Philip Reeves

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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

The bailout of AIG four years ago, was a defining moment in the U.S. economic crisis. Tomorrow brings a defining moment for Europe as it grapples with its own financial crisis. As NPR's Philip Reeves reports, a court in Germany will deliver a verdict in a case that goes to the very heart of Europe's strategy to save the eurozone.

The well-staged London Olympics have drawn to a close and on Monday, thousands of fans made their way to airports for the flight home.

The London 2012 Olympics were billed as the Social Games, with Twitter, Facebook and other services making it an immersive experience. But it might be remembered as "The Crying Games," for the swelling of emotions many Britons experienced. We run down some of the Olympics' winners and losers:

The Losers

The Stiff Upper Lip

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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Before the Olympics began, the British were in a funk. The Times of London predicted the games would be a disaster, and many Britons agreed. Now, nearly two weeks later, they've forgotten all that and pretty much everything else that's gone wrong. As we hear from NPR's Philip Reeves, the Olympics have temporarily transformed a nation.

PHILIP REEVES, BYLINE: What on Earth is happening to the British?

(SOUNDBITE OF CHEERING)

REEVES: I mean, just listen.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHEERING)

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SUSAN STAMBERG, HOST:

You find out so much about a country, you know, when it's hosting the Olympics. It's almost as if the games lay bare a nation's soul. NPR's Philip Reeves says that is what's happening in Britain. He's finding the experience unnerving, as he explains, in this letter from the Olympics.

Any claim the British have to their fabled "stiff upper lip" is being destroyed by these Olympic Games. The Brits' lips are wobbling like jellies; their tears are flowing faster than the summer rain; their crowds are cheering themselves hoarse.

Just a few weeks ago, warnings were flying thick and fast that the Olympic Games would reduce London to chaos, jamming the capital's roads and clogging up its aging transport system. Officials urged residents to work from home and plan their travel carefully. The public seems to have taken that advice to heart.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We've been following some big developments today in the News of the World phone-hacking scandal in Britain. Prosecutors are charging eight people - including a former top aide to Prime Minister David Cameron - and a woman who was Rupert Murdoch's top lieutenant. NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

In Britain today, parliament continues its hearing on the interest rate scandal at Barclays Bank. This week, several of the bank's top executives resigned, including the chief executive, Bob Diamond. Yesterday, parliamentarians quizzed Diamond for three hours.

NPR's Philip Reeves is in London, where he says outrage is growing.