On a recent Saturday afternoon I tuned in to National Public Radio and ran into one of my old favorites: This American Life. Any regular NPR listener knows this show is one of the most engaging programs every invented, with quirky takes on the thoughts that run through all of our minds but most of us dismiss the second after they arise. Thoughts like "How long does it take to boil a 3 pound ostrich egg?" and "What is the statistical probability I will meet my match in life?" OK, maybe these things don't run through your mind everyday, but when tracking interest rates and economic news all day, they are welcome diversions in mine.

The majority of the program was devoted to economic team Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson, who in 39 minutes presented one of the best explanations of the current financial crisis anyone could hope for -- the big picture basics, touching on everything from how a bank balance sheet works to the practical and political challenges facing every government recovery plan.

The best part? They got economic experts and banking analysts to speak plain English about why we are where we are.

The conversation focuses on the banking system, and covers the two basic options for confronting today's crisis: buying up toxic assets to remove them from bank balance sheets, or injecting new capital to offset the losses incurred by banks continuing to hold bad assets. Because pricing these assets has been nearly impossible given their complexity, the first option could be tremendously costly to taxpayers, transferring huge losses from the banks to the rest of us. The second option involves the taxpayers taking an equity stake in the banks themselves, amounting to nationalization of the banking system.

Both options are controversial. The problem, say analysts, is less a technical one and more a political one. Neither option has been fully embraced, and the debate rages on as the government straddles the fence.

A third option - letting the banks fail and the system work itself out - is even less tenable. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, testifying before Congress, observed that "If we let the banking system fail, no one would talk about the Great Depression anymore, because this will be so much worse."

In the end, it seems the damage is done. According to Columbia Business School Professor David Beim, "What is happening to us is something that goes way beyond toxic assets in banks, it's something that has little to do with the mechanics of mortgage securitization or ethics on Wall Street or anything else. . . The problem is us. We have over borrowed." It seems all that is left is sorting out the winners from the losers.

You may not feel much better after listening, but you will have a decidedly clearer picture of what has often been a murky pool of news, numbers and analysis to even the most well informed business readers.

To hear the entire broadcast, try this link or visit "This American Life" at www.npr.org.