The "Too Big To Fail" FAIL

Two years after a massive government bailout that pulled the financial industry back from the abyss, lending is tight and job growth is barely moving. Yet the market for over the counter derivatives is again booming.

Long-time Newsweek economics correspondent Michael Hirsh suggests that Barack Obama's economics team helped the big banks become big winners by bailing them out without holding the institutions accountable to get the economy back on track.

So is it back to business as usual for Citigroup, Bank of America and the rest? Hirsh talks about the reforms that have been put in place and the lack of an ideological debate over the intersection between finance and politics.

Hirsh is currently Chief Economics Correspondent with the National Journal.

LISTEN: MICHAEL HIRSH - CAPITAL OFFENSE

Poor Political Climate

The world is getting hotter. The majority of climate experts are worried about the rising temperatures and carbon emissions may be the culprit. At the very least, the global hunger for energy is going to cause traditional carbon-burning power sources to see a rise in price. The time seems right for action to create a new, "greener," energy system.

When Barack Obama won the presidential election in 2008 and was then met with a majority of his party in Congress, the prospect of seeing legislation that would support and incentivize business to cut down on carbon emissions seemed likely. However, since that time there has been little progress in the political system to change our carbon emissions.

Bloomberg Business Week editor Eric Pooley spent over two years embedded with the power players in the environmental and energy policy battle of cap and trade. Eric Pooley says that even though conditions seemed good to institute new rules to help cut emissions and boost a new "green" industry, that risks weren't taken and deals fell apart.

LISTEN: ERIC POOLEY - CLIMATE WARS

New Iranian Power

CIA veteran Robert Baer sees rationality and a calculated reasonableness in the leadership of Iran. The former CIA career officer takes a look at the state of Iran following the election protests and a growing degree of brinkmanship over nuclear capability. All of Iran's actions (if not words), are based upon what is a significantly changed region following the U.S. involvement in Iraq.

Baer's books SEE NO EVIL and SLEEPING WITH THE DEVIL were the basis for the Academy Award-winning film SYRIANA.

LISTEN: ROBERT BAER

Haynes Johnson: Kennedy's Impact on 2008

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Haynes Johnson, along with co-author Dan Balz, dug deep into the 2008 presidential campaign for a long-form behind the scenes look at history as it happened. In their book THE BATTLE FOR AMERICA 2008, Johnson reveals heated phone calls between Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy, the decision making process of the McCain campaign to choose Sarah Palin as a running mate and other then-unreported details.

LISTEN: HAYNES JOHNSON