Midmorning Weekend: Perspectives on the recession

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke during a hearing before the House Budget Committee in January 2008.
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Midmorning Weekend revisits some of the best recent conversations from the daily call-in program.

Segment 1: An economics reporter reveals his own financial mess
Edmund Andrews reported on the downturn in the economy, writing articles on the go-go mortgage market before anyone thought it would collapse. Like millions of Americans, Andrews found himself weighed down by a home loan he couldn't afford. Unlike the others, he wrote a searing account of his own mortgage crisis. (Original Program)


Segment 2: The fourth branch of government

President Obama backs Ben Bernanke for another term as Federal Reserve chairman. In a new book, David Wessel of the Wall Street Journal examines the extraordinary steps taken by Bernanke in his effort to stave off the worst financial panic since the Great Depression. (Original Program)


Segment 3: Americans and income inequality
High executive pay and bailouts may have exacerbated class differences lately. But political scientist Larry Jacobs says people still aspire to move up the income ladder, and so have a nuanced view of class. And some say they would pay higher taxes to give others a chance to move up. (Original Program)

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