Whats going on?

I don't have television anymore, but I do try to keep up with the news using online news feeds, podcasts, and the like. Despite all of this, I still had a hard time figuring out this economic situation. I've had a very hard time finding any sort of comprehensive summary online or anywhere else.

So whats going on? The best summary I have been able to find is a set of podcasts from Chicago Public Radio. I've included links below where you can download the podcast or transcripts.

This podcast is from May and summarizes how everything started.

The Giant Pool of Money

This a the more recent podcast that details the situation as of about a week ago.

Another Frightening Show about the Economy

The people responsible for the above podcasts have started a podcast through NPR as well as a blog detailing what is going on a daily basis.

Planet Money Podcast
Planet Money Blog

I'm not sure I still understand everything, but the above links helped me to wrap my head around the situation. My conclusion: This crisis is the result of people being criminally negligent and criminally greedy.