EconTalk

Russ Roberts has put togther an impressive collection of economics podcasts. Many of the podcasts provide great background to aspects of the current crisis in the the finance markets. Here’s a selection:

• Arnold Kling talks with Russ Roberts about the economics of the housing market and the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
• Robert Shiller of Yale University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the current housing mess and related financial market problems. Shiller argues that the decade-long run up in housing prices was a bubble where speculative fervor outweighed any economic fundamentals.
• John Taylor of Stanford University talks the role of the Federal Reserve, monetary policy.
• Milton Friedman talks about his research, inflation, the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke, and the future.