FRONTLINE Presents: “Age of Easy Money”

Age of Easy Money Tues., March 14, 2023 Streaming at 7/6c at pbs.org/frontline & in the PBS Video App Airing at 9/8c on PBS and on YouTube www.facebook.com/frontline | Twitter: @frontlinepbs Instagram: @frontlinepbs | YouTube: youtube.com/frontline

As the threat of recession looms around the world and inflation remains high, this March, FRONTLINE will premiere Age of Easy Money — a two-hour special from the award-winning documentary team behind Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos and The Facebook Dilemma.

In Age of Easy Money, producers James Jacoby and Anya Bourg chart the American economy’s tumultuous course since the Great Recession, the current uncertainty and fragility, and the role of the Federal Reserve.

The two-hour special investigates the Fed’s epic economic experiment to revive the economy with what has been called an “easy money” policy, and the far-reaching and unintended consequences – including a widening gap between Main Street and Wall Street.

With the Fed now pulling back on its “easy money” policy, the country and the world may be entering a new economic era.

“We lived in a bubble, in a dream, and this dream in a bubble is bursting,” economist and author Nouriel Roubini says in the film.

The film draws on two years of reporting and interviews with prominent financial players, leading economic thinkers, current and former top-level Fed insiders, members of Congress and the Biden administration, and people impacted by the country’s economic policies. It reveals what led to the Fed’s recent decisions to hike interest rates at a historic pace, and shows the ongoing effects  — economic anxiety, fears of recession, concerns about public and private debt, and uncertainty about what comes after the age of easy money.

“One of the things about the age of easy money that is so diabolical, is that we’re all in it, right? We’re all part of this Faustian bargain of pretending that there’s something wonderful happening in the real economy, when really it’s just Wall Street going up. But we all kind of want the market to go up, because we’re in it, with our pension funds, and with our 401Ks,” says Rana Faroohar, author and associate editor at the Financial Times. “We are 100% entering an entirely new economic era.”

With inflation still high and economic uncertainty ongoing, Age of Easy Money is a comprehensive and timely examination of how we reached this precarious moment and the role of the institution at the heart of America’s economy.

Age of Easy Money will be available to watch in full at pbs.org/frontline and in the PBS Video App starting March 14, 2023, at 7/6c. It will premiere on PBS stations (check local listings) and on FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel at 9/8c. Age of Easy Money is distributed internationally by PBS International. Subscribe to FRONTLINE’s newsletter to get updates on events, podcast episodes and more related to Age of Easy Money.  

 

###

ABOUT FRONTLINE

FRONTLINE, U.S. television’s longest-running investigative documentary series, explores the issues of our times through powerful storytelling. FRONTLINE has won every major journalism and broadcasting award, including 104 Emmy Awards and 28 Peabody Awards. Today, pbs.org/frontline remains one of PBS’s most popular general-audience sites with over 300 full-length documentaries available free to stream anywhere, anytime. FRONTLINE stands alone in providing the breadth and depth of coverage needed to understand our world. Our long-form documentaries and approaches to innovative storytelling have bolstered the series’ reputation for fairness, accuracy, credibility, and transparency.

​​ABOUT PBS PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 120 million people through television and 26 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature, and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’s broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. Decades of research confirms that PBS’s premier children’s media service, PBS KIDS, helps children build critical literacy, math, and social-emotional skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality educational content on TV — including a 24/7 channel — online at pbskids.org, via an array of mobile apps, and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at PBS.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Communications on Twitter.

ABOUT GBH GBH is the leading multiplatform creator for public media in America. As the largest producer of content for PBS and partner to NPR and PRX, GBH delivers compelling experiences, stories and information to audiences wherever they are. GBH produces digital and broadcast programming that engages, illuminates and inspires, through drama and science, history, arts, culture and journalism. It is the creator of such signature programs as MASTERPIECE, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, FRONTLINE, NOVA, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, Arthur and Molly of Denali and a catalog of streaming series, podcasts and on-demand video. GBH’s television channels include GBH 2, GBH 44, GBH Kids and national services WORLD and Create. With studios and a newsroom headquartered in Boston, GBH reaches across New England with GBH 89.7, Boston’s Local NPR; CRB Classical 99.5; and CAI, the Cape and Islands NPR station. Dedicated to making media accessible to and inclusive of our diverse culture, GBH is a pioneer in delivering media to those who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired. GBH creates curriculum-based digital content for educators nationwide with PBS LearningMedia and has been recognized with hundreds of the nation’s premier broadcast, digital and journalism awards. Find more information at gbh.org.

PRESS CONTACT: Anne Husted, FRONTLINE, Manager, PR & Communications anne_husted@wgbh.org | 617.300.5312