This Is Uncomfortable
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.
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Money Horrors III: The Ghost of Purchases Past
<p>BOO!! We’re back with even more financial tales from the crypt — from giving a hormonal teen a debit card to getting into business with a scammer. Plus, a Backstreet Boys obsession that goes awry.</p><br/><p>If you like this episode, share it with a friend! And let us know what you think by calling 347-RING-TIU or emailing uncomfortable@marketplace.org</p><br/><p>If you want to answer our “Uncomfortable Questions” see more info here.</p><br/><p>Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok!</p><br/><p>Support This Is Uncomfortable with your donation today: https://bit.ly/m...
Money Horrors II: The Sleep Shopper Strikes Again
<p>Surprise! We’ve got more creepy money stories to get you in the Halloween spirit. A while back, listener Hayden started getting these surprise gifts in the mail. Once he realized who sent them to him, he wondered just how far the gift giver would go. Plus, two more stories of spending regret.</p><br/><p>If you like this episode, share it with a friend! And let us know what you think by calling 347-RING-TIU or emailing uncomfortable@marketplace.org</p><br/><p>If you want to answer our “Uncomfortable Questions” see more info here.</p><br/><p>Follow...
Money Horrors
<p>With Halloween around the corner, we revisit listeners’ spine-chilling money horror stories — you know, the financial choices that are still haunting them, or the spending secrets they hope to take to the grave. </p><br/><p>If you like this episode, share it with a friend! And let us know what you think by calling 347-RING-TIU or emailing uncomfortable@marketplace.org</p><br/><p>If you want to answer our “Uncomfortable Questions” see more info here.</p><br/><p>Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok!</p><br/><p>Support This Is Uncomfortable with your donation today: https://bit.ly/mkp_tiu...
What do we owe our families?
<p>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 without losing ourselves in the process? </p><br/><p>She talks with fellow first-gen kids — financial educator Gigi Gonzalez and financial therapist Sahaj Kaur Kohli — about reframing responsibility, setting healthy boundaries without guilt and navigating the line between generosity and obligation. </p><br/><p></p><br/><p>If you like this episode, share it with a friend! And let us know what you think by calling 347-RIN...
Trick yourself into better money habits
<p>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 little differently. So this week, Reema talks to Ellyce Fulmore, a neurodivergent financial educator who helps people create money systems their brains will actually use. Together, they answer your questions about impulse purchases, money anxiety, and budgets that never seem to stick.</p><br/><p>Plus: another edition of “Alice Gets Her Life Together,” where producer Alice Wilder tackles a different personal finance challenge every month and in...
Why is every celebrity trying to sell me something?
<p>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 favorite actor’s movie or your favorite singer’s concert, but as more celebrities cash in on their fame with product endorsements and brand extensions, what does that do to us and our relationship with celebrity culture? And how does that impact the way that we spend money on our favorite stars? Guest host Alice Wilder talks to Lindsey Weber and Bobby Fi...
Min Jin Lee asks, is college still a reliable investment?
<p>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 Jin Lee to talk about her new novel, “American Hagwon.” They discuss the precariousness of the middle class, and how love, fear, and money get tangled up in what parents want for their children … and what those kids can feel like they owe in return. </p><br/><p></p><br/><p>This Is Uncomfortable is nominated for a Signal Award! We’re up for Best Show in the Money & Finance category, and now we n...
Is money ruining fan fiction?
<p>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 traditional publishing. Fan fiction has historically been a labor of love, and not all fans are happy about the shift to monetization, and what that means for the fandom community. Reema is joined by journalist Elizabeth Minkel and cultural commentator Josh Lora to unpack how money is changing fan fiction. </p><br/><p></p><br/><p>Support public media with a donation today: https://mktplc.org/support-this...
Should you leave the country for your next doctor’s appointment?
<p>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 the country to get affordable healthcare in the first place? This week on the show, Reema is joined by Dr. Alok Patel and podcast host TK Dutes to discuss what it’s like to travel for medical care, and how to do so safely. </p><br/><p>Plus: another edition of “Alice Gets Her Life Together,” in which producer Alice Wilder tries to get into t...
When boomer "collectibles" become millennial "inheritance"
<p>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.</p><br/><p>While sorting through her father’s belongings after his death, Amanda Petteruti came across a collection of locked toolboxes. What she discovered inside made her rethink what she knew about her family’s finances and left her with unsettling questions about her dad: Why had he spent so much money on this secret hobby? Why was it now Amanda’s burden to handle? And how do you find closure with someone once they’re
