A recent This American Life episode does a great job of telling the story of the Housing Bubble/Mortgage Crisis:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1242
It filled in a part of the story which I didn’t understand, which was the pool of money that fed into this machine. Definitely worth a listen.
It’s also got a Ben Mezrich-like chapter, with requisite celebrities, clubs, and bottles of Cristal for some of the key players.
Thanks for the rec, I really enjoyed this episode!