This week on The Bottom Line podcast:

New revelations in the Bernard Madoff case. Exhibit A? The transcript of a conversation that “never happened” between Madoff and a Connecticut hedge fund funneling billions his way. What was in a letter the company sent to “Dear Bernie” just hours before he turned himself in? Did it accuse him of running what may very well be the most massive Ponzi scheme in history? Hardly.

And troubled waters for the newspaper industry, as it struggles to stay afloat in a sea of online news. So what will the future of news look like? The truth is, nobody knows. But in the meantime, there are a lot interesting experiments going on to find out.

Plus, President Obama makes his first trip to Europe as president for the G-20 summit in London. How’d he do? How’d it go? All this and much more on this week’s Bottom Line podcast.

BOSTON (AP) — The wife of disgraced money manager Bernard Madoff withdrew more than $15 million from a firm co-owned by her husband – including $10 million on the day before his arrest on charges he ran a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, the top security regulator in Massachusetts said Wednesday.

Secretary of State William Galvin said Ruth Madoff, 67, withdrew $5.5 million on Nov. 25 and $10 million on Dec. 10 from Cohmad Securities Corp., a New York firm co-owned by her husband.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday announced an agreement with disgraced money manager Bernard Madoff that could eventually force him to pay a civil fine and return money raised from investors.

The partial judgment must be approved by the judge overseeing the Madoff case in federal court in Manhattan.

The civil proceeding is separate from the criminal case against the prominent Wall Street figure, who is accused of bilking $50 billion from investors in what may be the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Madoff was arrested in December after allegedly confessing to his sons that he had stolen from investors for years.

Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to revoke the bail of Madoff, who has been confined to his Manhattan penthouse under house arrest. Madoff, who has not been indicted, is widely expected to eventually enter into a criminal plea deal with prosecutors.

The agreement with the SEC says the agency’s civil fraud allegations cannot be contested by Madoff and that possible civil fines and restitution will be decided “at a later time.”

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We just love those Markopolos one-liners. This week’s Bottom Line podcast roars like a lion and bites like a flea. You could fly the Bottom Line podcast to Boston, sit it in Fenway Park, and it wouldn’t be able to find first base.

This week on the show: A Massachusetts whistle blower scores one of the biggest “I-told-you-so’s” ever — after blowing the whistle on Bernard Madoff again and again and again. Harry Markopolos had scathing words for the sheepish SEC this week on Capitol Hill. We dig into the story with Bloomberg News editor Steve Geimann.

And Republican Texas Congressman John Culberson says President Obama’s huge stimulus package is a “Trojan horse that liberals are using to ultimately turn America into France, because it contains massive expansion of multiple federal programs that are utterly unrelated to stimulating the economy.”

Robert Reich says baloney! We hear why he thinks a gigantic spending plan is just the first step toward building a new economy. (Read Reich’s essay in the Washington Post, hear his whole conversation with Tom Ashbrook, or read his blog.)

Plus, we profile two people who are unemployed in Massachusetts — and how hard they’re trying to get a job. And host Curt Nickisch explains how Facebook and Twitter are the new career centers in a 21st century recession. (Speaking of which, we’re on Twitter and Facebook, too.)

What are you doing in your job search? Or are you feeling lucky enough to keep one? Let us know in the comments.

NEW YORK (AP) — Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax. Broadcaster Larry King. World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein.

All three have at least one thing in common: Their names appear on a list of several thousand clients of disgraced financial wizard Bernard Madoff. The list has been made public in a court filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.

The list emerged late Wednesday, testament to the sweeping nature of Madoff’s alleged fraud. The 162-page list includes Madoff’s relatives, prominent business people, celebrities, and charitable institutions. Each page carries 84 single-spaced lines. Some customers are listed multiple times, presumably because they had multiple accounts.

The list does not say how much money the customers may have lost, nor does it spell out their specific connection to Madoff.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The man who waged a decade-long campaign to alert regulators to problems in the operations of fallen money manager Bernard Madoff told Congress Wednesday that he had feared for his physical safety.

Harry Markopolos also assailed the Securities and Exchange Commission in his first appearance before lawmakers. The SEC failed to act despite receiving credible allegations of fraud from Markopolos about Madoff’s operations over a decade.

Because of the agency’s inaction, “I became fearful for the safety of my family,” Markopolos said.

He told a House subcommittee hearing that “the SEC is … captive to the industry it regulates and is afraid” to bring big cases against prominent individuals. The agency “roars like a lion and bites like a flea,” Markopolos said.

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NEW YORK (AP) — A judge allowed disgraced investor Bernard Madoff to remain free on bail Monday, rejecting an attempt by prosecutors to send him to jail for mailing more than $1 million in jewelry to family and friends over the holidays.

The decision means Madoff will avoid having to leave the comfort of his $7 million penthouse and await trial in a cramped jail cell with nothing but bunkbeds, a sink and toilet. Madoff will remain under house arrest and under the constant watch of security guards.

The ruling further outraged investors who have been clamoring for Madoff to be sent to jail for allegedly carrying out the largest financial fraud in history. They find it shocking that Madoff is free on bail, despite distributing assets that could be used to help repay investors who lost billions.

Stephen A. Weiss, a lawyer for several dozen Madoff investors, said there “are people on the street who are very unhappy” with the ruling.

“There is a thirst for blood that transcends just those who have been victimized. There is a feeling … that folks like Bernard Madoff get a different brand of justice than the guy in the street,” Weiss said.

The judge acknowledged the huge public interest in the case, but said that sound legal considerations must take priority. He said that prosecutors failed to make a good enough argument that keeping Madoff free on bail represents an economic harm to the community.

“The issue at this stage of the criminal proceedings is not whether Madoff has been charged in perhaps the largest Ponzi scheme ever, not whether Madoff’s alleged actions should result in his widespread disapprobation by the public, nor even what is appropriate punishment after conviction,” Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis wrote.

“The government fails to provide sufficient evidence that any potential future dissemination of Madoff’s assets would rise to the level of an economic harm,” the judge wrote.

The anxiously awaited bail decision does put additional restrictions on Madoff, including forcing him to come up with a list of items at his apartment and allowing a security firm to check on the items. The security company will also be allowed to search all outgoing mail from Madoff to ensure that no property has been transferred.

“It is highly suspect that a man as sophisticated as Madoff appears to be did not pause to consider the possible ramifications of this proposed course of action on his release conditions,” the judge said. “Given Madoff’s failing in this regard, it is appropriate that his ability to transfer property be restricted as completely as possible.”

The decision can be appealed, but prosecutors have not said if they will do so. Yusill Scribner, a spokeswoman for prosecutors, said the government had no comment on the ruling.

Defense lawyer Ira Sorkin says the bail opinion “speaks for itself and we intend to comply with the judge’s order.” Sorkin has said the gifts were an innocent mistake and said he is neither a danger to the community nor a threat to flee.

In a separate decision, another magistrate signed off on an extension for the deadline to indict Madoff until Feb. 11. That means Madoff will remain free for at least another month, provided he does not violate conditions of the bail.

The judge also noted that it is quite common for defendants to be granted bail, even those charged with violent offense.

“Even for the most serious offense, more than half of all defendants are released on bail conditions, including 51 percent for violent offenses, 57 percent for property offenses and 73 percent for fraud.”

In another development, a bankruptcy judge ruled that a trustee can issue subpoenas to investigate the flow of money in the investment fund run by Madoff. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland gave permission to the trustee, Irving Picard, to subpoena witnesses. The trustee is overseeing the liquidation of the fund for the bankruptcy court.

This week on the Bottom Line podcast: Ray Magliozzi, on why he supports a 50-cent national gas tax: “We would want to discourage people,” Ray says, “who had no good reason to drive a pick-up truck that got 11 miles per gallon just because they wanted to commute back and forth from Home Depot just to buy plants.”

A little bit of “Car Talk” tax talk with Ray Magliozzi. Plus, WBUR’s Meghna Chakrabarti explains the pros and cons of increasing the gas tax in Massachusetts by 23 cents.

Plus, President-elect Barack Obama proposes a stimulus package as big as $800 billion. We get analysis of Obama’s first speech since the election with columnist Robert J. Samuelson of Newsweek and the Washington Post.

High-tech firm EMC, of Hopkinton, Mass., announces the layoffs of 2,400 people — even though the company boasts record profits this year. WBUR’s Fred Thys visits Hopkinton to gauge the impact on the community.

Finally, the shockwave of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme reaches the shores of tiny, tony Nantucket. It involves one of the island’s summer residents and a Bulgarian housekeeper.

Subscribe now to our podcast, and let us know what you think. We’re new and open to ideas.

Enjoy!

WASHINGTON (AP) — The internal watchdog at the Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday an investigation of the agency’s failure to uncover the alleged $50 billion fraud involving Wall Street figure Bernard Madoff will extend broadly to the agency’s enforcement operations.

Inspector General H. David Kotz is testifying before a House panel examining the Madoff affair and the agency’s failure to act despite receiving complaints over a decade.

In prepared testimony for the Monday afternoon hearing, Kotz said his office’s probe will go beyond specific issues that SEC Chairman Christopher Cox asked him to investigate. He said that it also will examine the operations of the SEC’s enforcement and inspection divisions and will make recommendations.

At the start of the hearing, Democrat Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania questioned whether congressional appropriations had given the agency sufficient resources to do the job. From 1995 to 2007, Congress was under Republican control.

“Clearly, our regulatory system … failed miserably and we must rebuild it now,” said Kanjorski.

Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., pointed to regulatory gaps rather than the level of congressional appropriations as the reason for the Madoff scandal.

Bachus called for Congress to create a regulatory structure “for the 21st century.”

The heavy toll of the Madoff scandal was brought before Congress as the House Financial Services Committee tries to determine how, despite warnings back to at least 1999 to SEC staff members, Madoff continued to operate his alleged Ponzi scheme.

“I am a human face on this tragedy,” says Allan Goldstein, a retired New York textile distributor who also was testifying at Monday’s hearing.

Goldstein, 76, says he lost his entire life savings with Madoff and had to cash in his life insurance policies to cover his mortgage.

“Everything I worked for over a 50-year career is gone,” Goldstein said in an e-mail message from his attorney’s firm. He said he had no reason to question the steady returns of 8 percent to 12 percent a year that Madoff’s firm told him he was earning.

The Securities Investor Protection Corp. and the trustee handling the liquidation of Madoff’s firm said Monday they mailed more than 8,000 claim forms to customers on Friday. Besides individuals, others who lost money were big hedge funds, international banks and charities.

The SEC received complaints about Madoff’s investment methods over a decade. The House committee is questioning the SEC’s internal watchdog, as lawmakers try to learn why the regulatory agency failed to detect the alleged investment fraud.

The Bottom Line podcast takes a holiday break next week. We’ll return Friday, January 2, 2009. In the meantime, stay with the blog for daily updates. Enjoy your holiday!

This week on the new Bottom Line podcast: Bernie Madoff made off with a lot of money, and there’s plenty to sort through in the biggest Ponzi scheme ever. Here in Boston, the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Foundation lost $155 million overnight. We get the lowdown on the Madoff scandal from Wall Street Journal reporter Amir Ephrati.

And as the rich get richer, the middle class keeps getting squeezed. But what is the “middle class?” It might be defined by more than just money. We present part of WBUR’s new Inside Out documentary: “The Vanishing Middle Class.”

Plus, we get perspective on today’s financial crisis from people who lived through the Great Depression. And we continue our look at Dancing Deer, a Boston cookie company choosing to expand as the economy crumbles.

Hosted by WBUR’s Curt Nickisch.