Questions

Here are the questions I prepared for my interviewees. While these guided the conversation, many of them weren’t asked directly, as the discussions naturally took their own path.

Before the crisis, were the warning signs obvious to you, or did they only seem clear after the fact?
How much responsibility lies with government policy versus private financial institutions?
Was deregulation a cause of the crisis, or did it simply expose deeper problems already built into the system?
Do financial markets naturally drift toward instability without strong oversight?
If you could change one policy decision made before 2008, what would it be and why?
Has the U.S. meaningfully reduced the risk of another crisis, or are we just better at reacting after the fact?
How do inequality and concentrated economic power affect financial stability?

What did the crisis feel like inside the banking system as it was unfolding?
At what point did people realize this wasn’t just a normal downturn?
Were risky practices openly discussed, or were they normalized at the time?
Did incentives inside banks encourage short-term gains over long-term stability?
Looking back, what was the most dangerous assumption people were making?
Was there pressure to ignore risks because “everyone else was doing it”?
How did the crisis change the way you personally think about money and risk?

Where were you financially when the crisis hit, and what was your immediate reaction?
Did you feel panic, confidence, or complete confusion?
What’s one investing rule you thought was true before 2008 that turned out not to be?
Do markets reward smart investing or just risk-taking?
If you could give your pre-2008 self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Has the crisis made you more cautious or more skeptical of the system itself?