Dr. Mark Thornton, Senior Fellow at the Mises Institute and Austrian economist who correctly called the housing bubble, warns that we're living in an everything bubble with a flock of black swans ready to ignite a crisis. From commercial real estate cover-ups to private equity opacity, data center spending without defined returns, and trillions in government debt, Dr. Thornton explains how Fed manipulation and artificial interest rates have created malinvestments across the economy—and why Trump's push for lower rates will only fuel more bubble activity. He breaks down Austrian Business Cycle Theory, why we're on the on-ramp to hyperinflation with 2026 looking turbulent, and makes the case for gold and silver as essential hedges against fiat money depreciation in a world of central bank money printing and currency debasement.

This episode is brought to you by VanEck. 

Learn more about the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF: http://vaneck.com/REMXJulia

Links

X: https://x.com/DrMarkThornton

Free Hayek book: https://store.mises.org/Hayek-for-the-21st-Century-P11367.aspx

Mises Institute: https://mises.org/profile/mark-thornton

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro and welcome Dr. Mark Thornton

01:09 Concerns about the macro economy

6:35 Fed manipulation creating vast array of potential swans

12:00 What if inflation ticks up? Long-term government debt and currency depreciation fears

14:50 Living through an everything bubble

18:40 Fed outlook

22:30 Austrian Business Cycle Theory explained

28:30 Malinvestment and artificial credit expansion

34:50 Who really benefits from the Fed's policies?

44:50 Inflation to pay off the national debt

46:00 Gold and silver as hedges against fiat money depreciation

52:40 Early on in the precious metals bull market, silver going above $50 is 'the end of the beginning'

1:00:03 Path to hyperinflation

1:07:01 Bitcoin and Austrian School of Economics compatibility

1:10:31 Final thoughts and closing