If you like these there is now a Planet Money podcast. They're shorter and more frequent and great. (http://www.npr.org/templates/archives/archive.php?thingId=12...)
The Giant Pool of Money. Housing Crisis + Wall Street. Probably one of the best episodes ever.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/355/t...
Another Frightening show about the economy. Kind of an update on The Giant Pool of Money.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/365/a...
Bad Bank. Banks, insolvency, money.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/375/b...
Inside job. More of a story than the previous money ones but really interesting.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/405/i...
Continental Breakup. Euro debt crisis. If you listen to this one and want more, check out the Planet Money podcast. They talk about Greece all the time.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/455/c...
Heath Care system in America.
More is Less
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/391/m...
Someone Else's Money
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/392/s...
MISC:
Habeas Schmabeas. Guantanamo Bay, habeas, Geneva Conventions, horrible "enemies"
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/331/h...
Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory. You have probably heard this one because it went viral but Mike Daisey (the most fantastic storytelling ever) talks about factories in China. Then they fact check is story. Brillant.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/454/m...
The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar. Kidnapping from a long time ago. It's get's really interesting near the end when they discover the truth and the way each family deals with it. Also, wow time's have changed.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/352/t...
Switched at Birth. Good stuff.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/360/s...
Act V. Inmates perform Hamlet. The concept seems weird but seriously listen to it. It's amazing. One of my all time favorites
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/218/a...
Feel free to add your own.
Oh You Shouldn't Have. The perils of giving and receiving gifts. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/428/o... The Devil In Me. Stories of people trying to exorcize their inner demons. The soldier's story of overcoming PTSD is truly inspiring. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/340/t... Conventions. There are no words for John Perry Barlow's story at the end. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/74/co... 81 Words. The story of how the American Psychiatric Association decided in 1973 that homosexuality was no longer a mental illness. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/204/8...
This American Life is a great show. They have a tv version now that I've not yet seen. Have you?