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Empire, Gold, and Credit

Empire, Gold, and Credit

By: Nathan Pali
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About this listen

Empire, Gold, and Credit is a financial history and personal finance podcast exploring how money built empires, destroyed nations, and still controls the modern world.

From ancient gold and silver to paper currency, banking, debt, and digital money, this podcast tells the long story of how financial systems shaped civilization—and why the same patterns still govern your paycheck, savings, and future today.

Each episode blends financial history, personal finance, behavioral economics, and the psychology of money to explain:

  • How empires rose and fell through money and debt
  • Why gold, silver, and currency became tools of power
  • How banking, credit, and interest transformed societies
  • Why inflation, bubbles, and financial crises keep repeating
  • How governments and central banks gained control of money
  • How fear, greed, and ambition shaped financial systems
  • How ancient money systems still influence modern finance

This isn’t a stock market podcast or a motivational finance show. It’s a story-driven exploration of the history of money, how the financial system works, and understanding the forces behind wealth, poverty, power, and collapse.

If you’re interested in financial history, personal finance, how money works, banking history, credit and debt, inflation, investing, behavioral finance, and learning how money shaped the fate of civilizations—and still shapes yours—this podcast is for you.

Empire, Gold, and Credit Power is built on money. History proves it.

© 2026 Empire, Gold, and Credit All rights reserved.
Economics Personal Finance World
Episodes
  • The South Sea Bubble and Financial Follies
    Feb 15 2026

    In this episode, we explore the speculative frenzy of the South Sea Bubble in 1720s Britain, a period where financial innovation met widespread public speculation. We uncover how attempts to manage national debt led to an unsustainable stock market boom and its eventual dramatic collapse, leaving a lasting impact on financial regulations and public trust.

    Chapters

    00:00 Introduction to the South Sea Bubble

    00:44 The South Sea Company's Proposition

    02:09 The Rise of South Sea Shares

    05:06 The Speculative Frenzy Spreads

    10:30 The South Sea Bubble Bursts

    15:34 Lessons from the Bubble

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    14 mins
  • Ancient Risk Management: How Humans Survived Without Financial Systems
    Jan 23 2026

    Diversification, insurance, and hedging existed long before Wall Street. Discover how ancient societies managed uncertainty without markets, models, or money.

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    17 mins
  • Unpacking the Tulip Mania Bubble
    Feb 14 2026

    In this episode, we explore the historical phenomenon of Tulip Mania in the 17th-century Dutch Republic, examining how a market for exotic flowers transformed into a speculative bubble driven by contract trading. We discuss the societal conditions that enabled such speculation and the key factors that led to its eventual, yet contained, collapse.

    Chapters

    00:00 Tulip Mania's Beginnings

    00:00 The Dutch Republic Market

    02:04 Tulips as Status Goods

    03:20 The Rise of Tulip Contracts

    05:00 Low Entry, High Hype

    08:25 The Logic of Bubbles

    10:12 The Bubble Bursts

    13:02 Lessons from Tulip Mania

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    12 mins
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