“The magic of compound interest” – interest on interest on borrowed principal – is a primary way monetary wealth grows, but it is at the expense of real economic growth. What if our money system were built on local exchanges directly between producer and consumer? Our guest Thomas Greco, a global voice for community currency systems and credit clearing exchanges, discusses how these systems sidestep the monetary debt trap and open the door to new socio-economic prospects.  Later in the program Ellen completes her conversation with historian Matt Ehret, whose latest volume of “The Clash of Two Americas” explores the political and economic dynamics that produced two divergent 20^th century Americas.