Here's one example of the economic crisis going meta. Last week during the final segment of her series on how the economy is affecting Americans, entitled "American Moxie: How We Get By" NPR reporter Ketzel Levine finished off by announcing to listeners that she herself had lost her job as part of the sweeping layoffs that hit NPR earlier this month.

My name is Ketzel Levine. I'm a senior correspondent for National Public Radio — and as a direct result of the current economic crisis, I have been been laid off from my job.

I was told almost two weeks ago, but it's only today that I'm sane enough to tell you. I've been spending most of my time careening around the five stages of grief — doing each of them a disservice, I might add. But I figure there'll be time enough later to revisit each one at least a few more times.