<p>The Times’ Money desk has been investigating the UK’s student debt system – and has discovered some bombshells. After being promised a loan that would be like paying a ‘phone bill every month’, graduates are weighed down by tens of thousands of pounds in ever-increasing debt. So how did we get here? And is there a plan to fix it?</p><br><p><em>This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: </em><a href="http://thetimes.com/thestory" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>http://thetimes.com/thestory</em></a></p><br><p><strong>Guest: </strong>Mary Downer, Money reporter, The Times.</p><p><strong>Host:</strong> Luke Jones.</p><p><strong>Producer:</strong> Sophie McNulty.</p><p><strong>We want to hear from you - email:</strong> <a href="mailto:[email protected]" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[email protected]</a></p><br><p><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/money/family-finances/article/plan-2-student-loan-interest-unfair-lucy-powell-mpgf9hcvj" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Plan 2 student loan interest is unfair, says Lucy Powell</a></p><p><strong>Further listening: </strong><a href="https://podfollow.com/the-story/episode/7b851fab44cecc610b5c01d54ba9ded848cda1c0/view" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Budget unpacked</a></p><p><strong>Clips:</strong> BBC, Parliament Live, ITN, Channel 4 News, LBC.</p><p><strong>Episode artwork:</strong> Times Media.</p><p><em>This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism&nbsp;subscribe&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.thetimes.com/subscribe/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>