Breaking the Bank (full documentary) | FRONTLINE

High inflation. Fear of recession. Disruptions, like the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. How did the U.S. economy get here? A two-hour documentary special traces the road to this moment, and the role of the Federal Reserve, the country’s central bank. FRONTLINE investigates the Fed’s epic economic experiment to revive the U.S. economy with what has been called an “easy money” policy and the far-reaching and sometimes unintended consequences. “If we hadn't been driving our economy for 14 years with easy money and then tried to really quickly undo that now, we wouldn't be having these problems,” former top banking regulator Sheila Bair said in the documentary. From the 2008 recession, to the COVID pandemic, to the rise in inflation, to the current economic uncertainty, “Age of Easy Money” charts the American economy’s tumultuous course, the fragility of the financial system and the widening gap between Wall Street and Main Street. The documentary examines what led to the Fed’s recent decisions to hike interest rates at a historic pace and probes the ongoing effects, offering a comprehensive and timely examination

This film tells the rise and fall of Nokia and the Finnish mobile phone industry from grassroots, the point of view of the basic engineers and experienced by those who made the miracle happen and then faced the destruction. Many ended unemployed, some moved to new areas of work, and few found a new innovative entrepreneur in themselves. Today, something new may be smouldering in the ruins of Nokia. A film by Arto Koskinen Once upon a time there was a large Finnish company that manufactured the world’s best and most innovative mobile phones. The company was called Nokia. Nokia’s annual budget was larger than that of the Government of Finland. People who got a job in that company rose to an undefined higher caste in which abundance was guaranteed till the end of their life. They were often envied for this reason. Luckily other Finns were also able to enjoy the Nokia name. Even an Egyptian market vendor would call Finnish tourists ”Mr or Mrs Nokia” upon hearing from where they came. Mobile phones changed the world. They have

There was a time when one earner could support an entire family. However, due to escalating costs in the 1970s, it became necessary for wives to enter the workforce. By the 1990s, even two incomes were insufficient, leading families to abandon savings. By the 2000s, with both partners working and no savings, families began borrowing well beyond their means to cope with inflation. This documentary traces the global economic crisis from the Bretton Woods Agreement to the Nixon shock and the Occupy Wall Street movement. It reveals how the U.S. Federal Reserve has led not only the American economy but also the global economy to function much like a Ponzi scheme. Since the pandemic, debt expansion is out of control. Are we headed for another recession or a total economic collapse? ------- Chapters ▷ 00:00 – Intro ▷ 03:36 – Bretton Woods (1944) ▷ 05:35 – Nixon shock (1971) ▷ 07:53 – Fiat currency ▷ 09:50 – Ponzi scheme ▷ 11:20 – IOU bonds ▷ 16:10 – Inflation and purchasing power ▷ 21:30 – Occupy Wall Street (2008) ▷ 24:01

In September 1944 The Allies launched Operation Market Garden in Arnhem, Netherlands. The plan was to combine a huge ground assault with the largest airborne landing the world had ever seen to capture several bridges across the Rhine and secure a path to Germany. However the operation failed disastrously. War Stories is your one stop shop for all things military history. From Waterloo to Verdun, we'll be bringing you only the best documentaries and stories from history's most engaging and dramatic conflicts. You can find more from us on

In September 1944, the Allies dropped over 40 thousand troops into the Nazi occupied Netherlands. Their objective was to capture strategic points including 9 bridges to create an invasion route into Germany. This hugely ambitious operation was a disaster and led to enormous Allied casualties and prisoners. War Stories is your one stop shop for all things military history. From Waterloo to Verdun, we'll be bringing you only the best documentaries and stories from history's most engaging and dramatic conflicts. You can find more from us on

The worldwide pharmaceutical market is dominated by the so-called Big-Pharma, which is composed by no more than 10 pharmaceutical companies based in USA or Europe. Thanks to the TRIPS Agreements, created by the WTO (World Trade Organization) in 1995, medicines is treated like any other goods. This means that the pharmaceutical companies owning the large number of patents on drugs worldwide can act as monopolists deciding and imposing the prizes. Further more they can decide the type of research to be made, without taking into consideration the needs of developing countries. Original title: Health for Sale © 2007, Licensed by First Hand Films