Debt everywhere, debt everlasting: the rise of permanent obligation

From student loans to buy-now-pay-later, we are always already indebted. Debt has become an engine of everyday life, reshaping how we study, shop, work, and imagine our futures. In this episode of Cultural Economy in the Kitchen, Philip Roscoe and Addie McGowan ask what it means to live in a world where indebtedness has become a permanent condition. Addie and Philip explore the cultural economies of debt with Tamar Nir, Jessa Loomis, and Daniel Cockayne. Tamar reveals how student loans entangle individuals in state‑designed market relations, reshaping obligations and responsibilities. Jessa and Daniel unpack the rise of buy‑now‑pay‑later platforms, showing how fintech, social media, and gendered consumption cultures deepen everyday reliance on borrowing. Together, the guests reveal how debt structures social life, from higher education to household spending, in a world where it is no longer an exception but the norm. The academic journal podcast from the Journal of Cultural Economy editorial collective.