The global economy is racked by its worst crisis since the Great Depression. What are the lessons to be learned from the world economic collapse of the late 1920s and how might the current downturn affect our thinking a generation from now? Drawing on his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World, noted author Liaquat Ahamed discusses insights gained from the Great Depression, the forces that cause global financial crises, and the changes that will be necessary in the domestic regulatory structure and the global financial system to avoid a repeat of the cataclysm. This Academy Evening talk was recorded on October 20, 2009, at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art Lecture Hall, Overture Center for the Arts, Madison, WI.