Mark Thornton opens with a warning from Jackson Hole: the Fed’s public mandate is a cover story. Its real job is to serve the big banks and the state by keeping deficits, debt, and financial markets afloat through the power of printability. New programs, wars, bailouts, and political promises all become easier when the Fed can create money with keyboard entries, while consumers pay later through higher prices, unemployment, and crisis. On Side B, Thornton joins Wall Street Bullion to discuss gold, silver, commodity prices, the long-term consequences of paper money, the burden facing younger Am
Mark Thornton opens with an interview from the Rothbard Graduate Seminar on what makes Austrian economics distinct, why the Mises Institute matters, and how Böhm-Bawerk, Mises, and Austrian business cycle theory help students understand prices, capital, interest rates, socialism, skyscrapers, and the K-shaped economy. He emphasizes Austrian economics as a coherent, deductive approach rooted in human action and useful far beyond economics departments. On Side B, Mark joins VRIC Media and CapitalCosm to discuss the Fed, oil, government debt, Social Security, younger voters, and the future of the
Mark Thornton revisits his Mises University lecture on government intervention and economic inequality, arguing that intervention does not merely shrink the economic pie: it changes who gets the biggest slices. Drawing on Rothbard’s distinction between specific and general factors of production, Mark also shows how regulations, subsidies, tariffs, licensing, healthcare rules, and monetary policy reward protected firms, specialized capital, and politically favored workers while forcing everyone else into less productive, lower-paying alternatives. On Side B, Mark joins the David Lynn Show to di
Mark Thornton returns to Rothbard’s idea of major party realignment, arguing that ideology—not interest-group politics alone—drives long-term political change. He applies that framework to today’s Republican Party, tracing its roots in crony capitalism, protectionism, prohibitionism, and single-issue coalitions, while arguing that the modern uniparty supports inflation, war, runaway spending, debt, and the erosion of the middle class. On Side B, Mark joins Little by Little to discuss war, business cycles, bond-market distrust, private credit, gold, AI, and the growing divide between official s
Mark Thornton opens this triple-header episode with a live Radio Rothbard appearance from Mises University, joining Ryan McMaken to discuss inflation, the K-shaped economy, asset prices, debt, the dollar, and why Austrian theory explains what mainstream accounts leave out. Thornton argues that monetary inflation benefits asset owners and government-connected interests first, while working households face higher prices long before wages catch up. On Side B, Mark joins Freedom Works interview on democratic socialism, where he explains why young Americans are drawn to socialism, how government in
Mark Thornton opens with an update on the “Stocks versus Manure” prediction contest, where agricultural stocks are beating the S&P 500 year to date. He then joins Maggie Lake on Wealthion to discuss gold, silver, mining stocks, Kevin Warsh, Fed policy, interest rates, the dollar, and why the long-term thesis for precious metals rests on debt, deficits, monetary inflation, and financial repression. On Side B, Thornton appears on NTD to discuss the rising appeal of democratic socialism among younger Americans. He argues that young voters are reacting to real burdens—debt, unaffordable education,
Mark Thornton looks at the growing strength of democratic socialism inside the Democratic Party and asks whether the United States may be entering another era of major party realignment. Drawing on Rothbard’s analysis of long-term ideological change, Mark explains how younger voters, burdened by debt, unaffordable housing, healthcare, and education, are understandably angry—but are turning toward policies that helped create the crisis. Mark also examines how war, inflation, government intervention, and broken political promises are reshaping both major parties. On Side B, Thornton joins the Li
On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton examines the “dupes of war”—citizens trained by government, schools, and historians to accept false stories about the causes, costs, and supposed benefits of war. Drawing on Ludwig von Mises, Mark argues that war is not caused by isolated incidents or sudden crises, but by statism, nationalism, interventionism, and state worship. He challenges the standard narratives around World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, wartime “prosperity,” and government-funded innovation, warning that war benefits politicians, bankers, the military-industrial c
Mark Thornton delays part three of his series on American government in favor of something lighter for the 250th: the story of kudzu, the vine that ate the South. Japanese gardeners brought it to America in 1876 as an ornamental plant. Private interest stayed limited. Then FDR's Soil Conservation Service paid farmers to blanket millions of acres with it—to fix erosion and dust bowl conditions that earlier government policies had helped create. Kudzu grew a foot a day, swallowed trees, houses, and power lines, and became an environmental menace in the Southeast. Government herbicides couldn't k
Mark Thornton opens this episode of Minor Issues by tracing how politics shifted from the classical ideal of justice and community order into a Machiavellian struggle for power, privilege, and control. He argues that modern politics is dominated by entrenched elites, special interests, propaganda networks, and a two-party system designed to keep ordinary voters alienated and powerless. On Side B, Mark joins Adrian Day and Rich Checkan for a wide-ranging discussion of inflation, debt, financial repression, gold, commodities, artificial intelligence, the Austrian business cycle, and the rise of
Mark Thornton examines Kevin Warsh’s first Fed meeting and argues that despite the tough rhetoric, nothing fundamental has changed. The Federal Reserve still exists to keep government borrowing cheap, protect banks and Wall Street, and manage appearances while real inflation erodes household purchasing power. Mark explains why real interest rates are already low or negative, how Fed liquidity continues to fuel asset bubbles, and why AI, data centers, government debt, and stock-market leverage all point to late-stage business-cycle danger. On Side B, Thornton joins Murray Sabrin to discuss the
On this episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton opens with a review of John Mearsheimer’s Why Do Politicians Lie?, focusing on strategic deception in international affairs, especially in the Middle East, Israel, Vietnam, Iraq, and America’s own constitutional history. Mark argues that political lies are not merely moral failures; they are tools for empire, war, and state expansion. On Side B, Thornton joins What The Finance to explain how runaway spending, Fed liquidity, and Austrian business cycle theory reveal the deeper mechanics behind today’s markets. He discusses the AI and data-center bu
Mark Thornton replays his Rothbard University lecture on government spending and taxation, using Rothbard’s framework of binary intervention to overturn the standard civics-story that taxes are “the cost” of government and spending is “the benefit.” Mark argues both are economically destructive and distortionary, and that treating them as neutral is a category mistake. Drawing on John C. Calhoun’s class analysis, he distinguishes net taxpayers from net tax-consumers, explaining how political finance systematically transfers wealth, reshapes production, and undermines saving, family formation,
Mark Thornton shares his recent Rothbard University lecture on the division of labor, the concept Adam Smith made famous as chapter one of The Wealth of Nations but never fully explained. Smith described workers specializing in tasks and productivity rising, then attributed the result to an invisible hand he couldn't account for. Rothbard accounted for it: the entrepreneur decides how to organize production, the capitalist funds it, and the price system guides both. Without them, the workers in Smith's pin factory would have no factory, no pins, and no wages. Mark traces this insight from Spar
Mark Thornton replays his wide-ranging Kitco News interview with Jeremy Szafron, connecting today’s “two economies” to Ludwig von Mises’s Austrian business cycle theory. Easy money and credit inflation lift asset owners, big corporations, and government finance, while working families get the bill through higher prices and weaker real wages. They discuss late-cycle signals in tech and AI and broader corporate credit, and how war-driven energy shocks feed into a wider commodity surge. Mark also breaks down Cantillon effects at the kitchen-table level and closes with bottom-up strategies like lo
On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton opens with a candid assessment of his own prediction record: what he got right, what he got wrong, and why Austrian economics tells you what must come but not when. He then turns to the current landscape: every major valuation metric is flashing red, market concentration exceeds the level on the cusp of the 1987 crash, deficit spending is at World War II levels, and the Fed is injecting $40 billion a month in new liquidity. Yet Wall Street remains unanimously bullish. The second half features an interview with Kaniki Kojo on gold, fiat curre
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 r
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 inter
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
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. 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: http
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 (fertilize
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/MinorIssuesTumbler Be 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/MinorIssuesTumbler Be 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 diver
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
