Annie Waldman of ProPublica digs deep into New Jersey's college financial aid program, which critics have called "state-sanctioned loan sharking". In a particularly egregious case in which the state demanded a mother continue to pay off her son's college loan even after he was murdered.

Waldman talks with EWA public editor Emily Richmond about why New Jersey wields more power than other state-based financial aid programs, how difficult it would be to make the policies and practices more forgiving, and ideas for local reporters writing about college affordability and student debt.