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  • 2009-07-07T23:00:00Z on Channel 4
  • 50m
  • 3h 16m (4 episodes)
  • United Kingdom
  • English
  • Documentary
As the world continues to struggle to find its footing amid rising unemployment, constricted credit and crumbling banks and industries — raising questions about how the economic system collapsed — PBS presents Niall Ferguson’s ASCENT OF MONEY. This groundbreaking four-part series examines the creation of the economic system by taking viewers on a global trek through the history of money. This documentary delves deeper into how our complex system of global finance evolved over the centuries, how money has shaped the course of human affairs and how the mechanics of this economic system work to create seemingly unlimited wealth — or catastrophic loss.

4 episodes

Series Premiere

2009-07-07T23:00:00Z

1x01 From Bullion to Bubbles

Series Premiere

1x01 From Bullion to Bubbles

  • 2009-07-07T23:00:00Z49m

In the first episode of the four-hour series THE ASCENT OF MONEY, economist and historian Niall Ferguson documents the roots of money in the conquest of the Americas, from the Incan empire to the Louisiana territory.

2009-07-14T23:00:00Z

1x02 Bonds of War

1x02 Bonds of War

  • 2009-07-14T23:00:00Z49m

In the second episode of the four-hour series THE ASCENT OF MONEY, economist and historian Niall Ferguson explores John Law and his Louisiana territory Ponzi scheme; bond markets that supported warfare in Europe.

2009-07-21T23:00:00Z

1x03 Risky Business

1x03 Risky Business

  • 2009-07-21T23:00:00Z49m

In "Risky Business," part three of the four-part THE ASCENT OF MONEY, economist and historian Niall Ferguson examines the roots of the insurance industry, natural disasters and risk management, and the history of hedge funds.

2009-07-28T23:00:00Z

1x04 Planet Finance

1x04 Planet Finance

  • 2009-07-28T23:00:00Z49m

In the final episode of four-part THE ASCENT OF MONEY series, Niall Ferguson chronicles the spread of good -- and bad -- financial practices across the globe, the meteoric rise of the American real estate market, and the consequences of the subprime mortgage fiasco.

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