One of the most well-received stories about the 2008 financial meltdown is the This American Life episode titled “The Giant Pool of Money“. It’s from “way back” in May and goes into great detail without sounding like Ben Stein’s bored teacher character from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. Don’t worry if you find Ira Glass off-putting; he barely shows up in this episode. Instead the reporting is done by Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson.
At the beginning of October, Alex and Adam returned with a follow up story called “Another Frightening Show About the Economy“. What’s more, they’ve started their own show in the same “jargon-free” style of economics reporting called “Planet Money” (blog | podcast | twitter).
For example, in the interview from yesterday, they explain that regular people like me shouldn’t look to the Dow Jones Industrial Average if we want to be freaked out about how bad things are. We should instead look at the Treasury 3-month bond rate. The higher that number goes, the calmer we should be. I appreciate this kind of reporting.
NPR syndicates a show called “Marketplace” all over the country (and online, of course). I like to listen to the Morning Report while driving to work. The show does a great job of explaining current economic stories without a lot of technical explanations and acronyms.
I found a game on the Web site called “Budget Hero” which simulates the different factors that go into saving, or destroying, America’s national budget.
There’s some debate about whether the gameplay is faulty or based on incorrect premises. I definitely recommend you don’t “skip the briefing” before playing. Here are some illustrative comments from people who have played the game:
I am a Scottish citizen aged 13 and i can control America’s Budget better than the Bush White House. By M L, From Aberdeen, 07/25/2008
Interesting, but based on a flawed premise. Everone should read “Taxes For Revenue Are Obsolete” to get a look into the mindset of the Federal Reserve, which is neither federal (not a Gov’t. agency) nor a reserve … By Art Northrup, Jr., From NC, 06/18/2008
I wish the people, especially the local candidates, we will be voting for this fall would take this test. Then I’d have an clearer idea of their beliefs. By cj r, From FL, 06/13/2008
Have you played the game? How did you do? Do you agree that it’s flawed?
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