Americans generally like to hear good news. They like to believe that a new president will right old wrongs, that clean energy will replace dirty oil, and that fresh thinking will set the economy straight. American pundits tend to restrain their pessimism and hope for the best. But is anyone prepared for the worst? Michael Ruppert is a different kind of American. A former Los Angeles police officer turned independent reporter, he predicted the current financial crisis at a time when most Wall Street and Washington analysts were still in denial. In Collapse, Chris Smith (The Pool, American Movie, The Yes Men) interviews Ruppert in a style that recalls the work of Errol Morris and Spalding Gray. The result is haunting.