Economy 101

I've been having a hard time understanding exactly what happened to the economy. I just didn't get how a bunch of bad mortgages could infect the entire economy the way it appears to have done. A few weeks ago, NPR's "This American Life" radio program had an hour long special describing what happened with mortgages and how they spiraled out of control into the bigger economy. It was an amazingly good explanation. This past weekend, they followed up with a special that focused on the last two weeks leading up to and including the bailout bill that passed Congress on Friday. If you, like me, have never heard of credit default swaps and the commercial paper market, listen here and you will learn how these and other obscure financial instruments have contributed to our economy coming to a screeching halt recently. It may leave you a little more scared even than before, but at least now you'll know why.