This is Uncomfortable is the award-winning show about life and how money messes with it. Each week, Marketplace’s Reema Khrais explores how money shapes our decisions, relationships, and sense of self through conversations that are intimate, surprising, and deeply human. From the economic headlines that hit our wallets to the choices that keep us up at night, the show digs into the money questions we’re too afraid to ask and gives listeners a way to feel less alone in this increasingly complicated world.
Latest episodes
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27 min
What do we owe our families?
For many adult children of immigrants, success comes with pressure to give back. This week, Reema asks, what do we owe our families, and how do we care for the people we love witho…
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39 min
Trick yourself into better money habits
Staying on top of your personal finances is hard enough as it is, but it can be especially challenging if you’re going through mental health challenges or your brain just works a l…
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29 min
Why is every celebrity trying to sell me something?
Are you more likely to buy some spicy mayo because it’s made by a blockbuster star? What about pet food or a mobile network? It used to be that you’d just buy a ticket to your favo…
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29 min
Min Jin Lee asks, is college still a reliable investment?
Does higher education still guarantee financial stability? How can parents set their kids up for success, without subjecting them to overbearing pressure? Reema talks to writer Min…
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26 min
Is money ruining fan fiction?
Before Ali Hazelwood’s “The Love Hypothesis” was a bestselling novel or movie, it was “Star Wars” fan fiction. And Hazelwood isn’t the only one making the leap from fan fiction to…
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41 min
Should you leave the country for your next doctor’s appointment?
Millions of Americans leave the U.S. each year for medical care. But how do you reap the rewards of medical tourism while managing the risks? And why do some have to travel out of…
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35 min
When boomer "collectibles" become millennial "inheritance"
As a special bonus this weekend, we’re revisiting one of our favorite stories from 2024, which Reema and Alice mentioned in the latest episode.While sorting through her father’s be…
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27 min
Listeners weigh in: Wedding hacks, questionable investments, and a fix for doom spending
Who doesn’t love getting mail? This week on the show, Reema and Alice open up the mailbag and respond to your messages about questionable investments, doomspending, and caring for…
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28 min
Is there too much money in college sports?
College sports has become a multi-billion dollar industry, but until just a few years ago, the actual athletes never saw a penny. It wasn’t until 2021 that the NCAA decided that co…
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43 min
If only he hadn’t spent so much on those turntables!
Ever look back and wish you could stop your past self from making a financial mistake? Yeah, us too. This week, Reema talks to researchers Abigail Sussman and Hal Hershfield about…
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29 min
How does anyone afford childcare?
How much should parents budget for daycare? Does it make more financial sense for both parents to work and pay for childcare, or for one parent to stay home and care for their chil…
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23 min
"If this is your first time being poor..."
Tight grocery budget? Try a "recession recipe." Reema talks producer Alice Wilder about her trip to meet Kiki Rough, a TikTok creator who makes hyper affordable recipes. Kiki learn…
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38 min
Abigail Disney: “There is such a thing as too much money”
How were you raised to think about money, and how do you know when the values you inherited no longer fit? What do we owe other people, and when is generosity a duty? Reema talks w…
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32 min
Subscribe and save... or not?
How many subscriptions are you paying for right now? Whether we’re watching TV, listening to music, or even just storing photos, it feels like we are required to rent so many parts…
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27 min
Help! I put in two months' notice… two years ago!
Is a frustrating dynamic in your workplace keeping you up at night? In our recurring advice column, “Work Drama”, we try to find answers to your sticky work questions. This week Re…
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27 min
Bonus: Should we mess with nature? From "How We Survive"
This week we’re sharing an episode of the Marketplace climate solutions podcast “How We Survive.” The new season is all about the controversial ways humans are tinkering with natur…
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31 min
Confessions of a former homesteader
Have you ever daydreamed about leaving your office job, moving to the countryside, and living off the land? In 2008, Laura Griggs and her husband did just that: they moved to a sma…
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36 min
Nicole Chung and the toll of caregiving
How are you supposed to juggle caring for your aging parents while also raising young children of your own? And how do you budget for those competing responsibilities? This week, R…
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59 min
Sam doesn't know how to be rich, from “Proxy with Yowei Shaw”
This week, we’re sharing an episode of “Proxy,” a podcast about the emotional questions that make people feel alone — and the conversation that unfolds when you find someone who ge…
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38 min
Should I adopt my friends?
Marriage brings with it a slew of state and federal privileges – when it comes to taxes, inheritance, and benefits – but what if that’s not the most important relationship to you?…