Risky business: insuring against the future
Life is risky - which is why people buy insurance. But when disaster overwhelms conventional insurance systems, should the state step in? In this program, economics expert Niall Ferguson travels to post-Katrina New Orleans to evaluate the free marke...
Blowing bubbles: The emergence of stock trading
Why do stock markets produce bubbles, and what makes them burst? In this program, financial scholar Niall Ferguson examines the origins of the joint stock company and the modern share trading system, highlighting some of history's most notorious mar...
Safe as houses: real estate values and mortgage trading
Contrary to widespread perception, real estate is no different than any other financial asset - its value can plunge. This program examines the volatility of property investment and the ramifications of buying and selling bulk mortgages and mortgage...
Human bondage: the evolution of bond trading
Beginning in the strange and chaotic world of war financing, this program explores the origins and development of bond trading. Historian Niall Ferguson presents profiles of military backers and bankrollers through the centuries, linking their activ...
Dreams of avarice: credit and interest through the ages
From "promises to pay" on ancient Babylonian tablets to the insolvency of present-day consumerist America, this program explains the origins of credit and debt and why credit networks are central to civilization. Historian Niall Ferguson examines fi...
Chimerica: an economic love story gone sour
How did the American credit market become so entwined with - and dependent on - Chinese lending? This program examines the rise and potential decline of "Chimerica," the financial marriage between two of the world's biggest economic powers. Historia...