What if the most catastrophic economic decisions in history started with good intentions? In this episode, Michael Stevens reveals how two presidents dismantled the gold standard in moves that seemed logical at the time but changed money forever. 🎯 What You'll Learn: • Why Britain lost 25% of its gold reserves in just two months during 1931's financial panic • How FDR made it illegal for Americans to own gold with $10,000 fines (that's $230,000 today) • The shocking truth: countries that abandoned gold first recovered from the Great Depression fastest • Why Nixon's 1971 decision to end Bretton Woods was actually inevitable, not impulsive 👤 Perfect for: anyone who's ever wondered why we can't just "go back to the gold standard" and wants to understand the real story behind our current monetary system. 📍 Chapters: [00:00] Michael Stevens introduces the gold standard's death spiral [01:45] Britain's 1931 financial panic that started the dominoes falling [03:30] FDR's gold confiscation: why Americans couldn't own the shiny stuff [05:15] The Great Depression recovery pattern nobody talks about [07:00] How World War II broke the system for good [09:30] Nixon's weekend that changed global economics forever [11:00] What this means for today's dollar debates Stevens connects each decision to its real-world consequences, showing how yesterday's "temporary" fixes became today's permanent reality. No dry economics here, just the human stories behind the policies that still shape your paycheck. 🔔 Never miss an episode: Follow When Rome Burns on your favorite podcast platform and turn on notifications. New episodes drop daily, and next week Stevens is covering the tulip mania that makes crypto crashes look tame. 🔍 Topics: gold standard, FDR economics, Nixon shock, Great Depression recovery, monetary policy, economic history

Stream the full show at When Rome Burns

----------- Keywords: ancient rome, economic collapse, nazi germany, paper money, hitler, naval warfare, historical disasters, catherine the great

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