The Warning

FRONTLINE producer Michael Kirk unearths the hidden history of the nation's worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, explore...



"For those who haven't seen it, you can view a very excellent PBS documentary called "The Warning" that was broadcast this evening. You can watch it on the web here. It is the story of Brooksly Born (do a Google search if you are not familiar with her) who was the Commodities Futures Trading Commissioner in the Clinton administration. She first warned the public about the dangers of the unregulated OTC derivatives market and was ruthlessly silenced by powerful government officials and a host of congressmen who knew nothing about derivatives. Brooksly Born was far more intelligent and courageous than her opponents. 10 years later, as she predicted, the derivatives market brought down Bear Sterns, Lehman, and AIG and precipitated the ongoing financial crisis. The video is instructive and underscores the continued need for regulation of these as yet unregulated markets."-Felix, Morningstar forum