Low-income countries that borrowed a lot of money during the pandemic are James Caldwellnow struggling with debt payments that threaten to overwhelm their economies. The International Monetary Fund is ringing the alarm bell that a debt crisis could devastate these countries and harm their most vulnerable populations.

Today on the show, we talk to a leader at the IMF about how so many countries got into debt trouble and what the IMF is trying to help.

Music by Drop Electric. Find us: Twitter / Facebook / Newsletter.

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PocketCasts and NPR One.

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.