David Kestenbaum, left, and Adam Davidson of NPR's Planet Money team during the taping of this special On Point broadcast on June 24, 2009, at the State Room in Boston. (Photo: Sarah Abdurrahman/On Point)
From the State Room high above Boston’s financial district, recording before a live audience, we’re joined today by special guests Adam Davidson and David Kestenbaum of NPR’s Planet Money.
You’ve heard their radio dramas on This American Life and their reports on the global economic crisis on All Things Considered and Morning Edition. Maybe you download their podcasts and read the Planet Money blog.
Whichever way you hear them, you know Planet Money is telling our economic story in a whole new way. In plain English, not jargon. In dramatic re-enactments. And in candid conversations with ordinary Americans and financial insiders.
How do they do it? We’re asking. This hour, On Point: Planet Money’s dynamic duo, Adam Davidson and David Kestenbaum.
You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.
-Jane Clayson, guest host
Guests:
Adam Davidson is international business and economics correspondent for NPR and co-creator of Planet Money. He co-produced the Peabody Award-winning episode of This American Life, “The Giant Pool of Money.”
David Kestenbaum is an NPR correspondent covering the global economy and a member of the Planet Money team. Earlier this month, in the This American Life episode “The Watchmen,” he examined what went wrong with the credit ratings agencies. Before David started covering the financial crisis for Planet Money, he covered science and energy issues for NPR.
The Giant Pool of Money was and remains the best discussion of the financial meltdown I’ve heard or seen on any medium. Congratulations on doing that show.
I’m looking forward to this…
Posted by Richard, on June 24th, 2009 at 5:47 pm EDT[...] Planet Money | WBUR and NPR – On Point with Tom Ashbrook [...]
Posted by Make Money Online - is it Typical To “Get Rich Quick”? « Make Money Online, on June 24th, 2009 at 6:12 pm EDT[...] had the chance to hear this yet, of course, but we think it will be good. A few days ago, On Point’s Tom Ashbrook hosted Planet Money’s Adam Davidson and David Kestenbaum in front of a live audience in [...]
Posted by On Point and Planet Money — The Mediavore, on June 25th, 2009 at 9:04 am EDTPlease discuss this: is the present money and banking system inherently unsustainable, doomed to crash in the kind of credit crunch we are experiencing, because it requires ever increasing levels of debt – an impossibility? Eventually, when debt reaches its limit, “liar loans” get made, the liars default, and banks fail.
Is this the inevitable end result of fractional reserve banking, which requires that banks must keep increasing loan totals forever?
Stepehen Zarlenga, Ellen Brown and others hold this to be true. Are they right or wrong? Why?
Posted by Tom Hagan, on June 25th, 2009 at 10:28 am EDTThe Planet Money team is the only source I have found for clear explanations of the condition of the economy and what is at stake. We need more reporting that deals with the actual issues in this fashion. I am deathly tired of “experts” and “analysts” who are too busy jockeying for short-term political advantage to be mindful of the long-term interests of the entire nation.
Posted by Paul Littlefield, on June 25th, 2009 at 11:04 am EDTThis was a very interesting and educational program.
Posted by Joe B., on June 25th, 2009 at 12:33 pm EDTCommunity banks, ones that never made a sub-prime loan, never sold derivatives, or even offered credit cards (because of the unconscionable policies of VISA and MasterCard)and which are the lifeline for “Main Street”,
Posted by D. C. McGuire, on June 25th, 2009 at 12:47 pm EDTare being lumped with the high-risk financial corporations which are mistakenly called banks. The community banks are doing everything right and receive NO help, in terms of policy from Washington or financial assistance. Why?
[...] more information on the program, visit this page. You can view Michigan Radio’s full schedule [...]
Posted by Tonight at 9pm: On Point Talks With NPR’s Planet Money | Facing the Mortgage Crisis, on June 25th, 2009 at 2:45 pm EDTDavidson/Kestenbaum 2012!
Posted by John Keller, on June 25th, 2009 at 5:02 pm EDTmaybe this is a banal question, but why isn’t tom ashbrook hosting this show? after his recent illness, his absence makes me nervous.
Posted by gentry13, on June 25th, 2009 at 7:21 pm EDTFive years ago I got a 30 year 6% 100% mortgage on a $300,000 home. And am current, have good credit. But now, I am trying to think ahead as I am recently unemployed, and CitiMortage, who is servicing the mortgage, will not talk to me unless I am behind on payments, seriously, they will not – it is like a catch 22. And if I defaulted, and they foreclosed, they would sell this house for about $160,000 which is the current value of my home in my neighborhood, Beverly Hills, Michigan. But will they re-write the mortgage for a lower base? No, they say “banks don’t do that” – whatever that means. The mortgage is owned by Fannie Mae. So what is happening with banks – they are ONLY fixing loans they never should have made in the first place – ie, they ONLY fix their mistakes. Will they help anyone else – NOPE. And someone needs to call them on this bull.
Posted by John Keck, on June 25th, 2009 at 8:10 pm EDT[...] podcast. The recording, held in The State Room in downtown Boston, was a fundraiser for WBUR. The episode aired today and was a good conversation on how they’ve tried to explain complex economic news in an [...]
Posted by Planet Money on On Point - graysky, on June 25th, 2009 at 11:54 pm EDT[...] be a poster child for the housing and mortgage crisis, except he is refreshingly short on self-pity http://www.onpointradio.org/2009/06/planet-money. Earning $45,000 a year, he had borrowed $540,000 in what was called a “no-income verification [...]
Posted by How Does Your Next-Door Neighbor Resemble Bolivia?: The Mortgage Crisis and Poor Country Debt Relief | Emerging Markets Outlook, on June 26th, 2009 at 3:43 pm EDT