Denver, CO attorney, John E. Campbell, has produced a video explaining the mortgage crisis. It is just under one hour long, but is well-worth watching if you want to understand the fundamentals of how the crisis came to be, what allowed the mortgage bubble to grow so large before it burst, and what banks did in the aftermath.
I'm about halfway through it and find it to be highly compelling viewing. Here's a synopsis of the video's contents:
I. The Big Picture and its Many Parts (:55)
II. Banks Flood the Market with Subprime Mortgages (3:54)
III. Banks, Securitize their Mortgages (10:05)
IV. Banks Cry for a Bailout (13:57)
V. Wall Street Malfeasance (16:54)
VI. Foreclosures, Robo-Signing, Trustees and Conflicts of Interest (18:20)
VII. MERS ("Mortgage Electronic Registration System) (33:45)
VIII. The Mortgage System Used to Work (43:42)
IX. Credits and Further Readings (52:43)
If you're interested in this subject, then this is a great starting point. I'm also impressed by his whiteboard skills.