Inside the US Federal Reserve

An inside look at the US Federal Reserve, the most powerful - and least understood - financial institution on earth.

Since 1971, the US dollar and the global financial system have been based solely on faith - faith in the guardian of that currency and of that system: The American Central Bank, the Federal Reserve.

Nearly 100 years after its creation, the power of the US Federal Reserve has never been greater.

Markets and governments around the world hold their breath in anticipation of the Fed chairman's every word.

Yet the average person knows very little about the most powerful - and least understood - financial institution on earth.

"There is this perception that people have that the Fed is this kind of black box. Nobody quite understands it," says Charles Plosser, president of the Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

This film takes viewers inside the Fed and reveals the impact of Fed policies - past, present, and future - on our lives.

Join current and former Fed officials as they debate the critics, and each other, about the decisions that helped lead the global financial system to the brink of collapse in 2008.

"The Fed is supposed to be the guardian of financial stability, preventing chaos in markets. Usually it can do that, but in the summer of 2008, it could not do it and we did get chaos," says Alan Blinder, vice chairman of the Federal Reserve (19994-1996).

What caused the crisis in the first place? What brought the wealthiest nation in history to its knees? And are we headed there again?

Al Jazeera - with video