A PhD in Economics from This American Life
This is off the topic of lighting, but on the topic of just about every other conversation going on these days...
If you're like me and interested in knowing more about what's at the root the US economy's problems recently, but are not at all the kind of person that typically understands finance, I cannot recommend more that you listen to two episodes of This American Life. I guarantee* you'll feel so much smarter because of it.
- Espisode 355
A special program about the housing crisis produced in a special collaboration with NPR News.
We explain it all to you. What does the housing crisis have to do with
the turmoil on Wall Street? Why did banks make half-million dollar
loans to people without jobs or income? And why is everyone talking so
much about the 1930s? It all comes back to the Giant Pool of Money.
and
"Another Frightening Show About the Economy" - Episode 365
Alex Blumberg and NPR's Adam Davidson—the two guys who reported our Giant Pool of Money episode explain more of what has happened with the economy, including what regulators could've
done to prevent this financial crisis from happening in the first
place.
* - This guarantee is worth about as much as the credit default swaps discussed in Episode 365, but I'm really quite certain you'll enjoy the programs and find that joke mildly amusing after listening.