From The Forum Archives: Are We in a New Gold Rush?
AVENTURA, FLORIDA - JANUARY 27: A 'We Buy Gold' sign at the Magic Jewelers, Inc shop in the International Jewelers Exchange on January 27, 2026 in Aventura, Florida. Gold prices climbed to an all-time high of $5,136.47 per ounce. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
“Gold is having a moment,” writes New Yorker staff writer Jennifer Wilson. Earlier this year, it traded as high as $5,500 an ounce as an unstable economic outlook has central banks and investors buying gold to hedge their bets. Gold has been embraced by the far right, reality TV, hobbyists and full-time prospectors who have headed up to the foothills where the California Gold Rush began. Wilson explores all these angles in her latest piece “How Americans Caught Gold Fever Again.” We talk to Wilson and experts – and a gold prospector – about the legacy and future of this precious metal.
Guests:
- Jennifer Wilson, staff writer, The New Yorker – her recent article is “How Americans Caught Gold Fever Again”
- Albert Fausel, owner, Placerville Hardware; part-time gold prospector
- Quinn Slobodian, professor of international history, Boston University
- Brian Wallace, executive officer, Indigenous Futures Society