Murray N. Rothbard: https://mises.org/MI_164_CThe Quotable Mises edited by Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_164_DOrder a free paperback copy of Hayek for the 21st Century by F. A. Hayek: https://mises.org/Hayek21Purchase a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Mark Thornton sits down with Ben Mumme of Living Your Greatness for a wide-ranging, long-form conversation, starting with gold and silver’s run-up and sudden correction, zooming out to inflation, saving, and why Austrian economics matters for everyday life. Watch the original interview at https://livingyourgreatness.org/podcastOrder a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Has silver become a Giffen good, the famous textbook anomaly where higher prices supposedly lead to higher demand? In this episode, Mark Thornton argues the story is compelling... but wrong. Mark explains why recent surges in silver demand amid rapidly rising prices don’t overturn the law of demand. They reflect shifting demand curves as market conditions, expectations, and classifications change. The bottom line is that silver is not a paradox: it’s a timely lesson in how markets adjust while economic laws hold.Additional Resources"What Are Giffen Goods? Definition, Examples, and Economic Insights" by Andrew Bloomenthal (Investopedia): https://mises.org/MI_162_A"Did Silver Break a Fundamental Law of Demand?" Money Metals' Weekly Market Wrap Podcast (December 10, 2025): https://mises.org/MI_162_B"Money Costs, Prices, and Alfred Marshall" by Murray Rothbard (Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market): https://mises.org/MI_162_C“Notes on the History of the Giffen Paradox” by George J. Stigler (The Journal of Political Economy, April 1947): https://mises.org/MI_162_D"Giffen Behavior: Theory and Evidence" by Robert T. Jensen and Nolan Miller: https://mises.org/MI_162_E“Gray and Giffen Goods" by Etsusuke Masuda and Peter Newman (The Economic Journal, December 1981): https://mises.org/MI_162_F“Beware of Giffen-ish Vibes in the Money Market” by Tim Hartford (Financial Times, May 2025): https://mises.org/MI_162_G“Sir Robert Giffen and the Great Potato Famine: A Discussion of the Role of a Legend in Neoclassical Economics,” by Terrence McDonough and Joseph Eisenhaur (Journal of Economic Issues, September 1995): https://mises.org/MI_162_HOrder a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

In this special episode, Mark Thornton presents a timely interview with Elijah K. Johnson that underscores how quickly “melt-ups” can flip into sharp corrections. Mark frames the discussion around three themes: why investors should temper expectations after a major run-up; why political and financial elites will move aggressively to protect their interests when markets wobble; and why soaring gold and silver prices (however tempting) ultimately signal deeper economic and social distress rather than a clean “win” for the private sector.Join us for the Mises Institute's first event of 2026, featuring Keith Smith, Caitlin Long, Ryan McMaken, Per Bylund, and Timothy Terrell: "Entrepreneurship Beyond Politics: Mises Circle in Oklahoma City." Register today at https://mises.org/okcOrder a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton explains why the modern discussion of the division of labor is distorted by bad theory and political incentives. Mark contrasts Adam Smith's view with the Austrian tradition—especially Mises’s—where the division of labor is driven and continuously reorganized by entrepreneurial judgment under uncertainty, disciplined by profit and loss. Mark also shows why technocrats and social engineers love an entrepreneur-less story of specialization, why Marxists found support in Smith’s labor-theory drift, and why the real gains from specialization depend on individual differences that markets harmonize through exchange.Enter the 2026 Stocks vs. Manure Prediction Contest at https://mises.org/form/stocks-vs-manure-2026See “The Division of Labor Is at the Very Core of Economic Growth” by Per Bylund in The Next Generation of Austrian Economics: Essays in Honor of Joseph T. Salerno: https://mises.org/MI_160_AJoin us for the Mises Institute's first event of 2026, featuring Keith Smith, Caitlin Long, Ryan McMaken, Per Bylund, and Timothy Terrell: "Entrepreneurship Beyond Politics: Mises Circle in Oklahoma City." Register today at https://mises.org/okcOrder a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton shares an in-depth interview with Jeremy McKeown of In the Company of Mavericks on the long rivalry between Austrian and Keynesian economics, and why Austrian ideas may be gaining new traction today. They trace how Austrian economics moved from a small academic outpost to a wider public audience, touching on the Mises Institute’s role, the influence of figures like Roger Garrison and Ron Paul, and the ways online media and “alternative finance” have helped spread Austrian perspectives.We're entering the final week to enter the 2026 Stocks vs. Manure Prediction Contest at https://mises.org/form/stocks-vs-manure-2026Join us for the Mises Institute's first event of 2026, featuring Keith Smith, Caitlin Long, Ryan McMaken, Per Bylund, and Timothy Terrell: "Entrepreneurship Beyond Politics: Mises Circle in Oklahoma City." Register today at https://mises.org/okcOrder a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Mark Thornton revisits the Skyscraper Curse—the eerie pattern linking record-height towers to major busts—and argues the next signal is flashing for 2026. Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Tower has restarted and is reportedly adding floors fast, poised to surpass the world record. Mark explains why skyscraper records tend to coincide with late-cycle excess, and how to read the next 12–24 months without superstition.The Skyscraper Curse: And How Austrian Economists Predicted Every Major Economic Crisis of the Last Century by Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/curseAnatomy of the Crash, edited by Tho Bishop: https://mises.org/crashJoin us for the Mises Institute's first event of 2026, featuring Keith Smith, Caitlin Long, Ryan McMaken, Per Bylund, and Timothy Terrell: "Entrepreneurship Beyond Politics: Mises Circle in Oklahoma City." Register today at https://mises.org/okcOrder a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerEnter the 2026 Stocks vs. Manure Prediction Contest at https://mises.org/form/stocks-vs-manure-2026Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton revisits the history—and present risk—of hyperinflation. Mark explains the threshold that defines hyperinflation, why measuring prices under chaos is hard (yet still revealing), and how the social damage mirrors war: savings vaporize, capital is destroyed, and civic trust collapses. He closes with practical takeaways: why gold and silver often move first as “fire alarms” and why studying past episodes builds the psychological and analytical readiness to face low-probability, high-impact events."The Road to Hyperinflation" (Minor Issues, Episode 136): https://mises.org/MI_136"The Gold-Silver Ratio" (Minor Issues, Episode 119): https://mises.org/MI_119"On Hyperinflation: New Evidence from Zambia, the Central African Franc Zone, and Belarus" by Steve H. Hanke and Nicole Saade (World Economics Journal, December 2025): https://mises.org/MI_157_A"Hyperinflation and the Destruction of Human Personality" by Joseph T. Salerno (lecture): https://mises.org/MI_157_B "Hyperinflation and The Destruction of Human Personality" by Joseph T. Salerno (Studia Humana, 2013): https://mises.org/MI_157_C>>> Order a Minor Issues tumbler today! https://mises.org/MinorIssuesTumblerEnter the 2026 Stocks vs. Manure Prediction Contest at https://mises.org/form/stocks-vs-manure-2026Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Mark Thornton kicks off 2026 with the new Minor Issues prediction contest (stocks vs. manure) and a hard look at the monetary-metals squeeze. Mark explains why $50 silver triggered “growing pains”: spot–futures disconnects, margin hikes, empty coin shops, and weird retail premiums. As investor demand collides with industrial stockpiling, price spikes invite political scapegoating (“hoarders!”) and intervention that backfires. Expect more meddling before genuine market adjustments can work.Enter the 2026 Stocks vs. Manure Prediction Contest at https://mises.org/form/stocks-vs-manure-2026Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Mark Thornton appears on Metals and Miners with Gary Bohm. They explore the Federal Reserve's policies, geopolitical impacts, commodity underinvestment, AI's economic role, precious metals like gold and silver, stock market valuations, and the path to prosperity through free markets. Mark shares Austrian economics perspectives on the 2026 outlook, deflation benefits, and why government intervention fails.Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

The Minor Issues year-end episode: what 2025 really taught us and what 2026 may bring. Mark Thornton revisits tariffs, inflation, metals, and interest rates; recaps his Bitcoin vs. Gold contest; and explains why a steepening yield curve could arrive even as the Fed cuts short rates. Mark also maps the risks of an un-inversion and why today’s calm in CRE, private credit, and AI capex may mask fragility. Looking ahead, Mark previews the 2026 prediction contest: Stocks vs. Manure.Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Mark Thornton joins Scott Horton to discuss the state of the economy, the boom-bust cycle, and why anybody—left, right, and center—who cares about the wellbeing of the working class needs to oppose the existence of the Federal Reserve.Visit the Scott Horton Show at http://scotthortonshow.comBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Mark Thornton argues that interest is a core price that coordinates time, investment, and growth, and that the Federal Reserve has turned it into an administered number. Mark warns the long-run trend may be turning: bigger states and debts, weaker anti-inflation ideology, and aging populations imply longer, higher for longer. What are the implications? Keep that 2% Covid-era mortgage, expect poor long-bond returns and lower real equity performance, and look for commodities to fare relatively better. Gold’s surge shows some investors already see the shift.Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

In this special mid-week episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton joins Julia LaRoche for a wide-angle tour of the macro landscape, and why gold’s surge is a market verdict on deficits, rate manipulation, and fiat fatigue. Mark outlines the Austrian business cycle story behind today’s “everything bubble,” and explains why a more dovish Fed in 2026 won’t cure malinvestment. He also contrasts Bitcoin with commodity money and sketches a practical exit: sound money, hard budget constraints, and decentralization.Check out The Julia LaRoche Show at https://JuliaLaRoche.comBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton takes apart the media’s “K-shaped economy” cliché. He explains the divergence the Austrian way: Cantillon effects from decades of deficit spending and artificially low rates that lift asset holders and big borrowers, while eroding wages and pricing-out families. Mark shows why the usual fixes like tax tweaks and rate cuts backfire. He also lays out a real cure: deep federal spending cuts, program eliminations, market-set interest rates, and sound money that restores honest price signals for everyone.Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

In a special midweek episode of the Minor Issues podcast, Mark Thornton appears on Palisades Gold Radio with Stijn Schmitz. Mark argues that gold’s surge isn’t a fad: it’s a market verdict on runaway deficits, central-bank credibility, and fiat money itself. He also explains why manipulated rates breed booms, busts, and inequality, while sound money and decentralization restore real signals.The original episode ("Dr. Mark Thornton: Early Innings for Gold, Silver Manipulation, Black Swans & Failing Markets") is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2FUnca1q3cBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Mark Thornton dissects “contagion” hype and argues it’s not a market pathology. He shows why, in a free market, failures reallocate customers, labor, and capital to better firms rather than spread panic. Contagion appears only when government links balance sheets and distorts prices. Mark traces how credit booms set up busts, and why even the Fed now sits upside-down, while homeowners are “rate-locked” and supply is frozen. The takeaway: politicians and central bankers invoke "contagion" to demand more power and money, while their interventions cause the very fragility they decry.See also "Fight Inflation Now" (Minor Issues, episode 72): Mises.org/MI_72Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Mark Thornton traces seven headline “problems” back to one engine: monetary inflation. Drawing on Austrian insights, Mark explains how new money distorts prices and wages; why cheap credit spawns debt booms, asset bubbles, and zombie firms; how deficit finance and central banking turn war into a budget line; and why rising prices erode family formation, savings, and civic trust. He connects the dots to today’s policy mix and sketches a bottom-up remedy: hard budget constraints, sound money, and decentralization that restores real price signals. Mark makes the case that inflation isn’t just “too many dollars”: it’s the hidden subsidy powering them all.Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

On this marathon episode of Minor Issues, Mark stitches together four recent interviews for a fast-moving tour of today’s economy: why gold spiked while precious metals whipsawed, how ballooning US debt and rising servicing costs tilt policy toward monetization, and what that means for inflation, markets, and families. Along the way Mark explains the Austrian lens behind his calls and why using it beats siloed, headline-driven takes.Highlights include: the recent precious metals pullback and what to watch next; the mechanics of debt monetization; distributional effects that favor asset holders over wage earners; and why hyperinflation risk is slow… until it’s fast.Additional Resources"Dollar Demise and the New Era for Gold & Silver" (The Freedom Report), November 7, 2025: https://Mises.org/MI_146_A"GOLD: You Will NOT Get A Second Warning!" (Soar Financially), October 28, 2025: https://Mises.org/MI_146_B"Gold Ringing Alarm Bells, Silver Setting Up to Skyrocket" (Investing News), October 28, 2025: https://Mises.org/MI_146_C"The Fed and Runaway Government Debt Undermine the Very Basis of Civilisation" (maneco64), November 1, 2025: https://Mises.org/MI_146_DBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Is silver “manipulated,” or are fundamentals doing the work? Mark Thornton sifts the evidence and finds a simpler story. Big players have gamed markets before, but the long arc of silver prices reflects structural forces: the 1960s demonetization that pushed vast coin hoards into private stockpiles, decades of shifting industrial demand, and the rise of by-product mining. Add environmental compliance and hard-to-recycle “green” uses that sequester silver, and the result is stubbornly low real prices.Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Speaking at the recent Mises Institute Supporters Summit, Mark Thornton argues that lasting reform comes from the bottom up, not from political edict. Drawing on Hayek’s “worst get to the top” insight, Mark contrasts elite-driven prohibition with the citizen-led wave of decriminalization and legalization across states and abroad. Mark also explains the role of “salutary neglect” by local officials, the Oregon backlash as a failure of property-rights enforcement—not of liberty—and the scholarly case against the drug war. The crux: markets and civil society integrate; top-down policy divides.Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Mark Thornton reviews David Howden’s data-driven guide to long-horizon investing in commodities, useful even for Austrians wary of statistics. Mark explains how the book’s method ranks assets by relative valuation, generates 10-year return forecasts, and frames risk premiums, using gold and silver as case studies. Mark highlights how a formal model can still complement Austrian fundamentals and capital-allocation thinking, and he previews an upcoming episode on silver that will build on these results.Purchase The Almanac of Commodities by David Howden at http://mises.org/almanacBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Mark Thornton shares a timely conversation from the Liberty & Finance podcast with Elijah K. Johnson. Mark explains why $50 silver is a psychological barrier, and how decades of tech shifts, by-product mining, and central-bank gold buying shaped today’s divergence between gold and silver. The thread tying it all together: easy money seeds malinvestment and fragility; metals hedge the fallout.Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Mark Thornton lays the groundwork for understanding gold and silver before politics gets involved. Mark explains why monetary metals emerge from market “evolution,” how their non-consumptive use creates massive above-ground stocks, and why the same metal serves multiple markets (money vs. consumption) with one price. He explains how demand shifts trigger conservation and recycling, why new mining lags price spikes, how “near-monies” substitute when people economize on cash balances, and why any apparent stability (even par relationships) reflects underlying market conditions, not decree. Today’s price volatility is largely the artifact of intervention, not the metals themselves.Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton uses vitamin K2 (MK-7) as a case study in how technocracy goes wrong, elevating cutting-edge findings and bureaucracy over experience, incentives, and real-world diets. Mark explains why K2 is linked in emerging research to bone health, arterial calcification, and even neurodegenerative conditions, and highlights a paradox: many food sources rich in K2 (beef, eggs, butter, chicken liver, European cheeses, salami) are officially discouraged, while “approved” sources (natto, kefir, sauerkraut) are niche. The takeaway isn’t medical advice, it’s a critique of a compliance-driven health regime that sidelines decentralized knowledge and choice.Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton critiques “green” mandates through the seen–unseen lens, contrasting them with conservation grounded in property rights and price signals. He spotlights silver—vital for electronics, medicine, and water filtration, hard to recycle, and mostly a mining byproduct—now in multi-year supply deficits. Subsidies for solar and EVs accelerate silver consumption and divert it from higher-value uses into short-lived installations. Real conservation comes from ownership, profit and loss, and interest rates, not bureaucratic targets.Donate $5 today to support the Mises Institute's Fall Campaign and receive a physical copy of Hayek for the 21st Century: https://mises.org/mi25A special bonus offer for Minor Issues listeners: donate to the Mises Institute's Fall Campaign and receive a signed copy of Free Trade in the 21st Century: https://mises.org/mi25Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Mark Thornton returns as a guest on the Liberty and Finance podcast with Dunagun Kaiser to walk through Ludwig von Mises’s three stages of inflation, and why today’s mix of towering deficits and money printing puts the US on the on-ramp to hyperinflation. Mark also connects sanctions and tariffs to global de-dollarization, explains why central banks are swapping Treasuries for gold, and breaks down his gold-to-silver trade. The conversation ranges from “black swans” to state-level sound-money moves, and closes with practical steps.Additional ResourcesVisit Liberty and Finance at https://libertyandfinance.com"Black Swans, Sequestered Capital, and the Next Bust” (Minor Issues): https://mises.org/MI_137Donate $5 today to support the Mises Institute's Fall Campaign and receive a physical copy of Hayek for the 21st Century: https://mises.org/mi25A special bonus offer for Minor Issues listeners: donate to the Mises Institute's Fall Campaign and receive a signed copy of Free Trade in the 21st Century: https://mises.org/mi25Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton argues that “black swans” aren’t root causes but announcement effects of imbalances created by the Fed’s cheap-credit booms. He highlights Ball State economist James McLure’s idea of sequestered capital—R&D, financial innovations, and opaque private assets shielded from public information—which proliferate under artificially low rates. From the Dutch Tulip Bubble and 1929 investment trusts to today’s candidates—hedge-fund private deals, AI data centers, commercial real estate, and crypto—the pattern is the same: policy-driven credit expansion seeds the very “unknowns” that later trigger crises. The fix isn’t more regulation; it’s removing the fuel line of easy money.See also "Sequestered Capital: An Overlooked Lacuna in the Capital Structure” by James McClure: https://mises.org/MI_137_AThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFreeBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton takes a provocative look at America’s path toward hyperinflation. Mark walks through Mises’s three stages of inflation, contending the US is moving from complacency to active flight from cash, and he ties today’s risks to sanctions policy, BRICS efforts to bypass SWIFT with gold-leaning systems, and foreign central banks rotating from Treasuries into gold. At home, Mark sees households hedging with real estate, older savers turning to precious metals, and younger investors to crypto: classic signs of eroding demand for dollars.Additional Resources"The Gold-Silver Ratio” (Minor Issues Podcast, Episode 119) : https://mises.org/MI_119"Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System" by Mark Thornton (Book review, Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics): https://mises.org/MI_136_A"Exorbitant Privilege Gained and Lost: Fiscal Implications” by Zefeng Chen, Zhengyang Jiang, Hanno Lustig, Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, and Mindy Xiaolan (Journal of Political Economy): https://mises.org/MI_136_BThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFreeBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Is Hans-Hermann Hoppe a firebrand revolutionary, or something very different? On this episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton traces Hoppe’s American debut in 1986 and follows the controversies that later made Hoppe a lightning rod. The case here is straightforward: Hoppe isn’t a political revolutionary aiming to remake society by seizing state power; he’s a natural-rights theorist whose analysis—grounded in property, history, and Austrian economics—argues for social cooperation without a predatory state. Hoppe is an exacting analyst of what works, not an architect of upheaval.Additional ResourcesA Life in Liberty: Liber Amicorum in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe, edited by Jörg Guido Hülsmann and Stephan Kinsella (PDF): https://mises.org/MI_135_A Or, purchase the book online: https://mises.org/LiberAmicorum"Understanding the timing and outcome of the Russian Revolution: a public choice approach” (Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice)" by Gregory Dempster, Robert B. Ekelund, Jr., and Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_135_B"Rent Seeking as an Evolving Process: The Case of the Ancien Régime" (Public Choice) by Robert. B. Ekelund, Jr., and Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_135_C"A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism” by Mark Thornton (in Property, Freedom, and Society: Essays in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe): https://mises.org/MI_135_DThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFreeBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

On this episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton responds to Charlie Kirk’s “most controversial take” on cannabis and drug policy. Mark contrasts Kirk’s opposition to reclassification with the long history of prohibition as a Progressive project, showing how state intervention—not liberty—is responsible for urban decay, social breakdown, and the failures of drug policy. Drawing on examples from alcohol and cannabis prohibition to today’s welfare state, Mark argues that addiction is fueled less by markets than by the permissive culture and coercive power of government."Should America Reclassify Weed?" (Charlie Kirk Show): https://mises.org/MI_134_A"Drug Warriors Claim Colorado Going to Pot" by Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_134_B"The Oregon Problem: It’s Not Drugs! It’s the Socialistic Political Culture" by Mark Thornton: https://mises.org/MI_134_C"The Oregon Problem" (Minor Issues Podcast): https://mises.org/MI_48"Measure 110 and Property Rights" (Minor Issues Podcast): https://mises.org/MI_55The Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFreeBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

As central bankers descend on Jackson Hole for their annual gathering, Mark Thornton explores the history, politics, and pageantry of the world’s most exclusive monetary policy conference. From its origins as a small agricultural meeting to a global elite summit shaped by Paul Volcker’s love of fly fishing, the event now serves as a stage for off-the-record conversations, coordinated strategies, and public displays of “confidence.” With the US economy facing stagflation, debt explosions, and political pressure on the Fed, the real drama lies not in the official speeches, but in the private exchanges among the world’s leading “money printers.”See also "About the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium" (Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City): https://mises.org/MI_133_AThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies of Hayek for the 21st Century. Get your free copy at https://mises.org/IssuesFreeBe sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

What happens when a society consumes its seed corn? What is capital consumption, and why does it matter? In this episode, Mark Thornton examines how inflation, deficit spending, and distorted market signals quietly erode the productive assets that fuel economic growth. Drawing on Austrian economics and insights from investor Rick Rule, Mark explains how governments and central banks incentivize the misuse of capital, leading to stagnation, underinvestment, and long-term decline. Understanding this unseen destruction is key to making sense of today’s economic malaise.See also "Rick Rule: Shortages In Key Natural Resources To Define Next Decade": https://mises.org/MI_132_ARegister for the 2025 Mises Institute Supporters Summit in Delray Beach, Florida, October 16–18: https://mises.org/ss25Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues

Why do gold and silver coins often cost more than the spot price, and why do those premiums seem to disappear when you try to sell? On this episode, Mark Thornton dives into the misunderstood world of precious metal premiums. Mark explains how market forces—not shady schemes—drive the spread between retail and wholesale prices, and why that spread has shifted dramatically in recent years. From minting costs to shifting demand between retail buyers and institutional giants, Mark unpacks what’s really behind those price tags, and why your shiny coins might be worth less than you think, even as spot prices rise.Register for the 2025 Mises Institute Supporters Summit in Delray Beach, Florida, October 16–18: https://mises.org/ss25Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues