Planet Money: We Bought a Toxic Asset

4.0 (2)
BUSINESS

Remember toxic assets? Those complicated mortgage bonds that almost brought down the financial system? We bought one to figure out how the 2008 housing crisis played out. We called it Toxie. (This series originally ran in 2010-2011.)Subscribe to Planet Money+ now to get access and get sponsor-free listening to Planet Money.

02/10/2025

Planet Money: We Bought a Toxic Asset

Remember toxic assets? Those complicated mortgage bonds that almost brought down the financial system? We bought one to figure out how the 2008 housing crisis played out. We called her Toxie. These episodes take you through Toxie's complicated and surprising life. Subscribe to Planet Money+ now to get access and get sponsor-free listening to Planet Money. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

1 min
09/20/2011 • PLANET MONEY+ ONLY

Toxie's Back!

Planet Money's pet toxic asset, died last year. But we learned recently that she may rise from the grave.

19 min
09/24/2010 • PLANET MONEY+ ONLY

Toxie, R.I.P.

We are gathered here to day to commemorate the passing of Toxie, Planet Money's toxic asset.

22 min
09/14/2010 • PLANET MONEY+ ONLY

The Origin Of Toxie

We talk to a woman who bought a house during the boom — and whose mortgage wound up in our toxic asset. Can you ever spot a bubble before it bursts?

17 min
07/27/2010 • PLANET MONEY+ ONLY

Toxie's Dark Past

A home inside Toxie, our toxic asset, is part of a $200 million mortgage scheme.

18 min
07/23/2010 • PLANET MONEY+ ONLY

We Take Toxie On The Road

We go on the road to Florida to learn more about the people behind Toxie, Planet Money's toxic asset.

23 min
05/21/2010 • PLANET MONEY+ ONLY

Toxie's In A Coma

We bought her for $1,000 early this year. The mortgages she's made of were going sour at an alarming rate. When enough of the mortgages went bad, she would die. On today's Planet Money: Toxie — Planet Money's mortgage-backed toxic asset — is in a coma.

20 min
04/16/2010 • PLANET MONEY+ ONLY

When An Asset Turns Toxic, Who You Gonna Sue?

An toxic asset — very much like our own Toxie — goes bad. And a New Jersey carpenters' union fund that bought a piece of the asset tries to figure out if there's someone to blame.

26 min
03/09/2010 • PLANET MONEY+ ONLY

We Bought A Toxic Asset!

Remember toxic assets? Those insanely complicated bonds that almost brought down the financial system?We bought one.We thought it would help us figure out how the housing bust is playing out. So we pooled our own money, about $1,000 in total. We sent David and Chana out to Kansas City, where a former Wall Street guy named Wit Solberg who evaluates toxic assets for his clients and sometimes buys the assets himself.Wit sold them a sliver of a toxic asset he'd bought for $36,000. It was marked down from the pre-crash price of $2.7 million.

31 min

TRAILER

Planet Money: We Bought a Toxic Asset

Remember toxic assets? Those complicated mortgage bonds that almost brought down the financial system? We bought one to figure out how the 2008 housing crisis played out. We called her Toxie. These episodes take you through Toxie's complicated and surprising life. Subscribe to Planet Money+ now to get access and get sponsor-free listening to Planet Money. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

02/10/2025

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1 min

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Remember toxic assets? Those complicated mortgage bonds that almost brought down the financial system? We bought one to figure out how the 2008 housing crisis played out. We called it Toxie. (This series originally ran in 2010-2011.)Subscribe to Planet Money+ now to get access and get sponsor-free listening to Planet Money.