September Indy: Subway Buskers, Student Loan Debtors & More

Sep 23, 2023

We see them performing as we stroll through New York subway stations. But who are the musicians who fill the underground air with their music? In the September Indypendent, we talk with subway buskers about their art, performing in public and making enough money to survive and even thrive. Among the musicians we hear from are a cellist who makes his instruments from discarded materials, a guitarist who remembers flusher times, a blues piano player who was once tipped with a solid ounce of gold and a rapper who knows which song to perform to keep from being hassled by white cops.

Underground Music: The Life of New York City’s Subway Buskers
By Lydia Wei

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Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government suspended monthly student loan debt payments for tens of millions of Americans. It was a reprieve that transformed people’s lives but now, more than three years later, the debt payment moratorium is set to expire on October 1. We spoke with debtors about how they got into debt, the impact its had on their lives and whether they will resume making their monthly payments or go on “debt strike.”

Student Loan Debtors Weigh Options as Pandemic Debt-Payment Moratorium Expires Oct. 1
By Keating Zelenke

Violence Interrupters are using their deep knowledge of their communities and the street cred that comes with having once been incarcerated themselves to prevent crimes before they start – and offer a glimpse of what a world without traditional policing could look like.

Alternatives to Policing: These Unarmed Groups Stop Violence Before It Starts
By Lydia Wei

The military coup that overthrew Chile’s democratically elected Socialist government on September 11, 1973 ignited international resistance. In a four-page special section we look at the Chile solidarity movement that sprang up in New York City.

When New York Stood With Chile
By Mariana Fernandez

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The United States is a large, deeply divided nation that contains many realities. In our new issue, The Indy’s Amba Guerguerian takes us to a small town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where, for many, the past looks better than the future. And Nicholas Powers gives us a window into the surreal world of Burning Man, the massive counter-culture festival that became mired in mud and muck this year.

Iron River Journal: My Journey Back to Small-Town America
By Amba Guerguerian