 The show was well received by listeners, stimulating ten times more listener feedback than average, all of it positive according to reporter Adam Davidson.In February 2009, Adam Davidson and Alex Blumberg were awarded the Polk Award for the episode.Chicago Public Radio's "This American Life" and National Public Radio, News Division won a Peabody Award for the episode, calling it "impressive for the arresting clarity of its explanation of the financial crisis we're in, and even more so for its having aired so early - May 2008."