#115 Planet Money: We've Been Here Before

When people talk about the current economic crisis they bring up the
Great Depression and Japan's lost decade, but the world's history of
'financial folly' spans much larger, through eight centuries and 66
different countries. In their new book, This Time Is Different,
economist Ken Rogoff of Harvard, and Carmen Reinhart of University of
Maryland, tell the stories of financial crises from medieval currency
debasements to the recent subprime mess. Reinhart says our current
troubles are nothing new, and what's worse, she predicts we're doomed to
repeat the mistakes of our predecessors.