Before banks collapsed and markets panicked, the financial crisis was something quieter.

In this episode, we break down what the financial system was meant to do, what changed in the years leading up to 2008, and why those changes made everyday life more fragile than most people realized.

This is not a finance lecture. It is a clear, human explanation of how trust, credit, and routine connected everyone to the system and why, when that trust started to crack, the effects reached far beyond Wall Street.

This episode lays the groundwork for the rest of the season. Because before belief broke, the system had already started to change

Before we get into the events, the names, and the consequences, this episode explains how this podcast works.

In this introduction, Jamé Watson shares why she created History, But First the Story, how real historical events are told through story, and why understanding how history feels in the moment matters.

This episode sets the tone for the season, explains the use of fictional or composite storytelling grounded in facts and research, and outlines the kinds of histories that will be explored.

If you are new here, this is the place to start.