The level of student debt in this country represents a massive policy error. But is forgiving up to $20,000 of student debt really the best way to help low-income Americans, or fix the nation's education-financing problems? The Atlantic's Jerusalem Demsas joins Derek to discuss the student loan forgiveness debate and weigh the positives and negatives of Bide ... Show More
Today
Why Experts Keep Getting the Economy So Wrong
Expert economists keep making predictions about America’s financial future, and those predictions keep being … wrong. Over the past few years, we’ve heard warnings about a recession, inflation, tariffs, wars, deficits, and an AI bubble, yet the economy continues chugging along. T ... Show More
58m 51s
Sep 11
What’s the Point of College?
Trust in American higher education is near a historic low. Tuition has soared, and the payoff for a college degree is now in question as graduates face a weird and challenging job market. Simultaneously, AI is transforming everything around them, from academic fraud to job applic ... Show More
56m 50s
Sep 8
The New Book That Scares Big Tech
In the late 19th century, a railroad boom fueled by easy money, speculative investment, and new technology helped kick off one of the worst financial crises in American history. Sound kind of familiar? In today’s episode, Derek talks with author Liaquat Ahamed about his new book, ... Show More
59m 1s
Apr 2022
Biden’s Student Loan Dilemma
<p>Across the United States, 45 million borrowers now owe $1.6 trillion in debt for federal loans taken out for college — more than consumers owe on any other debt except mortgages.</p><p>For the past two years, beginning as the pandemic spread, the U.S. government has allowed te ... Show More
26m 1s
Mar 2023
One Thing: Will the Supreme Court Flunk Biden’s Student Debt Plan?
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two challenges to President Joe Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan. While we wait for a ruling, millions of eligible borrowers remain in limbo, wondering just how much they will owe when payments resume. We break down how th ... Show More
16m 24s
Apr 2025
Is the Era of Student Loan Forgiveness Officially Over?
<p>Across the country, millions of Americans with unpaid student loans are discovering that years of patience and forgiveness from the U.S. government have officially come to an end.</p><p>Stacy Cowley, a business reporter for The Times, explains what is behind the change of hear ... Show More
26m 27s