Podcast Episode Details

CREATURE FROM JEKYLL ISLAND 2: How Bankers Turn War into Gold - Banking, Blood, and the Birth of the Federal Reserve - Edward Griffin

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(00:00:00) III. THE NEW ALCHEMY (11 - 14)
(00:00:40) 11. The Rothschild Formula
(00:39:51) 12. Sink the Lusitania!
(01:40:12) 13. Masquerade in Moscow
(02:24:49) 14. The Best Enemy Money Can Buy
(03:15:57) IV. A Tale of Three Banks - A Historical Prelude to the Federal Reserve
(03:16:30) 15. THE LOST TREASURE MAP
(03:51:40) 16. THE CREATURE COMES TO AMERICA
(04:26:19) 17. A DEN OF VIPERS
(05:11:42) 18. LOAVES AND FISHES AND CIVIL WAR
(05:45:47) 19. GREENBACKS AND OTHER CRIMES

CREATURE FROM JEKYLL ISLAND 2: How Bankers Turn War into Gold - Banking, Blood, and the Birth of the Federal Reserve - G. Edward Griffin (1998).

G. Edward Griffin’s The Creature from Jekyll Island is one of the most provocative examinations of central banking ever written.

Section 3: The New Alchemy—How Bankers Turn War into Gold

In Section 3: The New Alchemy—How Bankers Turn War into Gold, Griffin argues that modern finance has achieved what ancient alchemists only dreamed of: the ability to create wealth from destruction. In his view, this miraculous transformation is accomplished through fiat money, a form of currency created without backing in gold or tangible assets. The Federal Reserve and other central banks, he claims, use this ability to finance wars, inflate national debt, enrich banking elites, and silently drain wealth from the citizens through inflation.Whereas a gold-backed monetary system limits warmaking—because governments must ask citizens for taxes or actual funding—fiat money removes these constraints. Through what Griffin calls the “Mandrake Mechanism” (named after the magician Mandrake who could create something out of nothing), states wage global conflicts without economic accountability. War no longer demands sacrifice from the public upfront; instead, its cost is hidden inside a devalued currency. Thus, war becomes profitable for banks that issue loans and monetize government bonds, even while it creates ruin for populations.Section 3 blends economic theory with dramatic history. Griffin presents a series of case studies to contend that banking interests have consistently financed both sides of conflicts, manipulated governments, and profited from perpetual global tension. To him, wars are not ideological struggles but economic instruments—carefully managed by those who control credit. Critics often call Griffin’s claims speculative, but he responds by grounding each story in historical documents, official hearings, and financial records. He admits the evidence can be controversial, but insists it reveals a pattern too consistent to ignore.

Section 3 Chapter Summaries:

11. The Rothschild Formula
Griffin introduces the Rothschild banking dynasty as pioneers of the modern war-finance model. During the Napoleonic era, the Rothschilds created an international network capable of transferring money faster than governments themselves. They loaned vast sums to nations on both sides of war, ensuring profit regardless of the winner. Griffin highlights how Nathan Rothschild allegedly used exclusive knowledge of Napoleon’s defeat to manipulate the British bond market, securing massive gains. Whether exaggerated or not, Griffin argues that the episode exemplifies the dynasty’s strategy: fund conflicts, control debt, influence government policy, and profit from catastrophe. This “Rothschild Formula,” he claims, became the blueprint for later banking systems and the Federal Reserve’s war-funding role.

12. Sink the Lusitania!
Here Griffin argues that the entry of the United States into World War I was not an unfortunate accident of history but a financial necessity. American neutrality prevented lucrative war loans and arms shipments orchestrated by financiers like J.P.

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Published on 3 months, 1 week ago