logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2025
30s

Planet Money: We Bought a Toxic Asset

NPR
About this episode
Remember toxic assets? Those complicated mortgage bonds that almost brought down the financial system? We bought one to figure out how the 2008 housing crisis played out. We called her Toxie. These episodes take you through Toxie's complicated and surprising life. Subscribe to Planet Money+ now to get access and get sponsor-free listening to Planet Money.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2025
How the government got hedge funded
The U.S. government spends a ton of money, on everything from Medicare to roads to defense. In fact, it spends way more than it takes in. So…it borrows money, in the bond market. By selling U.S. Treasurys, basically IOUs with periodic interest payments. And for decades, people ha ... Show More
28m 10s
Mar 2023
A Great Recession bank takeover
Earlier this month, we saw the largest bank collapse since the 2008 financial crisis. For many of us, seeing Silicon Valley Bank's meltdown brought us right back to that time 15 years ago, at the beginning of what would become the Great Recession. In early 2009, one or two banks ... Show More
18m 37s
Oct 2024
The Subscription Trap
Over the past two decades, there's been a sort of tectonic economic shift happening under our feet. More and more companies have switched from selling goods one by one to selling services, available as a subscription. These days everything from razor blades to meal kits to car wa ... Show More
30m 55s
Dec 2024
The habitat banker
Our planet is in serious trouble. There are a million species of plants and animals in danger of extinction, and the biggest cause is companies destroying their habitats to farm food, mine minerals, and otherwise get the raw materials to turn into the products we all consume.So, ... Show More
33m 2s
Mar 2025
How Tupperware took over our homes, with Decoder Ring
Tupperware is the stealthy star of our modern homes. These plastic storage containers are ubiquitous in our fridges, pantries, and closets. But the original product was revolutionary. So was its breakthrough sales strategy: the Tupperware Party.Led in part by a charismatic housew ... Show More
28m 26s
Sep 2024
Rate Expectations
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates to get inflation under control. One side effect is that taking out a mortgage to buy a home has gotten very expensive. That's especially a problem for some homeowners who managed to get a lower mortgage rate years ago. They have a sort of ... Show More
23m 13s