Still wondering what the heck happened with the mortgage crisis?

[LaughingWater]

And what's still happening, for that matter?

This American Life ran a show explaining the subprime mortgage crisis:

2008 Show Archive ~ look for May, 9 "The Giant Pool of Money"

It's just under an hour long, but if you're like me and frustrated because you feel you don't quite understand how this whole thing blew up, it's worth taking the time to listen.

I've read many articles and explanations, but I never felt I had all the pieces put together correctly. Now I get it.

This show starts from the very beginning ~ with global investors ~ and takes it to where we are today ~ foreclosures, bankruptcies, the inability to get loans, and how it affects all of us right now.

Newsweek says their February show, "Bad Bank," is quite helpful too. I haven't listened to it yet, but I plan to.

 

[berry99]

I agree there are a couple episodes of TAL hosted by that Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson that have done amazing jobs explaining about the economic crisis, IMHO.

These two guys are also doing a frequent segment on NPR called Planet Money and it goes into more details about economic issues that are happening daily. I subscribe to the podcast and try to keep up to date.

Also, someone else that explains this crisis very well is Gretchen Morgenson who I have heard on Fresh Air quite a couple of times.

Between both of these sources I found that I actually understand the economic situation in basic terms.

Thanks for mentioning this. I think it is worthwhile for people to listen to this stuff if they want to try to understand what is going on.