Federal authorities are charging the hedge fund owned by billionaire Steven Cohen with making hundreds of millions of dollars illegally, and of engaging in rampant insider trading. Tuesday's announcement caps years of investigations into alleged misdeeds at Cohen's firm, SAC Capital Advisors, which at one point managed $15 billion in assets.

And while Cohen himself is not named in these charges, the future of his firm could be in jeopardy.

"The federal government is going after the firm itself," said Joe Nocera, op-ed columnist for The New York Times and a WNYC contributor. "They're basically saying that there was a long-time pattern of insider trading that was at least winked at by Stevie Cohen ... who ran and still runs the firm."

To listen to Host Amy Eddings' full conversation with Joe Nocera, click on the audio above.