MICHAEL LEWIS: The 'Ray Rice Video' Of Wall Street Has Arrived

A former Federal Reserve employee has provided an unprecedented look inside the New York Fed through a series of audio recordings made in 2012 that suggest regulators may have been too soft on Goldman Sachs in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

The secret recordings, made by Carmen Segarra, include at least 46 hours of conversations within the Fed. Michael Lewis called the series of audio tapes "the Ray Rice video for the financial sector."

The tapes were provided to "This American Life" - which will air a special on the secret recordings on Friday - and to reporter Jake Bernstein of ProPublica.

The tapings "portray a New York Fed that is at times reluctant to push hard against Goldman [Sachs]," Bernstein writes.

Similarly, Lewis said: "Much of the meaning of the piece is in the tones of the voices - and, especially, in the breathtaking wussiness of the people at the Fed charged with regulating Goldman Sachs."

Segarra was fired by the Fed after pointing out problems within Goldman Sachs. She later filed a wrongful termination lawsuit.