Reporter’s notebook: Behind ‘Beyond payday loans’

Join Marketplace’ s Mitchell Hartman and ProPublica’s Paul Kiel as they share behind-the-scenes moments behind their investigative series on a lucrative niche in the consumer finance market: the installment loan. 

The installment loan is different than a payday loan. 

In some cases, this type of loan can hook borrowers for years.  Think of it as a spiral of debt, in which borrowers repay parts of the loan, refinance the rest, and then start back at zero.  It can turn into a constant cycle of refinancing, repaying, and refinancing.   

Mitchell and Paul speak on how their reporting came about and how together, they connected a myriad of dots — between borrowers and lenders, between former employees and industry tactics and between the fine print of a loan document and the actual money owed.

Read other stories from the Marketplace and Propublica joint investigation “Beyond payday loans: Installment lending and the cycle of debt.” Explore the whole series here.