Planet Money LIVE: The Economy, Explained at Penn State Behrend March 13, 2012

The economic crisis has been discussed up and down, left and right, yet many of us still don’t understand how we actually got from bad mortgages to global economic meltdown. Adam Davidson and Alex Blumberg, primary correspondents and witty chief “economic explainers” for National Public Radio’s Planet Money feature, will bring their gift for distilling this complex situation to Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, on Tuesday, March 13.

This Speaker Series event begins at 7:30 p.m. in the McGarvey Commons of the college’s Reed Union Building. Admission is free and open to the public.

Planet Money, a multimedia buffet of podcasts, a blog, and regular features on NPR’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered and This American Life broadcasts, is lauded for its ability to explain even the most intricate economic issue in a way that offers not only a complete understanding what happened and why, but also its effect on our wallets. In their Penn State Behrend appearance, “Planet Money LIVE: The Economy, Explained,” the charismatic duo will both examine the current economic crisis and offer a humorous, human look at where it’s leading.

Davidson has won most of broadcast journalism’s highest honors, including the Peabody, DuPont-Columbia, and Polk awards, for international reporting that helps Americans understand how a rapidly changing global economy impacts every aspect of our lives. Blumberg, an executive producer for Showtime’s television version of This American Life, is the winner of four Emmy awards, including one for best non-fiction series. He teaches radio journalism at Columbia University.

“Planet Money LIVE: The Economy, Explained” is supported by the Sam and Irene Black School of Business at Penn State Behrend, the Student Activity Fee, the Division of Student Affairs, and the Harriet Behrend Ninow Memorial Lecture Series Fund. Also appearing in the series this spring will be National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence Spencer Wells on Thursday, April 2. For additional information, contact the Office of Student Activities at 814-898-6171.

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