Matter of Life and Debt

09/10/2023

New episode! In this podcast episode, .mole and discuss The Debt Collective Zine -In The Red: Out of the Darkness. In our spotlight section, Talia chats with Eleni Schirmer and Thomas Gokey about the Debt Collective’s student debt release tool. The conversation also touches on the significance of building collective power to effectively address the student debt crisis

01/09/2023

New episode! We kick off this episode by discussing the Debt Collectives, “B**** Better Have Our Money” tool, which leverages the legal authority of the 1965 Higher Education Act to demand the Department of Education to cancel student debt and create a more equitable system for all. In our Spotlight section Talia talks with Stephanie Marcotte, Joanna Goncalves, and Ian Rodewald, three incredible individuals united by a common cause – promoting accessibility and affordability in higher education. Join us for an engaging conversation that takes you deep into their journey and the inspiring work of the Higher Ed For All Coalition in Massachusetts. Discover how this coalition is advocating for debt-free public higher education, aiming to make a transformative impact on students, faculty, and the community as a whole. You’ll gain insights into the passion and dedication fueling this movement. Learn how their initiatives are not only shaping the future of education in Massachusetts but also paving the way for a more equitable and inclusive system across the country.

10/05/2023

During this episode, our focus is on the latest updates related to student debt. In our spotlight section, we feature Christina Hammond, the creator of the ITT Tech Warriors Facebook group. Our conversation with her revolves around the impact of attending ITT Tech on her mental health and finances. She shares how she has made herself financially invisible to avoid losing her hard-earned money. Furthermore, we discuss the positive changes she has experienced since becoming debt-free, including waking up with a smile on her face. Lastly, we highlight upcoming events for listeners to participate in and share some of our current sources of joy. -

During this episode, our focus is on the latest updates related to student debt. In our spotlight section, we feature Christina Hammond, the creator of the ITT Tech Warriors Facebook group. Our conversation with her...

01/04/2023

New episode featuring Shanna , Talia, and Nikki delves into the latest student debt news. Our spotlight segment features Alicia Davis and Theresa Sweet, the named plaintiffs in the Sweet v. Cardona case (previously known as Sweet v. DeVos), who provide us with an update on the proceedings. Additionally, we highlight upcoming events for April and share what brings us joy at the moment. Don’t miss out on this informative and enjoyable episode. Tune in now!

23/02/2023

In this episode, we discuss the current news surrounding student debt. In our new spotlight section, we explore theater activism in-depth with Talia Molé, Dr. Shamell Bell, Alÿcia Bacon, and Todd Squitieri. They delve into the planning and ex*****on of a March 1st day of action that is both in person and virtual. And that’s not all: we’ll also take a closer look at the various events taking place throughout the end of February and March and share what’s bringing us joy in these challenging times.

You can call (510) 479-0323 and leave a voicemail with your story or ideas. They may be featured on our show.

10/02/2023

Exciting news, we will experiment with the podcast in 2023! And we want your input! Call (510) 479-0323 and leave a voicemail with your story or ideas. They may be featured on our show. Our next episode drops on Feb 23rd. Can’t wait to hear from you!

26/01/2023

We are excited to have Maddy MADlines Clifford back on the show to share her journey as the Deputy Press Secretary for the Debt Collective . She also discusses how her art informs her activism and provides helpful tips for managing activist burnout. Tune in for an enlightening conversation with the accomplished .lines!

12/01/2023

In this week’s episode, we sit with some of the Debt Collective’s 50 Over 50 Strikers, along with Nick Marcil (organizer for the Debt Collective), to challenge the misconception that student debt solely affects society’s youth. Listen on as Laura Hill, Dave Kalmikoff, and Susan Laws share their heartfelt experiences regarding the genuine struggle of living with student debt burden well into their elder years.

29/12/2022

This week's Talia .mole and Shanna speak with Abigail Acheson, an organizer with, Rethinking Economics USA . They discuss new approaches to higher education and economics that prioritize the well-being of people and the planet.

16/12/2022

This week’s guests, Alicia Davis and Theresa Sweet are named plaintiffs in the case titled Sweet v. Cardona (formerly Sweet v DeVos). They celebrate the lawsuit victory that affects 264,000 borrowers who had pending borrower defense applications as of June 22, 2022. They discuss their activism, the support groups they have started, and what this victory means for them.

https://matteroflifeanddebt.com/sweet-v-cardona-victory/

01/12/2022

Kelly Danvers, a member of Local 2110 UAW and the , joins Emma and Shanna to discuss the current HarperCollins happening in NYC. She shares what it’s like to strike as a student debtor and the financial considerations of participating in a strike. Kelly also details the objectives of the strike and why she believes in the strength of collective bargaining.

03/11/2022

Shanna Bennett: Why you take out so much and don’t you know any better and pay back your debt instead of acknowledging it’s not okay. The system is flawed, it’s antiquated, it’s broken. Nobody should go into debt to get an education.
Jon Gabrus: The amount of people who side with banks in conversations is insane. Where you’re just on the side of the Fed. We’re talking about human beings, and you’re like, well, maybe they shouldn’t have taken out that much money. And it’s like, too late. They did help them. Well, maybe you shouldn’t have gotten a Titanic ticket. It’s sinking and we’re not gonna rescue you.
[00:10:22] It’s like, throw the guy in fu***ng lifesaver for f***s sake. Throw a tube. It’s infuriating. What’s the way out for people? What’s the way out? Like you just have to live with your parents until like a person you meet who is wealthy enough to own a home and wants to couple up with you in some whatever couplehood becomes in the future, it’s all gonna be like financial, you know, arrangements.

Listen: https://matteroflifeanddebt.com/episode-53-pinned-as-a-motherfcker/

16/10/2022

If you have not filled out the form to have your student loans canceled you should. -

15/10/2022

Comedian, podcaster, and travel show host Jon Gabrus joins producer Emma Klauber and host Shanna Bennett to cathartically scream about student loans.

Listen:
https://matteroflifeanddebt.com/episode-53-pinned-as-a-motherfcker/

Comedian, podcaster, and travel show host Jon Gabrus joins producer Emma Klauber and host Shanna Bennett to cathartically scream about student loans. References High and Mighty 101 Places to Party Before You Die Action Boyz...

16/06/2022

📣 Special episode! Co-hosting Shanna and producer Emma speak to Los Angeles-based standup comic, actor, and writer River Butcher about the reality and loneliness of having student loans, making life and career decisions based on finances, and the power of the collective good to care 10% more about each other. They also discuss the impact of sharing about student loans on a public platform and the opportunity to build solidarity when student debt is the great equalizer that cuts across all types of communities.

https://matteroflifeanddebt.com/caring-10-more/

19/12/2021

Awesome event!

Indentured Students How Government-Guaranteed Loans Left Generations Drowning in College Debt

21/10/2021

Life-long academic Kim Baker shares her experience navigating the Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness system and recently achieved student debt cancellation. Kim tells Nikki about listening to the experiences of others with student debt that inspired her to take action on her own. Kim’s years in academia are intrinsically tied to her student debt not only in the monetary cost but also in the weight of decisions often made when student debt makes it feel impossible to move forward.

https://matteroflifeanddebt.com/episode-28-successful-loan-cancellation/

Kim Baker, a life-long academic and recent recipient of Public Service Loan Forgiveness speaks to Nikki about the persistence that recently got her federal student loans canceled.

23/09/2021

New Episode - From Scared to Debt to Action (Scared To Debt), Nikki moderates a panel for Sallie Mae Not, the first episode of the Scared to Debt documentary series. Nikki asks panelists Alan Collinge, founder of Student Loan Justice, Reggie Harris, musician and educator, and Michael McGuirk, activist, and founder of Bliss Factory about their personal experiences as student debt borrowers. The panel discusses the current activism around student debt cancellation and its connection to the Civil Rights Movement and the use of music, film, and artistic expression as an essential piece to the student debt movement’s success.

Listen Now:
https://matteroflifeanddebt.com/episode-26-from-scared-to-debt-to-action-panel/

DetailsTranscriptDetails From Scared to Debt to Action, Nikki moderates a panel for Sallie Mae Not, the first episode of the Scared to Debt documentary series. Nikki asks panelists Alan Collinge, founder of Student Loan Justice, Reggie Harris, musician and educator, and Mike McGuirk, activist, and f...

12/08/2021

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. 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.



https://matteroflifeanddebt.com/episode-24-scared-to-debt/

Filmmaker Michael Camion speaks to Nikki about his new documentary series Scared to Debt which explores and reveals the depths of the American student loan crisis that currently keeps borrowers in $1.8 trillion of debt.

29/06/2021

Student loan advisor by day and musician by night, Bridget Haile uses her own experience navigating student debt repayment to work at Summer, which partners with large employers, financial institutions, and unions to help their populations navigate and reduce student loan debt.

The Summer staff uses specially designed tools to analyze an individual’s loans and provide customized recommendations that utilize existing programs and services that are difficult to manage on your own. The service is free of cost to borrowers, who engage Summer through organizations that understand that student debt support is a valuable benefit to offer to members and employees. Bridget spoke to Nikki about the small changes currently happening in student loan reform and how borrowers’ can make a plan to prepare for when federal student loan payments resume.

Listen here: https://matteroflifeanddebt.com/episode-20-student-loan-employee-benefits/

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.

16/06/2021

As an immigrant and first-generation in her family to attend college, Shanna Bennett is a self-described late bloomer when it comes to personal finance and navigating student debt. She spoke to Nikki about her educational experiences from childhood to graduate school and the series of career decisions informed by paying off the consequential debt.

Shanna also shares how Paul Newman’s pasta sauce and his “shameless exploitation in pursuit of the common good”, inspired her to start the Student Debt Brand. Post-tax profits of Shanna’s Student Debt Brand of products will pay down other’s student debts and allow them to start living beyond and without their debt. Find Student Debt Brand online here or on Instagram .

https://matteroflifeanddebt.com/episode-19-student-debt-brand/

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

29/05/2021

Temporary relief from federal student loan payments has allowed some people who lost wages to save for a home, start a family, pay off other debts, and, generally speaking, survive. That could all end

22/05/2021

As an NYU Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, Andrew Ross sees firsthand the way student debt negatively impacts the lives of his students. His students and experience as an activist in the Occupy Wall Street movement led Andrew to launch the Occupy Student Debt campaign which eventually became the Debt Collective. The Debt Collective is a debtors’ union fighting to cancel all types of debt and currently organized the Biden Jubilee 100, putting pressure on President Biden to enact his executive power and cancel federal student debt.

In this episode, Andrew takes Nikki through the history of the student debt crisis and explains how it is intrinsically linked to racial disparity and the political activism of young people. He also defines many terms that inform the work of the Debt Collective including jubilee, revolver, and the debt trap. Andrew shares the Debt Collective’s proof of concept in a rolling jubilee and debt abolition that emphasizes the need for a national debtors’ union and the importance of collective action. Listen to Andrew here: https://matteroflifeanddebt.com/episode-18-the-debtors-union/

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.

12/05/2021

As a stand-up comic, Drew Beekler can find comedy in most situations. But there’s nothing funny about the burden of student debt from two unaccredited art school experiences. Like other borrowers in the United States, Drew was defrauded by the education he pursued to be a commercial visual artist. In this episode, Drew describes his experiences confronting his student loan payments, like working with H&R Block to complete his taxes and commuting from Philadelphia to NYC for job opportunities.
As a self-described lover of being scammed, Drew fell victim to a third scam in his student loan journey when he tried to refinance. And to take the comedy a step further, Drew may have been taken by a fourth scam during the pandemic!

Listen to his comedy of errors on this week’s episode:
https://matteroflifeanddebt.com/episode-17-scam-education/

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

22/04/2021

In 2006, Alicia Davis embarked on her educational journey to become a law enforcement professional. But after spending two years at a for-profit university that mishandled her financial aid, she found that her credits did not transfer, and she was left to start her college education all over again. Empowered with her knowledge of the law and consumer protections, Alicia joined the Debt Collective and worked with Harvard Law School’s Project on Predatory Lending to gather evidence of her defraudment in pursuit of the Borrower’s Defense. While she was granted approval of Borrower’s Defense, it only released her from 10% of her student debt. Everything changed again in March 2021, when the Biden Administration reversed a Trump policy that will now discharge the debt of 72,000 defrauded borrowers, including Alicia.

While Alicia waits for the official document that will close the financial, emotional, and professional hardship she endured, the damage is certainly done. Listen to her experience advocating for herself and completing the educational journey that led her to a fulfilling career today.

https://matteroflifeanddebt.com/the-fight-for-borrowers-defense/

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.

31/03/2021

Melissa Byrne, is back after her mini-episode to tell us more about her advocacy for debt cancellation and the latest news from Washington on the student debt crisis. With federal student loan interest currently paused, President Biden is currently considering a $50k forgiveness plan for all student debt holders. However Byrne and others are pushing for All to be Canceled.

During this episode, Byrne recounts some of the policies that were put in place during the 80’s and 90’s that made the debt crisis what it is today, as well as what inspired her to take up the fight against an unjust system. In her early days in politics, after attending a talk with the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Byrne said she learned to ditch the shame around her own student debt and use that energy to try and solve the debt crisis for all Americans.

Listen:
https://matteroflifeanddebt.com/cancelstudentdebt/

This week’s guest, Melissa Byrne, is back on the podcast to tell us more about her advocacy work towards student debt cancellation, and the latest news from Washington on the federal student loan and crisis.

25/03/2021

Umme Hoque, Organizing Director of The Debt Collective, talks to Nikki about how, after taking on student debt, she became disillusioned with the American Dream. She now works for complete student debt cancelation as well as a radical overhaul of the American education system.

As a first-generation Bengali-American, her parents encouraged her to pursue a higher education so she could land a well-paying job. But she says, “I think student debt has impacted my life in so many ways that I don't even consciously think about. I've had this debt for so long. And it's just one of those things where I formulate it into everything I do.” Many of her choices, including attending graduate school in the UK, were determined by her growing student debt and the lack of well-paying opportunities in her chosen fields of Journalism and Communications. Since then she has become committed to fighting the wage and wealth gap in America, found especially in BIPOC and immigrant communities.

Listen to hear her story and find out what she thinks it will take for us to win the fight against student debt.
https://matteroflifeanddebt.com/episode-14-power-in-collective-action/

Umme Hoque, Organizing Director of The Debt Collective, talks to Nikki about how, after taking on student debt she became disillusioned with the American Dream. She now works for complete student debt cancelation as well as a radical overhaul of the American education system.

05/02/2021

This week’s guest, Winter, an organizer for the Debt Collective, talks about the emotional breakdown that led him eventually to a life devoted to student debt activism.

After a bad experience with a negligent financial aid officer at university, Winter found himself saddled with almost $140k in debt and more than $50k in private student loans alone. When he realized that his career path as a philosopher and academic would not be lucrative enough to pay even his monthly payments, he made the decision to learn more about his loans and get involved in overthrowing the financial industry.

In this episode, Winter tells Nikki about his activist’s journey from his early days with Occupy Wall Street to his role with the Debt Collective, the Strike Debt initiative and the Rolling Jubilee project that raised money to bail out Americans struggling with predatory loan debt.

Click here to listen to this week’s episode: https://matteroflifeanddebt.com/canceling-student-loan-debt/

This week’s guest, Winter, an organizer for the Debt Collective, talks about the six-figures of student debt and the emotional breakdown that led him eventually to a life devoted to student debt activism.

22/01/2021

This week’s guest, Eli Campbell, shares why he is an advocate for the Student Debt Strike movement and an active member of The Debt Collective, a group that organizes debtors for political action and is calling on President Joe Biden to cancel all student debt in his first 100 days in office.

Campbell’s career goals changed dramatically when he began experiencing symptoms of an undiagnosed genetic illness early on in his college education. Chronic pain forced him to take a step back from his dreams of becoming a musician, and he changed course to a career that he could pursue despite his increased physical limitations. He left school with a degree in digital design & fabrication and around $35k in debt. His experiences led him to research the history and economics of how student debt works.

Among the many unjust practices he was interested in during his research was how student loan asset-backed securities (SLABS) were a little-understood key to how corporations make money off of student debt. In protest of these unfair practices, Campbell has been debt striking since 2018, which means that he is intentionally no longer making payments on his federal student loans.

In this episode Campbell tells Nikki what he has learned about SLABS, why he supports the Debt Collective's debt strike, and what he thinks is the future of student loans in the United States.



Listen:
https://matteroflifeanddebt.com/episode-9-the-student-debt-strike/

In this episode of Matter of Life and Debt, student loan activist Eli Campbell tells Nikki what he has learned about SLABS, why he is a good candidate for debt striking and what he thinks is the future of student loans in the United States.