The Giant Pool of Money

I know the economy (or the crash of our economy) may not seem directly related to the various issues (class, race, gender, sexual orientation & immigration) that we have been talking about, but indirectly I think it is at the core of most of these issues.  Trying to understand what happened or why it happened is rather mind-boggling.  Well, here in four shows from This American Life that explains all you need to know about in plain English.  As crazy as this sounds this is a podcast that you have to hear if you have any interest in understanding this crisis (at any level), and dare I say that it is highly entertaining (and I never thought I would say that about any discussion related to the economy).  Here are the links to the shows in chronological order (warning: these shows are highly addicting and could lead to a long-term addition to This American Life podcasts):

The Giant Pool of Money

Another Frightening Show About the Economy

Bad Bank

Return To The Giant Pool of Money

And finally, here is an interesting story that discusses how the housing crisis has disproportionately affected African Americans in the United States, thus updating the story from right after WWII when African American GIs were denied entry into new homes in the suburbs (from the PBS video, Race: The Power of an Illusion, where the Jewish guy said that we had our golden opportunity to help blacks and blew it).  Here is a link to the story:

Mortgage Industry Bankrupts Black America