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OK, I’m repeating myself, but I really have to insist that you drop whatever it is you’re doing and go listen to an episode of This American Life called the “Giant Pool of Money,” which explains the subprime mortgage crisis in the stickiest possible terms. It’s journalism meets education meets entertainment. If the words “subprime” and “mortgage” and “education” make you antsy, let me offer reassurance. It is not a For Your Own Good experience. It’s a Don’t Want It To End experience.

The show explains the insanely complicated saga of the subprime crisis largely through the stories of 4 very interesting individuals. For instance, one of them — in his early 20s — made $75,000-$100,000 per MONTH bundling mortgages and spent most of the proceeds on bottles of Cristal at a NYC nightclub, so he could stay in elbow-rubbing distance of B-list celebs like Tara Reid. See, that wasn’t so painful, was it? 

It would almost be worth writing a sequel to Made to Stick that focuses purely on this one-hour show. So do me a favor and at least download this thing right now, even if you obstinately refuse to listen at the moment. For a one-hour investment, you’ll get to be Paul Krugman at the next cocktail party you attend…

From a NYT editorial:

The Environmental Working Group released a report Wednesday that charged that some bottled waters were “no different than tap water.” And it found fertilizer residue, pain medication and other chemicals in some major brands.

While a lot of bottled water may be as pure as promised in those alluring commercials, the real problem is telling which is which. Public water supplies are regulated by the federal government. Not so for bottled water.

If you missed Charles Fishman’s wonderful expose on the bottled-water industry, which appeared in Fast Company, now’s the time to take a gander.

Check out this inspired online promotion (link no longer works) for the Gonzaga U women’s basketball team. Make sure to enter your correct phone number (they don’t store the info). Absolutely ingenious, and it didn’t cost a fortune. (I wanted to buy season tix afterwards, even though I’m about 2,600 miles from Spokane…)

Maybe this will help. (My hat is off to the creators.)

The Ad Council’s latest (from a Stuart Elliott piece in the NYT):

The campaign, created pro bono by the New York office of Arnold Worldwide, urges an end to using derogatory language, particularly labeling anything deemed negative or unpleasant as “so gay.” That is underlined by the theme of the campaign: “When you say, ‘That’s so gay,’ do you realize what you say? Knock it off.”

… In the commercial featuring Ms. Sykes, three teenage boys at a pizzeria are making fun of a silly statue of a pizza chef. One says, “That’s so gay, really gay,” to which Ms. Sykes replies, “Please don’t say that,” and then asks how he would like it if she were to say something she disliked was “so ‘16-year-old boy with a cheesy mustache.’

Nice work — I love the humorous treatment of a loaded topic. Helps to defuse the anxiety of bringing it up.