The Indicator from Planet Money - What is going on with gold and silver?

The prices of gold and silver are on rollercoaster rides; Gold has been rising over the last few years, silver shot up like a skyrocket in January … but then both plunged in price and sputtered around the end of the month. 

It raises the question: What is going on? 

Today on the show, we talk with some traders about what this volatility of gold and silver is saying about the state of the world. 

Related episodes: 

Why is everyone buying gold? 

A new-ish gold rush and other indicators 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

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Consider This from NPR - How Pam Bondi has reshaped the Justice Department

Attorney General Pam Bondi is set to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, where she’s likely to face questions about the Epstein Files, the Minnesota immigration crackdown and the attempt to prosecute several of President Trump’s perceived political enemies. 

NPR’s Ailsa Chang talks with Pulitzer-Prize-winning investigative journalist Carol Leonnig about how Bondi has reshaped the Department of Justice, and what she’s expecting to hear in Wednesday’s testimony.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.  Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Jeffrey Pierre and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Tiffany Vera Castro. It was edited by Christopher Intagliata and Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova - From The Kink Machine: The Hidden Business of Pleasure

Streamed by millions every day, porn is everywhere. It shapes our culture, our relationships, and even technology. Yet, nobody seems to know who really controls the business. The power brokers tend to lurk in the shadows, while their performers remain quite literally exposed.

In Pushkin's new audiobook, The Kink Machine: The Hidden Business of Adult Entertainment, two Financial Times journalists, Patricia Nilsson and Alex Barker, start digging into the porn industry and following where the money flows. Their reporting uncovers a shadowy power structure that includes billionaires, tech geniuses, and the most powerful finance companies in the world.

A gripping exposé of how power operates behind the most taboo corner of the internet, Nilsson and Barker unravel a story about control, influence, and an industry with staggering cultural reach that no one really wants to talk about—until now.

Find The Kink Machine on Audible, Spotify, pushkin.fm, or wherever you get audiobooks.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The Ezra Klein Show - George Saunders on Anger, Ambition and Sin

George Saunders is tired of being the “kindness guy.”

Saunders is one of my favorite fiction writers, and a friend of the pod; I talked to him back in 2021 and 2022. He also has a reputation as a kind of guru of kindness, thanks to a viral commencement speech he gave back in 2013. We talked about kindness on the show before.

But with the publication of his new novel, “Vigil,” I noticed that something about Saunders seemed to have shifted. He was pushing back against that public persona, and wrestling with darker themes.

“Vigil” follows an oil tycoon who, on his deathbed, is visited by angels and people from his past asking him to reassess his life. And you can feel a tension in that book that is also very alive in Saunders himself — between recognizing how much of our lives are conditioned by our circumstances and the need to pass judgment to reckon with the truth.

In this conversation, I discuss that tension with Saunders. I ask him about his relationship not just to kindness but also to anger; how he defines sin; whether he believes in free will; and what he thinks lies beyond kindness.

This episode contains strong language.

Mentioned:

Vigil by George Saunders

What It Means to Be Kind in a Cruel World” by The Ezra Klein Show

George Saunders Convocation Speech 2013

A Tough Question Indeed” by George Saunders

East West Street by Philippe Sands

When Is It Genocide?” by The Ezra Klein Show

Book Recommendations:

I Will Bear Witness, Volume 1 by Victor Klemperer

Red Cavalry and Other Stories by Isaac Babel

The Place of Tides by James Rebanks

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.

You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.

This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota, Efim Shapiro and Isaac Jones. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Marie Cascione, Rollin Hu, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, Jack McCordick, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Aman Sahota and Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


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Pod Save America - 1119: MAGA: Defenders of the Epstein Class

Epstein revelations continue. New files reveal that the notorious sex offender had closer relationships than previously known with Trump’s inner circle, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Ghislaine Maxwell pleads the Fifth to Congress, while her lawyer says she’s “prepared to speak fully and honestly” if Trump agrees to let her out of prison. While Jon, Tommy, and Lovett are overseas, Alex Wagner and Ben Rhodes discuss how the files are rattling politicians around the world, and why consequences have been more severe abroad than in the U.S. There’s also the fight to put limits on ICE playing out in the courts and Congress, Trump’s scheme to celebrate America’s 250th birthday with a fresh grift, and why RFK Jr. can’t be trusted with the Super Bowl snacks.

Pod Save America - MAGA: Defenders of the Epstein Class

Epstein revelations continue. New files reveal that the notorious sex offender had closer relationships than previously known with Trump’s inner circle, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Ghislaine Maxwell pleads the Fifth to Congress, while her lawyer says she’s “prepared to speak fully and honestly” if Trump agrees to let her out of prison. While Jon, Tommy, and Lovett are overseas, Alex Wagner and Ben Rhodes discuss how the files are rattling politicians around the world, and why consequences have been more severe abroad than in the U.S. There’s also the fight to put limits on ICE playing out in the courts and Congress, Trump’s scheme to celebrate America’s 250th birthday with a fresh grift, and why RFK Jr. can’t be trusted with the Super Bowl snacks.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.