Good radio reporting
This American Life, my favorite US radio show after Howard Stern (a sentiment I seem to share inversely with TAL host Ira Glass) has a truly great episode made in partnership with NPR News explaining the debt crisis. It’s the clearest explanatory journalism I’ve seen or heard on the topic.
Tags: journalism
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:03 am
Mr. jarvis you once again demonstrate your impeccable taste (i.e. it reflects mine)
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:39 am
[...] Appreciation to: Jeff Jarvis [...]
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:45 am
Yep, this was really great - a mix of experts and characters. Hearing from the real people who made the loans and who got the loans is what pushed this report to another level.
It’s also great when smart people admit to being Howard Stern fans.
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:50 pm
That was a great TAL episode, I actually wrote them a fan email message. I have a Bachelors in Economics and I still learned so much I didn’t know about the housing market. I’ve been telling everyone I know to go to their website and listen to the podcast. I heard the business reporter (I’m blanking on his name) on WNYC who said they spent months putting that together, running through portions with the TAL staff telling them, “Make it clearer, explain it more simply”. So, they refined down so that any moderately intelligent person could follow the complicated chain of events. It was really an award-winning show, right up there with their piece about life on an aircraft carrier.
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Hear here, Jeff
That episode was terrific — the clearest explanation of what’s going on with the mortgage crisis I’ve ever heard. I talked it up at the newspaper in part because I’m sad we didn’t unpack things as well as they did.
Only downside — The laryngitis-striken Ira Glass should have just handed off his mic duties to Alex and the NPR gang from the get go
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:14 am
Oh, I know, Anthony! It was painful to hear his raspy voice. I know laryngitis always sounds worse that it feels but it was like fingernails on chalkboard. He should have handed off the hosting duties for that week.
I love that other people listen to the radio or the podcast. I was beginning to think most people only listen to the radio on their commute to/from work.
May 27th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Wonder if the GPM has moved on to commodity futures?!
September 30th, 2008 at 8:34 am
[...] to go to This American Life as a brand to find the best explanation of the credit crisis, but I did. (Its reporters are working furiously on a sequel for this week’s show.) Lots of people [...]