Lebanon's economy is in freefall. The World Bank calls it one of the worst financial crises in a century. We look back at Lebanon's optimistic years, zooming in on the one key decision that started this house of cards. And we ask what this can teach us about booms and busts in general.
Today
Red tape indicators: sports betting, R&D and click-to-cancel
We are back with Indicators of the Week! Today, we'll be digging into why U.S. professional gamblers are worried about their future, why businesses might start investing more in research and development, and why cancelling your subscriptions is going to remain difficult.Related e ... Show More
9m 28s
Jul 9
Can you afford to evacuate ahead of a disaster?
We are just at the start of hurricane season, and we're already seeing the danger and tragedy brought on by storms. There's another cost that gets much less attention, but it's a gamble everyone in the path of a storm has to make.Today on the show, we examine the decision on whet ... Show More
9 m
Jun 2023
How Lebanon’s economy collapsed
Protests, power cuts and bank hold-ups – Lebanon was already struggling before the 2020 port explosion that devasted its capital, Beirut, but now it’s in a desperate economic collapse. The Lebanese people are struggling to buy basic food and medicine. And the country also hosts t ... Show More
18m 56s
Dec 2023
The ‘Ponzi scheme’ behind Lebanon’s economic collapse
For years, Riad Salameh was praised for his revolutionary financial policies as head of Lebanon’s central bank. But suddenly, the country plunged into an economic crisis. And Salameh left the central bank with a disgraced reputation and, investigators believe, a massive personal ... Show More
21m 39s
Aug 2021
A year after the blast, Lebanon fights for its future
What is left in Lebanon, after 12 months of almost indescribable crisis, is the fight to hold someone – anyone – accountable. There has been a yearlong fight to do just that, but with the economic freefall only getting worse, the paralysis seems to be deepening. Lebanon is no str ... Show More
21m 37s