Credit scores are mysterious. Here’s some insight into themCredit scores are pretty mysterious, but they also shape your economic destiny. It determines where you can live, what you can buy, and sometimes even what job you can get. But how do credit bureaus come up with these all-encompassing numbers?
This President's Day we turn to KUOW's newest podcast Control F where host Teo Popescu tells host Clare McGrane about the data that credit scores feed on and how little we really know about how they're calculated.
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Sources in this episode:
Creditworthy: A history of consumer surveillance and financial identity in America, Josh Lauer, 2024
Credit Access in the U.S., U.S. Census Bureau, 2025
Affordable credit poised to save consumers billions, Alex Horowitz, Pew Charitable Trusts, 2023
WA’s new ban on medical debt in credit reports at risk of federal override, Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard, 2025
Interview with Josh Lauer, Author of Creditworthy
Interview with Alex Horowitz, Project Director at Pew Charitable Trusts
Interview with Maya Lau, Host of Other People’s Pockets
Interview with Jazmin, founder of Budget with Jazmin
