Playwright Ayad Akhtar has always dreamed of writing a big play about finance. Now, his play "Junk" is live at the Lincoln Center Theater, and drawing crowds from both the arts and finance fields. Akhmatova joins Cheddar to explain why 1980s Wall Street made for great play material. He notes that this period of time can be seen as the era in which American financial institutions started valuing money over everything. The play centers around one deal, and throughout the course of the production, shows the ways the characters treat the deal. Values and priorities shift as throughout ththe story arc. Akhtar feels that the "Junk" mirrors some aspects of more recent financial crises. However, he says he doesn't know whether we are headed towards another crisis. For now, he is interested in highlighting how American values have shifted, and whether or not we will ever return to a time when money isn't valued above all else.