Ben Bernanke smiles about the economy on Colbert's Late Show

(Image credit: Late Show)

published 8 October 2015

The possible economic devastation during the 2008 financial crisis wasn't unimaginable, former Federal Reserve Chairman "Helicopter" Ben Bernanke told Stephen Colbert on Wednesday's Late Show, "because we've seen the Great Depression that was in the 1930s." That was Bernanke's area of expertise when he was a professor, he acknowledged, and when he saw the panic in 2008, "I said to myself, This looks an awful lot like 1929."

Colbert jumped in: "Did that make you excited? Is that like a fireman going: Something's on fire! Get the hose!" Bernanke said yes, and he "didn't want everything to burn down." It didn't. Thanks in large part to the Fed's extraordinary intervention, he added, the economy has recovered significantly, with the unemployment rate dropping from 10 percent to 5 percent and the banks in good shape, thanks to new regulation. Colbert interrupted again: "Can I ask you something? Is this as happy as you ever look?" Bernanke smiled. Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.