Who is really to blame for the American student loan crisis and how is it perpetuated?

Filmmaker Michael Camoin’s new documentary series Scared to Debt explores and reveals the depths of the American student loan crisis and the seriously flawed lending system that currently keeps borrowers in $1.8 trillion of debt. Nikki received a sneak peek at the first episode of the series. As the founder of Videos for Change, Michael has always been interested in the power of media and the arts to tell important stories and inspire collective change. In this series, viewers learn about the predatory nature of student loans and the lack of basic consumer protections that prevent borrowers from escaping the mental and financial burden of their debt. Read Full Transcript

Whistle-Blower on Student Aid Is Vindicated - John Oberg

The Student Loan Scam: The Most Oppressive Debt in U.S. History and How We Can Fight Back by Alan Collinge

The Debt Trap: How Student Loans Became a National Catastrophe by Josh Mitchell

After leaving school with no degree and six figures of student debt, Alisha had a long road to her current career as a designer. Read More

Transcript 

This week’s guest, writer Ashley Strahm, shares her family’s experience paying for college with Parent PLUS Loans. Read More

This week’s guest, Kate Spaulding, received complete forgiveness of her federal student loans through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Read More

This week’s guest, Bridget Haile, talks about her work at Summer, which partners with large employers, financial institutions, and unions to help their populations navigate and reduce student loan debt. Read more

This week’s guest, Shanna Bennett, talks about her own experience with student debt as the child of an immigrant and the idea inspired by Paul Newman’s pasta sauce. Read more

This week’s guest, NYU professor Andrew Ross, talks about the history of the student debt crisis and the current movement of the Debt Collective to organize and advocate for debt abolition. Read More

This week’s guest, comedian Drew Beekler, talks about his own comedy of errors with student loan debt and scam education. Read more

This week’s guest, law enforcement professional Alicia Davis, talks about her multi-year journey to discharge her fraudulent for-profit student loans through the Borrower’s Defense to repayment. Read More

Our guest this week, government lawyer and poet Hil Kaman, talks about his journey to getting cancelation through the Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Read more