College was sold to us as the golden ticket. A rite of passage. A guaranteed path to success. But for millions of Americans, it’s become a slow-moving financial crisis—one monthly payment at a time.
In this episode of Intellectual Freedom, we peel back the layers of one of the most dangerous and under-examined decisions facing students and families today: signing your future away without doing the math. We’ve normalized debt so deeply that taking out $80,000, $150,000, or even $250,000 in student loans barely raises an eyebrow—and yet that decision shapes lives, relationships, careers, and mental health for decades.
What’s the return on your college investment? Most don’t know. Most never calculate it. And that ignorance has a cost—not just financial, but personal. Dreams get delayed. Families postponed. Opportunities are often passed up because the borrower is at the mercy of the lender.
This episode isn’t about hating college. It’s about understanding it for what it really is: a high-stakes investment that demands clarity, not emotion. Because when you don’t ask hard questions up front—about cost, outcome, and value—you don’t just risk a bad decision. You risk a lifetime of regret.
Whether you’re a student facing enrollment, a parent trying to guide your kid, or someone already buried in the consequences, this episode delivers the clarity, the challenge, and the truth the glossy brochures won’t.
College can change your life—but it can also chain it.
Let’s talk about the difference.
Visit my website at davidhopkins.com.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Ruthie's Table 4
For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers. Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation. For more information, recipes, and ingredients, go to https://shoptherivercafe.co.uk/ Web: https://rivercafe.co.uk/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/ For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iheartradio app, apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com