This Giant Beast That is the Global Economy (2019)
Actor and former White House Associate Director of Public Engagement, Kal Penn, takes viewers around the world to meet key players behind some of the more serious and bizarre movements in today's economy.
Cast: Kal Penn
A Global Corruption Tour
How are fancy handbag habits, broken bridges and the Hollywood red carpet connected to a looted economy? Kal Penn finds out as he uncovers the hidden world of bribery, extortion, nepotism and embezzlement. He meets brave individuals who've risked everything to stop corruption and learns how a country's attempts to appear corruption-free are tied to mandatory toilet flushing.
Is Money Bullshit?
What is money, really? Kal Penn navigates a return to the barter system, the politics of the gold standard and the logic of fiat currency. He also untangles complexities of cryptocurrency and learns how to survive an economic apocalypse.
The Death Episode
Death is our final destination and a real money-maker. Kal Penn dives into the death economy to learn the true value of a human life. Hitmen, judges, funeral directors and football fans all help Kal lay his burning questions to rest.
Counterfeiting Kills Economies (And Helps Them Too)
Kal meets those in the fight against fakes, trying to save industries from the threat of bogus goods and terrorism. But he also learns that a symbiotic relationship between copycats and creators might be what lets economies thrive.
A.I. is the Future. Will it Keep Us Around to Enjoy It?
Kal Penn meets meets artificial intelligence face-to-interface and gets an anus-puckering glimpse of how A.I. is learning - on its own - to self-drive the global economy straight into the next industrial revolution.
The Rubber Episode
What if planes couldn't land? Or trucks couldn't transport food? Without rubber, the economy as we know it ceases to exist. Kal Penn traces the path of rubber and uncovers a blind spot in the free market economy that's putting us at risk.
Are Rich People Dicks or Do Dicks Get Rich
What is it about having a lot of money and a willingness to step over anyone to get more of it that seem to go together? Is there a correlation between "richness" and "dickness"?
Money Laundering: A How to Guide
How do you turn a suitcase full of dirty money into cash you can actually spend? To find out, Kal Penn travels across the globe -- along with a million bucks. In this step-by-step guide, Kal learns from former cops and former criminals about how to gain access to a worldwide underground money laundering system.