Wall Street Meltdown 101

The Nation and the Brecht Forum convened an Emergency Town Hall Meeting in New York October 10 to debate the scope of the current financial crisis and to answer some tough questions. How serious is the crisis, and what should we make of the dire pronouncements that another Great Depression is coming? Did the Treasury Department really need $700 billion to bail out failing financial institutions? What is the money for? How can we trust Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs? And what is the relationship between the crisis on Wall Street and your money?

Moderated by Nation Washington editor Christopher Hayes, the panel featured Nation columnist and Shock Doctrine author Naomi Klein; Nation correspondent William Greider; scholar and author Frances Fox Piven; journalist and economics expert Doug Henwood; and journalist Arun Gupta. The discussion also featured audience questions and some vigorous debate about the impact of the 2008 election on the crisis. Listen below to an edited version of the full town hall meeting, or to select highlights from the event.

In this edited, 52-minute podcast of the Town Hall Meeting,, Klein, Greider, Piven, Henwood and Gupta break down the economic crisis and debate a just progressive response. The podcast is narrated by Laura Flanders and was also used as this week's episode of RadioNation. Listen here to the complete event:

To sample shorter podcasts, here are the individual presentations:

William Greider on how the crisis happened: We've gone from investing our money in Bear Stearns to investing our money in Stearns and Foster. Listen here:

Naomi Klein on the Bush administration's "shock therapy" for Wall Street: No socialism for the rich until the rest of us get some. Listen here:

Frances Fox Piven on the political opportunity: This crisis could be a liberating moment in our history. Listen here:

Arun Gupta on the political peril: Barack Obama is not enough to solve this crisis. Listen here:

Doug Henwood on the scope of the crisis: Is the end nigh? Listen here:

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