Business & Economy

Director Jason Reitman likes to fill his movies with tricky characters, and then put them in situations that test their convictions. His latest project, Up in the Air, is no exception: George Clooney's character has made a career of firing people.

Director Wes Anderson's first animated film is based on Roald Dahl's cheerfully wicked children's book about a wily fox who wages war on three farmers. Critic David Edelstein says the film -- with its stop-motion animation, big-name voice talent and quirky mannerisms -- achieves a degree of realism that isn't always apparent in the cult director's work.

Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story made a splash, but critic John Powers says its critique of capitalism is "the kind of scattershot tirade I used to hear in my college dorm." Better object lessons: New documentaries, Schmatta and American Casino, that do far more to explain how grand economic forces shape our daily lives.

Financial journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin discusses his investigation into what really happened one year ago during the financial collapse and bailout. That's the epic tale he tells in his new book Too Big To Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System — and Themselves.

Twenty-two years after its debut on ABC, the iconic TV drama about yuppie family life is back — in DVD form. Critic David Bianculli reviews the first season of thirtysomething, and reflects on what made the show both infuriating and fascinating.

The Emmy-darling AMC TV series devotes an almost fetishistic attention to style. But is there any substance beyond the surfaces? Critic-at-large John Powers goes looking — and comes back with one especially well-rounded answer.

Historian Nelson Lichtenstein discusses the impact of Wal-Mart on both the American and the global economy in his new book, The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business.

Tobacco smuggling is a lucrative business used to fund terrorist organizations around the world, according to a new report. David Kaplan, editor of "Tobacco Underground," explains how the illicit trade fuels organized crime.

Gretchen Morgenson, financial reporter and business columnist for The New York Times, talks about efforts in Congress to regulate credit default swaps, which helped crash the banking system.

Georgetown law professor Adam Levitin joins Fresh Air to discuss the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, which President Obama recently signed into law.

Journalist Gillian Tett warned about the problems in the financial industry long before many of her colleagues. In her new book, Fool's Gold, Tett examines the role J.P. Morgan played in creating and marketing risky and complex financial products.

Journalist Kate Kelly attracted international attention for her three-part series on the collapse of investment bank Bear Stearns. The story ran on the front pages of The Wall Street Journal in May 2008; now she's written a book on the subject.

Reinhardt, who died on Monday, helped shape the debate about health care by advocating for individual mandates and universal health care. Originally broadcast in 2009.

Economist Simon Johnson discusses the next phase of the financial bailout. In the May issue of The Atlantic Monthly, Johnson insists that the U.S. government will have to get rid of its "financial oligarchy" to regain economic stability.

Wall Street Journal economics editor David Wessel's new book, In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic, examines the expanding powers of the Federal Reserve in the face of the current economic crisis.

Years before the current economic crisis, former derivatives trader Frank Partnoy warned about the dangers of tricky financial trading. He joins Fresh Air to explain how we got where we are.

Critic-at-large David Edelstein considers Paul Rudd's search for "bromance" in I Love You Man and the spy-romance of Julia Roberts and Clive Owen in Duplicity.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gretchen Morgenson discusses the latest news in bailouts and banking — including the recent revelation that insurance giant AIG plans to pay $450 million in executive bonuses.

The rate of home foreclosure is now three times its historic rate — "so large that it threatens the entire economy." Congressional Oversight Panel chair Elizabeth Warren discusses the problem — and possible solutions.

Simon Johnson, former research director of the International Monetary Fund, analyzes the bank bailout plan and its alternatives.