The Broke Issue

Streaming Isn’t Music’s Magic Bullet

pink and red, textured illustration of collaged music playlist images

August 3, 2020 at 9:00am

Independent artists are reckoning with what it means to work on their own terms in an industry that’s increasingly led by a small number of billion-dollar data and tech companies.

illustration of Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, and family on a grassy lawn, surrounding a fountain sculpture of dolphins, while firefighters fight a huge fire in the background

The Truth about TV News Is Far Scarier Than Fiction

by Diane Shipley

March 25, 2020 at 10:00am

The points these movies are making—that news is selectively curated, hosts can be vapid, and commercial television is motivated more by profit than public service—were perhaps shocking once but are now the least of our problems. Read more »

Trust Fail: Is Public Service Loan Forgiveness Too Good to Be True?

by Caroline Reilly

September 3, 2019 at 9:00am

Out of 28,000 graduates who completed the program and sought loan forgiveness, only 96 received it. Read more »

header image of article title and illustration of brown woman holding her baby and walking in the desert between two cacti

Mothers of Contention: For Female Authors, Parenthood and Legitimacy Are Still Linked

by Abby Minor

May 6, 2019 at 9:00am

There’s a distinction between asking someone to understand that your experience is different from hers and asking her to accept that your experience is better. Read more »

Swindling Faith: The Big Business of Prosperity Gospel

by Nyasha Junior

April 19, 2019 at 12:33pm

Prosperity gospel’s “believe it and receive it” message appeals to both the haves who want to increase their bounties and the have-nots who hope to transform their lives. Read more »