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

Meltdown

Keeanga Yamahtta Taylor

Matthew Taibbi

John Nichols

Tom Frank

Matt Giroveanu, Rachel Bouton, and Kiki Mikkelson improvise a love song in Vern’s Audible special, "A Very Improvised Holiday Musical".  The prompt for the special was to create a new holiday on the spot, and the live audience chose “pickles” as the celebratory food, “periwinkle and maroon” as the holiday’s colors, and “the poop emoji” as the sacred symbol (Oh, millennials). But the resulting musical is surprisingly sweet.
 
Listen to the FULL holiday special on Audible: http://tinyurl.com/VernSpecial

Listen on Audible

A Very Improvised Holiday Musical (Teaser Clip)

Exclusively on Audible, an original audio documentary narrated by award-winning actress Mary-Louise Parker.

It’s always hard to make the crowd laugh — especially when joking about war, PTSD, and mental health. Strong Ending follows three military veterans as they attempt to turn their most painful stories into laughs by participating in a stand-up comedy boot camp.

After joining the military, deploying to combat zones, and coming home fundamentally changed, Michael Garvey, Isaura Ramirez, and Patrick Harth challenge themselves to share their stories on stage and perform original stand up-comedy about their experiences for a packed house.

Narrated by Emmy and Tony award-winning actress Mary-Louise Parker and featuring interviews with professional comedians Rob Riggle (The Daily Show, The Hangover) and Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite, Arrested Development), Strong Ending explores the science behind the healing power of laughter and the role of military-comedies in popular culture.

Is laughter really the best medicine? Listen to find out: Audible.com/StrongEnding

Strong Ending  - Maria Bamford on Mental Health & Comedy (clip)

Strong Ending - Rob Riggle On Comedy (clip)

Featuring Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy, Eliza Skinner.

In this scene excerpt from a live cast reading, alien commander 9-Krelblax orders his navigator, Zzarvon, to set a course for the Big Dipper but things get off track pretty quickly.

Download and listen to the full Audible Original, "The Pole Vault Championship of the Entire Universe", at Audible.com/PoleVault!

The Pole Vault Championship - Live from SF Sketchfest - Navigating the Stars

6. I Wish I Was Sober (Kevin Devine & Julien Baker)

5. 400 Bones (Kevin Devine)

Audible is audio entertainment that educates, entertains, and inspires. Our unmatched selection of audiobooks and original premium podcasts feature performances by unforgettable narrators and A-list celebrities. Listen anywhere, anytime with our free Audible app.

John Nichols

Audible

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