The New York Times has got it in for private equity. And there are investment ideas for you in their hatchet jobs. The boys and girls in PE sometimes make themselves easy targets (and don’t get us started on the hedgies), but still… For about a month now, the times has been investigating not so much the excesses of PE, but (for the most part) using private equity as a way to open a discussion about what it means to privatize public services. The series starts with “When you dial 911 and Wall Street answers” (links to other pieces in the series start there). Along the way, they’ve done a drive-by on Bridgewater Associates (“At World’s Largest Hedge Fund, [physical intimacy], Fear and Video Surveillance”) and published Bridgewater’s reply.

Their latest is “This Is Your Life, Brought to You by Private Equity” and it’s a gorgeously designed, text-light package of some of the more interesting ways PE outfits are making (or want to make) money in the US. The Times is running it as a warning. You can think of it as a tip sheet packed with interesting investment ideas.

BONUS TIP: Do you love or hate hedgies? How about crusading lawyers with skeletons in their closets? Adrenaline? Sarcasm? Then head directly to iTunes and download episode 1 of the first season of Billions, the already-classic show pitting Paul Giamatti’s US attorney against Damian Lewis’ blue-collar bn’aire hedge fund manager. It’s a financial drama so good, even the socialists over at the Guardian confess to liking it.