Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch gives a bubbly explanation of the intricacies of collateralized debt obligations those financial instruments that got us into this financial mess.

Now the Federal Reserve has effectively cut the target lending rate to zero, it only has one more weapon in its arsenal. Quantitative easing. Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains what this nuclear option it is, and what the Fed hopes itll do.

Credit default swaps have worsened market anxiety because they are conducted in the over-the-counter market, where regulations are few and information about risk is often hidden. Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains.

If youve been following the problems encountered by the banks, youve probably come across the phrase toxic assets. Theyve poisoned banks balance sheets and brought them to the brink of failure. But what is a toxic asset, exactly? Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains.

Millions of Americans are wondering why AIG has paid so much taxpayer money to other banks. One reason is because AIG has had to honor collateral calls — demands made by banks on the insurance contracts its written. Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains.

The practice of short selling has been blamed for the collapse of several major companies’ shares during the financial crisis. What is short selling? Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains. 

Chapter 19 (Future Shock): Debt, money creation, population, and energy production have all experienced unsustainable exponential growth in recent years. This fact, when paired with the housing bubble, ‘boomer’ retirements, peak oil production, a national failure to save money, and excessive exploitation of natural resources, is cause for alarm. In this summary, Dr. Chris Martenson [...]

Chapter 17c - Energy and the Economy: What if our exponentially-based economic and monetary systems are really just an artifact of oil? What if all of our rich societal complexity and all of our trillions of dollars of wealth and debt simply are the human expression of surplus energy pumped from the ground? In this [...]

Chapter 17a - Peak Oil: Energy is the lifeblood of any economy and a steady supply of energy is necessary to maintain the status quo, while an ever-increasing supply is needed to grow an economy. In this chapter, Dr. Chris Martenson explains that Peak Oil is not a theory, rather it is a description of [...]

Chapter 15 (Bubbles): Throughout the long sweep of history, the bursting of asset bubbles has nearly always been traumatic. Social, political and economic upheavals have a bad habit of following asset bubbles, while wealth destruction is a guaranteed feature. Four characteristics of bubbles are observed: that they are self-reinforcing on the way up (higher prices [...]

Chapter 13 (A National Failure To Save): “The next twenty years are going to be completely unlike the last twenty years.” — Dr. Martenson. Chapter 13 begins his explanation for this deeply held belief. On every level of our society, there has been a failure to save. Individuals, cities, counties, states, and corporations have all [...]

Chapter 11 (How Much Is A Trillion?): Recently, we have gotten used to hearing the word “trillion.” From trillions of dollars of government debt to trillion dollar bailout packages, we are spending enormous sums of money. However, most of us dont realize how much a trillion actually is. Dr. Martenson explains how much a trillion [...]

Chapter 9 (A Brief History of US Money): Beginning with the panic of 1913, this chapter touches on important events in the history of US money, such as the creation of the Federal reserve, FDRs confiscation of private gold, the Bretton Woods agreement, and Nixons slamming of the gold window. We learn that the current [...]

Crash Course Chapter 7 (Money Creation): Understanding how money is created provides a foundation for appreciating the implications of our massive levels of debt, because it tells us how that debt came into being. As John Kenneth Galbraith once said, “The process by which money is created is so simple, the mind is repelled.” Dr. [...]

Chapter 5 (Growth Vs. Prosperity): Contrary to what we’ve grown used to, growth is not the same thing as prosperity. In fact, growth and prosperity are both dependent on the same thing: surplus. Dr. Martenson explains how we’ve been conditioned to want, and to take, both growth and prosperity; however, we are approaching the limits [...]

Chapter 3 (Exponential Growth): The most important Key Concept of the Crash Course, exponential growth, demonstrates how world population, oil consumption, U.S. money supply, water use, forest loss, species extinction, and fishery exploitation are rapidly reaching their natural limits. The implications for your life are powerful, and demand attention. 

Chapter 1 (Three Beliefs): Dr. Martenson states his three beliefs: massive change is upon us, that change may overwhelm our ability to respond, and that we do not lack the technology or understanding necessary to build a better future. The next 20 years are not going to be anything like the past 20 years.