Gold has been an object of desire forever. Why? It's shiny! Humans like shiny things. Gold is also scarce, which adds value. There are rarer metals than gold, but the yellow metal is more recognizable to the naked eye. There has been a cultural feedback mechanism over the centuries so that we get taught that gold is valuable, therefore it is. So, it is a more obvious sign of status and conspicuous consumption. That's why we make our most significant objects, wedding rings, Olympic medals, Oscars, money, religious art from this hot blonde metal. Unfortunately the days of the old prospector and his mule finding giant nuggets and rich veins of gold are over. Today the gold we mine comes in the form of tiny microscopic specks. To extract those small flakes we have to use toxic substances like mercury and cyanide. A lot of it. The gold used to make a single gold ring produces 26 tons of mine waste - the weight of more than seven African elephants. To do all this it takes a mining infrastructure that is inconceivably colossal. Give a listen for alternative sources of guilt-free gold. 2. Also we are introducing a new feature, "A little bit of hope" because we could all use more of that.