Nearly 45 million Americans have amassed $1.6 trillion dollars in student loan debt. The Biden Administration is expected to announce its plan for student debt relief soon, perhaps as early as this weekend.

One of the ideas the President is considering is an executive order that would forgive $10,000 of each borrower's debt, which would wipe out loans for 4.6 million borrowers.

More than 1 in 5 borrowers have defaulted or stopped making payments on their loans. A payment moratorium has been in effect since the beginning of the COVID pandemic in 2020. It expires in August.

We begin our conversation with Cory Turner, an education correspondent and Senior Editor at NPR who has covered the student-loan debt issue extensively over the past year. Corey joins Tom on our digital line from Silver Spring…

Then, Tom gets the perspectives of two African American doctors who hold appointments at Yale University, and some student debt, as well.

Dr. Jessica Isom is a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine…

Dr. Carmen Black is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, also at the Yale School of Medicine.

The two physicians co-wrote an essay in Newsweek Magazine recently that argues for framing student debt as a racial justice issue. One of the debt relief options President Biden is reportedly considering is to cap the income at which borrowers would have their debt reduced or eliminated.

Dr. Jessica Isom and Dr. Carmen Black are recommending a different approach. They both join us on Zoom.

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