Bizarro World Podcast,
with Nick and Gerardo
July 27, 2026
The free version of the 373rd episode of Investing in Bizarro World is now published.
Here’s what was covered:
Macro Musings - Nick and Gerardo opened with markets feeling a little better after several rough weeks for commodities and junior resource stocks. Gold, silver, copper, jobs, inflation, rates, Trump, Israel, ICE, and summer exploration were all on the table.
The major macro question was whether gold is starting to decouple from the pressure of higher yields and a stronger dollar. Gerardo noted that the 10-year Treasury had moved back toward 4.7%, oil prices were rising again, and the war appeared to be escalating, with public reports of U.S. soldiers injured and killed. Normally, that combination — higher oil, higher yields, and a firmer dollar — would be bad for gold. But gold had still put in a strong week before pulling back on the latest rate move.
Nick said the answer is not clean yet. The ceasefire has been on, off, and back again, just like the market correlations. Oil is rising again, yields are rising again, and the Fed probabilities are now pointing toward at least one hike by September. But that still runs against what Kevin Warsh has been signaling and what Trump clearly wants heading into the midterms.
The good news is that the gold chart looks better than it did a few weeks ago. Nick said the $3,900–$4,000 area appears to have held as a new floor, and the consolidation now looks healthier. He is not ready to say rates no longer matter, but he is less worried about gold breaking down than he was in recent weeks.
Copper still looks better than gold, and gold still looks better than silver. Copper remains the healthiest of the three charts, holding around the $6.30 area and looking bullish while gold and silver are still working through shorter-term consolidations. Nick also highlighted another Trump executive order tied to critical mineral supply chains, especially Department of Defense sourcing of strategic materials like magnets, tantalum, gallium, and germanium. His read is that more support is coming for domestic supply chains because the U.S. still cannot source many of these materials at home.
Market Takes - The key market tension remains the same: the U.S. should hike rates if it wants to fight inflation honestly, but mathematically it probably cannot without worsening the debt problem. Gerardo said history suggests policymakers will inflate away the debt rather than take the Volcker path. Central banks, funds, and investors still appear underweight gold, and bond-market stress is not just a U.S. issue.
Nick also pointed out that CPI can always be reframed. The inflation target can be changed, the calculation can be adjusted, and the official number often misses the costs households actually feel, including diesel, health care, and other unavoidable expenses. He noted that diesel near him was back close to $6 per gallon, a bad look heading into an election year.
The hosts also discussed how politics feeds into markets. Oil prices are rising partly because of an unnecessary war, but state-level taxes matter too. Nick called out Washington state’s gas tax increases, which make it hard for local politicians to blame Trump alone for higher prices at the pump. Gerardo added that politicians on both sides continue to protect their own interests, including the Democrats who voted against a ban on congressional stock trading.
The market section then turned back to the resource sector. Gerardo argued that gold and silver are still putting in higher lows, and while the bottoming process may not be finished, he expects the next move higher to be violent when it comes. The junior explorers are working, drill programs are active, and news flow should accelerate through the second half of the year.
The core message was the same one from last week: companies need to add value regardless of whether the market is bullish, bearish, quiet, or chaotic. Gerardo said several of his larger personal holdings are doing exactly that — drilling, releasing results, advancing projects, and positioning themselves for a better market. He expects assays, discoveries, and drill results to drive the rest of the year.
Bizarro Banter - The political section opened with the war, U.S.-Israel military integration, and the House vote to advance deeper technology and military ties with Israel. Gerardo remained firmly opposed to merging U.S. military capabilities with any foreign government and said the issue now moves to the Senate.
They also discussed reports of U.S. soldiers injured and killed, the strategic petroleum reserve, munitions, oil prices, and whether the repeated ceasefires and MOUs are simply being used as stalling tactics to reload and regroup. Nick joked that Trump is always claiming the other side is “begging for a deal,” but both hosts questioned whether de-escalation is actually happening.
Gerardo then tied political corruption back to congressional stock trading, FDA decisions, campaign donations, Taylor Farms lettuce and the cyclospora outbreak. Nick added that the market impact was real, pointing to Yum Brands and Sweetgreen as examples of stocks hit after food-related headlines.
The hosts also returned to the larger theme of institutional decay and grift. Nick brought up reports of a Trump speech aide making money by betting on words the president would say in speeches. That led into a discussion of prediction-market insider trading, government employees and officials profiting from privileged information, and the broader pattern of people using access to government for personal gain.
They also covered Sophie Cunningham and her comments on biological males competing in women’s sports. Gerardo said he loves the trans community but does not think biological males belong in female athletic leagues. Nick agreed and again criticized the media’s use of phrases like “assigned male at birth,” calling it Orwellian language that obscures plain biological reality. Both hosts framed the issue as common sense, not a fringe position.
The Bizarro section also included the story of armed men in Northern California taking Forest Service employees hostage, New York City TikTok lines for frozen yogurt and other food trends, and the absurdity of people paying line-holders $25 an hour to stand in line for them. Gerardo allowed one exception to the anti-line rule: Franklin Barbecue in Austin, where the wait is part of the experience.
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0:00 Introduction
1:55 Macro Musings: War Escalation. Oil Above $100. 10-Year Yield at 52-Week Highs. Fed Hike Odds. Gold’s New Floor. Copper Leads. Critical Minerals Executive Order.
20:07 Market Takes: Higher Lows in Gold and Silver. Summer Exploration. Junior-Miner Catalysts. Assays and Discoveries. Adding Value. August Fireworks.
23:16 Bizarro Banter: Sophie Cunningham & Women’s Sports. Trump’s Court Payout. Prediction-Market Insider Trading. Forest Service Hostage Standoff. New York Froyo Lines.
36:53 Premium Portfolio Picks: (You need to subscribe to Bizarro World Live to get this section)
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