This is a FREE preview of the United States of Debt, a Slate Academy. To get access to the full episode and more, visit Slate.com/debt.  Over the five episodes of our series, we’ve discussed why it’s so hard for Americans to escape debt. In the sixth and last episode of United States of Debt, a Slate Academy, Helaine explains where we go from here.  How could the Trump administration potentially affect people struggling with student loans, credit card debt, medical bills, and underwater mortgages?  And what should we do now? This episode included music by Kai Engel, Chris Zabriskie, and Kevin MacLeod.

This is a FREE preview of the United States of Debt, a Slate Academy. To get access to the full episode and more, visit Slate.com/debt. In the wake of the housing crash and foreclosure crisis, millions of Americans lost their homes. Today, many people are still wrestling with the fallout of the crisis, with their credit all but destroyed. In Episode 5, Helaine explores the depth of America’s housing crisis. Why did so many people lose their homes to foreclosure? Who was responsible for the crisis anyway—individual home owners or bigger institutions? And if the crisis is still happening, why do we hear so little about it? Our guest experts on Episode 5 include Alyssa Katz, author of Our Lot: How Real Estate Came to Own Us; Maya Rockeymoore, president of the Center for Global Policy Solutions; Elyse Cherry, CEO of Boston Community Capital; and Christie Peale, executive director at Center for NYC Neighborhoods.  This episode included music by Kai Engel, Chris Zabriskie, Kevin MacLeod, and Sergey Cheremisinov.

Your health may be your most valuable asset, but for many Americans, it comes at a huge cost. Medical bills are the number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States. In episode 4, host Helaine Olen dives into the pile of bills surrounding America’s healthcare system. Why is going to the doctor such an expensive proposition for so many people? Has the Affordable Care Act changed any of that? And is there a realistic way to avoid surprise medical bills?  Lastly - learn why even health insurance won’t keep you from going into medical bankruptcy.  Our guest experts on Episode 4 include Trudy Lieberman, a consumer affairs reporter and longtime expert on healthcare and medical insurance, and professor Joseph Cohen from Queens College at the City University of New York.  This episode included music by Kai Engel, Chris Zabriskie, and Jingle Punks.

This is a FREE preview of The United States of Debt, a Slate Academy. To get access to the full episode and more, visit Slate.com/debt. Today, Americans owe about 1.3 trillion dollars in student loans. But how does the impact of those student loans affect our economy?  In episode 3, host Helaine Olen takes on America’s student loan crisis. Just how many of us are really burdened by the cost of pursuing a higher education, and is there a way out? Are student loans more common now, and why? Why are student loans such a mess in the United States, compared to other countries? And what do for-profit schools have to do with all of this?  Plus — what do you do if you’re already suffocating under the pressure of your student loans?  Our guest experts on Episode 3 include Sara Goldrick-Rab, a professor at Temple University and leading scholar on financing college education, and Robert Lawless, a professor University of Illinois’ law school and an expert on debt.  This episode included music by Kai Engel, Chris Zabriskie, and Sergey Cheremisinov.

This is a FREE preview of The United States of Debt, a Slate Academy. To get access to the full episode and more, visit Slate.com/debt.  Whether you’re struggling to get by on $30,000 a year or living off of a comfortable six-figure income, credit cards have become an inevitable part of American life.  In this second episode of the United States of Debt, a Slate Academy, host Helaine Olen explores why so many of us run up more charges than we can easily pay off. What factors have allowed credit card companies to lend us money so indiscriminately, and could a 1978 Supreme Court decision have something to do with it? How has racial inequality played a role in ensuring that some minorities hold more credit card debt than whites? And are we fully to blame for our credit card bills?  Also tune in to hear Olen give advice about how to get out of credit card debt—including her thoughts on get-out-of-debt organizations, financial coaches, and bankruptcy. Our guest experts on Episode 2 include former CNBC On the Money host Carmen Rita Wong, Arkansas State University visiting associate professor Dr. Rebecca Barrett-Fox, and Dr. Maya Rockeymoore, president of Global Policy Solutions, a Washington, D.C.–based policy firm and nonprofit. This episode included music by Kai Engel and Chris Zabriskie.