If you really want to try and understand what really happened to the world economy in the fall of '08, this panel can help put a great deal of it in perspective.  While a tremendously serious talk, the panelists offer moments of comic relief, a few economist jokes are peppered throughout.

“From the standpoint of economic analysis,” says Poterba, “this appears to be a once-in-a -generation or perhaps longer global storm.” He expands on this statement throughout, with forays into macroeconomics, credit and equity markets, the tools historically and currently wielded by government to interfere with economic crises.  He engages his speakers in their areas of expertise.

See the entire video on MIT World here.