I hadn't heard of the volatility index (VIX) until I read a short article about it in the last issue of the London Review of Books. Might be worth looking at of you want a little bit of background on this story: https://www.lrb.co.uk/v40/n02/donald-mackenzie/short-cuts
I highly recommend the London Review of Books - it is my favorite print publication and has excellent current events and political writing (along with the book reviews, which are also quite encompassing).