The Giant Pool of Money

I haven't posted anything on the financial crisis because, well, since I don't know anything about the financial world, I wouldn't be able to come up with anything remotely insightful. But I CAN link to the most lucid explanation of how this all started that I know of: This American Life did an entire show on the issue back in early May. They interviewed all the types of people involved in the long chain of responsibility, from those getting the mortgages to the local bankers who approved them to big-time bankers on Wall Street who bought the mortgages and then re-sold them to investors all over the world. It really gives you a great sense of the big-picture, as well as the kinds of personalities involved. It all starts with the $70 TRILLION that makes up the world's savings, what the show calls the Giant Pool of Money.