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Meltdown

Written by: David Sirota, Dan O’Donnell, Shoshi Shmuluvitz, Kiarra Powell
Narrated by: David Sirota
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  • Summary

  • Listen to the trailer now and the full podcast on 10/28.

    How did we end up in this version of America, with neighbors divided against neighbors, and some citizens angry enough to storm the U.S. Capitol?

    The 2008 financial crisis - and the government’s botched, multibillion-dollar bailout - is the skeleton key that unlocks almost every big thing that’s gone wrong in America in the 21st Century, from climate change, to the all-out assault on democracy, to the rise of white nationalism.

    In this thrilling, 8-part podcast, investigative journalist David Sirota explores why the financial crisis happened, how the bailout went so wrong, why politicians covered up Wall Street’s crimes and what the lasting impact of the meltdown was on America’s political, social and economic fabric.

    This is an epic adventure, a search for answers that stretches from Bogotá, Colombia to Madison, Wisc., to Washington, D.C. Sirota talks to politicians who made the laws, the investigators who uncovered massive fraud and ordinary people who lost homes, families and livelihoods, in order to shed light on why the economic disaster happened, why nobody succeeded in fixing it, and why the country soon embraced the politics of rage.

    Meltdown is the first collaboration between Audible, a leading producer and provider of original spoken-word entertainment and audiobooks, and Jigsaw Productions, the production house launched and helmed by Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief) in collaboration with Transmitter Media, the Peabody-nominated and Webby-winning production company behind podcasts such as Finding Fred, Work Life with Adam Grant and Tabloid: The Making of Ivanka Trump.

    Meltdown is enraging and engaging, must-listen audio entertainment for anyone who wants to know how we ended up where we are now - and where we might be going next.
    ©2021 Meltdown Pod LLC (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC
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Economics Politics & Government
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Episodes
  • Meltdown Trailer

    Meltdown Trailer
    Oct 14 2021

    Listen to the trailer now and the full podcast on 10/28.

    How did we end up in this version of America, with neighbors divided against neighbors, and some citizens angry enough to storm the U.S. Capitol?

    The 2008 financial crisis - and the government’s botched, multibillion-dollar bailout - is the skeleton key that unlocks almost every big thing that’s gone wrong in America in the 21st Century, from climate change, to the all-out assault on democracy, to the rise of white nationalism.

    In this thrilling, 8-part podcast, investigative journalist David Sirota explores why the financial crisis happened, how the bailout went so wrong, why politicians covered up Wall Street’s crimes and what the lasting impact of the meltdown was on America’s political, social and economic fabric.

    This is an epic adventure, a search for answers that stretches from Bogotá, Colombia to Madison, Wisc., to Washington, D.C. Sirota talks to politicians who made the laws, the investigators who uncovered massive fraud and ordinary people who lost homes, families and livelihoods, in order to shed light on why the economic disaster happened, why nobody succeeded in fixing it, and why the country soon embraced the politics of rage.

    Meltdown is the first collaboration between Audible, a leading producer and provider of original spoken-word entertainment and audiobooks, and Jigsaw Productions, the production house launched and helmed by Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief) in collaboration with Transmitter Media, the Peabody-nominated and Webby-winning production company behind podcasts such as Finding Fred, Work Life with Adam Grant and Tabloid: The Making of Ivanka Trump.

    Meltdown is enraging and engaging, must-listen audio entertainment for anyone who wants to know how we ended up where we are now - and where we might be going next.
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    2 mins
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  • Episode 1 -The Big Heist

    Episode 1 -The Big Heist
    Oct 28 2021
    The 2008 Meltdown was a pivotal moment in modern history, as harmful to America as the Moon Landing was inspirational. But the government responded in a much different way than President Franklin D. Roosevelt responded to the Great Depression - and here’s why that failed response was even more disastrous than the crisis itself.
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    54 mins
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  • Episode 2 - The Rant Heard Round the World

    Episode 2 - The Rant Heard Round the World
    Oct 28 2021
    CNBC pundit Rick Santelli's on-air rant helped give birth to a new movement and channeled a deluge of bitter hate towards the average homeowner. How did something as simple as taking out a loan to buy a house turn the American Dream into an American Nightmare?
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    49 mins
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What listeners say about Meltdown

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Profile Image for Jennifer

crazy looking back to this

Great reporting, and very topical. insane this actually happened (and we've forgotten about it). a must listen.

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Profile Image for Precision Imaging Ltd

this is very good

an extremely well researched and presented explanation of the financial crisis, how both the Democrats and Republicans completely ignored the needs of people over the needs of three banks, and how dots can be connected to the rise of Trump.

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Profile Image for Precision Imaging Ltd

Extremely interesting

Really puts our current state of affairs in context.
Highly recommend it to anyone wanting to step beyond partisan politics in an effort to "get" what's happening.

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Profile Image for Gerry Corcoran

Some fascinating through lines

It's honestly a shame this podcast is locked to Audible because it needs to be heard by more people.

I've always been a fan of the documentary works of Jigsaw Productions so seeing they were behind this, I was immediately interested and as always, was not disappointed. In this age of instantaneous trends brought in by the societal poison of social media, many have already forgotten about the 2008 financial crisis. This podcast explores not only how it happened, but just how totally the banking system for away with it and how some heroes of the left like Barack Obama not only allowed it but actively aided the banks in doing it.

More than that, it makes a very convincing case for how that complete betrayal of the citizens by their elected officials has created not only incredible voter apathy, but the strong anti-establishment, nationalist attitudes that are now prevalent and led to the election and later, far too narrow defeat of Donald Trump. It shows how the Democrats could have easily stopped this from happening but because all politics are rotten and corrupt, they didn't and don't seem to understand why that's hurting them.

This is a fascinating listen that likely will and indeed, should make you think and make you angry. I can't recommend it enough.

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Profile Image for Bob and Dar Ackroyd

Sorota an outstanding journalist

This book explains the U.S. financial crash and its profound effect on the current political disaster of being on the doorstep of authoritarianism. Sorota makes this complex weave easy to understand and walks the listener stage by stage through actions (or sometimes, inaction) and consequences, using facts and interviews. David's conversational narration is engaging. This is an important work for understanding how on earth we got to this political precipice, and how the real seeds of the current situation germinated a decade and a half ago.

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Profile Image for Jordan M.

Solid, understandable, infuriating

Sure, I’m in the choir he’s preaching to. But this is beautifully put together! Slick production, some humour, and a lot of passion. And even some “songs” I wasn’t familiar with.

Loved that it includes such solid sources, real insiders with first hand knowledge. Wish I could share it with people who don’t have Audible.

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