Episode 821 of the investing podcast DH Unplugged, titled Gold Standard Ahead, was released on October 14, 2026, with hosts Andrew Horowitz and John C. Dvorak. Despite Horowitz battling the flu, the pair delivered a dense market review that questions official narratives on monetary policy and the economy.
The episode centers on the appointment of Judy Shelton as a counselor to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant and renewed discussion of a gold standard. Horowitz and Dvorak are skeptical of such policy theater. Horowitz, frustrated by Treasury’s efforts to cap long-term yields and possibly scrap 20-year auctions, directs a blunt message: “Scott Bessant, if you’re listening, because I know you are, I know you’re listening, it’s maybe late in the show, but please stop because you’re messing around with gasoline with a match.” Dvorak adds that the administration is in “the twilight of the optics game,” where messaging substitutes for substance.
The hosts also dig into bank earnings season. JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Wells Fargo kicked off reports, while Bank of America was hit by a reported $1.5 billion money-laundering fine just before its print. Credit markets show strain: high-yield bond yields climbed from 7.22% to 8.1% in a month, and CCC spreads blew out roughly 1,250 basis points. The U.S. trade deficit is widening, and U.S.-to-China tanker bookings reportedly cost $80 million per voyage, adding about $41 per barrel in freight alone. Housing data reveals sharp regional divides, with price reductions on up to 58.9% of listings in Williamson, Texas, versus just 5.6% in San Francisco, according to Compass.
The episode explores the intersection of AI, labor and software economics. Kroger announced 3,000 corporate layoffs, about 30% of its 10,000 white-collar workforce, targeting finance, supply chain, procurement, real estate and HR. Dvorak, drawing on his Fortune 500 consulting experience, challenges the AI-productivity narrative, arguing that most savings come from replacing outside firms like PwC and Accenture rather than internal staff. Other tech topics include Anthropic’s new policy prohibiting “sustained needless cruelty” toward its Claude AI, a French supermarket hack that remotely disabled internet-connected refrigerators (some reportedly catching fire), and a new open-source tool, Reverse Engineer Anything, which spawned Slowbooks, a free clone of QuickBooks 2003. Anduril’s planned $3.7 billion Maryland shipyard for Virginia-class submarine components, Broadcom’s $42 billion customer-financing program, and Apple’s LG-built smart-home push round out the tech beat.
This episode matters because it connects policy decisions, market signals, and corporate actions that affect investors. By challenging the gold-standard revival, rate policy, and AI-driven layoffs, DH Unplugged provides context that self-directed investors need to navigate uncertain times. The show is available at dhunplugged.com and on major podcast platforms.
