No Money, Mo' Problems

I used to read the newspapers at the beginning of this mess. You know, back in August when the megabanks on Wall Street sank and everyone had recession on their lips.

It wasn't long, though, before I was also drowning - fighting to keep my head above water in a sea of opaque moneyspeak. It was easier to flip right to the Style section to read my Horoscope and preview winter fashion trends instead of trying to decode confusing (let's not forget depressing) financial news.

Eventually, I felt so lost and uninformed on the topic that I was afraid of any articles with headings that included "recession," "bailout," "hiring freeze," or "economy." These words made me feel dizzy and scared. I mean it. I broke out in hives or lost my breath if I stumbled upon certain financial catch-phrases. So I recoiled from my fears and created a euphoric bubble of ignorance for myself, completely void of any frightening, gut-wrenching recession headlines. I knew that the world had no money and mo' problems than ever, I just didn't have a clue about the details.

This doesn't sound like an intelligent confession. But it's also the honest-to-God truth. It's not that I have raspberry pie filling for brains; it's just that they made me anxious, all those gloomy reports about the tailspinning economy. Especially since I was looking for permanent work with hardly a penny to my name and an anchor of student loans tied to my toes.

But my story ends well, for two reasons: (a) I got a permanent full-time job (phew!) and (b) I listened to an episode of the radio show This American Life over the weekend and I feel enlightened. I feel less afraid now. Dave had told me about this episode, "The Giant Pool of Money," before, but I always forgot about it once the conversation was over. Last Saturday, we took the Go bus to Dave's parents' house in the country and listened to the episode on our way there. Let me tell you, I was a different girl as we re-entered the city later that evening: finally, I felt brave enough to stare down a scary headline in the Business section of a newspaper - and maybe even read the article, too.

"The Giant Pool of Money" is smart, hilarious and touching. I'm by no means an expert on the crisis, but I at least have a better understanding of the factors that led to the economy's demise. So, even if you're sick to death of reading or hearing about the recession, I still say you check it out. It's the safest investment of time you'll make all week and the returns are immeasurable.

Click here to find the episode and listen (for FREE!)