I just finished listening to the clearest explanation of the current financial crisis I've heard yet. Ira Glass, on his radio show "This American Life", takes the time to explain various financial products and how they've contributed to the major problems we've seen up to this point. If you're concerned about the economy but aren't exactly an economic wizard, this is the show for you.
My hat is off to Ira Glass and This American Life for breaking down the complicated world of finance in ways that are easy for anyone to understand. It won't make you feel better about our current economic system, but at least you'll understand why you should be worried.
The episode is called "Another Frightening Show about the Economy."
The mp3 file is available to download as well.
UPDATE: The radio show above mentions a daily podcast that gives daily updates on the financial crisis. The podcast is called Planet Money; run by the authors of the Planet Money blog. I haven't checked out the podcast yet, but it's on my short list. The Planet Money blog does appear to be an easy read, even for non-financial types.
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Thanks to BoingBoing.net for the tip. Clay Burell also pointed out This American Life's earlier show on the economy.
As I watched the Asian markets tank here in Asia after watching the Town Hall debate, I kept thinking I need to go to that "Global Money" site they mentioned on TAL, that's apparently updating daily about the situation. Haven't been there yet. Have you?
I did check out the blog briefly, but not the podcast as of yet. I'm definitely going to look into it since the economic condition definitely doesn't seem to be improving.
I updated my original post to include links to the podcast and blog.
Thanks for tipping me off to This American Life. I made a mental note of it after seeing the BoingBoing article, but when I saw you mention it as well, I figured it'd be worth my time. That, and I've been meaning to add TAL to my podcast subscriptions for awhile, but never quite got around to it.