This is a gorgeous video by Jonathan Jarvis explaining this mess.

This video was part of his thesis, which he describes like this:

The goal of giving form to a complex situation like the credit crisis is to quickly supply the essence of the situation to those unfamiliar and uninitiated. This project was completed as part of my thesis work in the Media Design Program, a graduate studio at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

This might be a handy link to share with your members who, despite the ubiquitous, if a little sanitized, coverage might still be feeling uninitiated.