This Is Uncomfortable

In the early 90s, Mike Perry found himself in a tough spot. He was living a carefree life when he was asked to take in a black mutt named Wisdom. What began as a reluctant favor evolved into something much deeper — a bond that would reshape Mike’s financial future, even long after Wisdom was gone.This week, as part of our miniseries on grief and money, we explore how our love for pets shapes our financial decisions. Mike’s journey with Wisdom takes him from heartbreak to an unexpected windfall. And then later in the episod...

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 gone? This episode is the first of a three-part miniseries exploring the intersection of money, grief and loss. If you liked...

This week, we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes and reconnecting with old friends for an update.Rebecca Danigelis never planned to stop working. She was an executive housekeeper in Boston raising two kids as a single mom, and everything she earned went to making sure they got the best education she could afford. When her son Sian-Pierre was climbing the ranks as a journalist and entrepreneur, it seemed like all the overtime, frozen dinners and sacrifice were worth it. But just as his career was taking off, hers started to crumble.We...

Nikki Massie never had a reason to question her salary. After more than a decade with the same company, she’d earned awards, promotions and the trust of co-workers who felt like family. But then one day, she discovered she might have missed out on tens of thousands of dollars over the years. Nikki began to wonder: What do you do when you suspect you’ve been underpaid? And at what point do you consider walking away? If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And to get even more Uncomfortable, subscribe to our newsl...

As we reflect on 10 seasons of “This Is Uncomfortable,” Reema shares a snippet of a conversation with the show’s founder-producer, Hayley Hershman, about what they’ve learned from making the show and how their relationships with money have changed over the years. And we want to hear your thoughts, too!What’s something you’ve learned from listening to “TIU” over the years? You can tell us how your relationship with money or work has changed, or maybe what the show has made you think more deeply about. Record a voice memo and email it to us at uncomfo...

Sisters Brittany Walsh and Nicole O’Neil have always been close. But when Nicole started experiencing mysterious health problems, her turn toward alternative treatments divided them. As Nicole spent more and more money on dubious cure-alls, Brittany was faced with a question: What do you do when you’re afraid the person closest to you might be losing themselves? If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And to get even more Uncomfortable, subscribe to our newsletter!

For our season premiere, we’re sharing a conversation with one of our favorite writers, Hanif Abdurraqib. He joins Reema for a wide-ranging conversation about the moral judgments we’re quick to make about people’s financial circumstances, notions of success and legacy, and what it means to be “good” versus “bad” in an unequal world. Hanif also reveals one of the most challenging financial moments of his life and the reasons behind his commitment to giving away so much of his income.Hanif is an award-winning poet, cultural critic and author from Columbus, Ohio...

“This Is Uncomfortable” returns for its 10th season (you read that right: 10th!) with brand-new episodes about life and how money messes with it.In our upcoming season, we’ve got stories about advocating for fair pay and how challenging it can be to support a loved one’s bad money choices. We’ll also explore how money complicates the way we grieve, and what it’s like to receive a huge windfall from beyond the grave. We share one man’s philosophy of how to redistribute wealth to build the community he wants to live...

When we last heard from Hana Albaioumy, she was grappling with an agonizing decision. She wanted to escape Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, but it would cost her $10,000, most of her savings, to cross the border into Egypt. Hana shares a complicated update with Reema: She managed to evacuate Gaza and flee to Cairo, but the decision came with a steep financial and emotional cost. Hana explains what it was like saying goodbye to her family, shares the challenges of navigating a new life in Egypt without legal status and recounts a surprising moment when she...

Do you listen carefully to our credits every week? Then you might’ve heard of our “silent contributor,” Jasmine Romero, who has been editing “This Is Uncomfortable” for the past year and a half. And all along, she’s also been working on another podcast of her own, “Sacred Scandal: Nation of Saints.” It’s a show with a lot of Uncomfortable themes — immigration, family secrets and how money messes with politics.We’re sharing the first episode of Jasmine’s pod, but before we jump in, she tells Reema how she reported this deeply personal stor...

Hey y’all! We’re working on a new season coming at you this August, but over the summer we’re trying something new: The Uncomfortable Book Club! Every other week our newsletter will showcase a book that made us think differently about life and how money messes with it. All the details are in this episode, and when you sign up before June 15 at Marketplace.org/bookclub, you’ll be entered to win some merch from the show. Happy reading!

Doris Tyler has energy well beyond her 80 years. Even after retiring from her career as a music teacher, she remained active in her community — driving to church events, coming up with creative surprises for all her grandchildren. But then one day, she realized her vision was so blurry she couldn’t safely drive. When traditional medical treatment stopped working, Doris’ community came together to help her pay for a brand-new medical technology: stem cell injections. If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And to get even more Uncomfortable, subscribe to our newsletter!

Lorena has been a garment worker in Los Angeles for over twenty years, going to work each day in a small factory to sew trendy fast fashion clothes for pennies per item. But one day, she decided enough was enough, and she took a stand against the poor work conditions and low pay. In part two of our mini-series on fast fashion, we look at the system of production: who pays the price for cheap clothes? And how might that system change for the better?If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And...

What’s behind our desire to reinvent ourselves through fashion? Is it even possible to shop sustainably? This week on the show, Reema sets out to answer these questions with help from fashion educator and sustainable stylist Lakyn Carlton, who shares her own journey away from fast fashion. Plus, producer Alice Wilder takes Reema on a thrifting journey in North Carolina, hunting for work clothes that will allow Reema to feel like herself without breaking the bank. This is Part 1 of our two-part miniseries on the costs of fast fashion. First up, we look at escaping the cycle of ov...

Lindsey Niehay dreamed of being a doctor since she was a teenager. But when she graduated from medical school and started a residency program in emergency medicine, she felt like her weight drew negative attention from colleagues. Then, she learned about the conversations happening behind her back. This is a story about how weight discrimination can derail a career, and why our legal system doesn’t offer the protections you might expect.If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And to get even more Uncomfortable, subscribe to our newsletter!

A while back, we asked you to share your money struggles, and we heard from many of you! In today’s episode, we booked a session with financial therapist Megan McCoy to answer your burning financial questions — everything from navigating financial differences among friends and talking to an avoidant partner about money plans, to making big career decisions and learning how to curb spending.As promised, here are some of the research studies and articles discussed in this episode:“Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness,” by Elizabet...

Nicole and Rachel were deeply in love when they had their first serious fight about money. It seemed easily resolvable, but the disagreement dragged on for months and brought a lot more to the surface than they expected.This episode originally aired in 2022 and includes a short update at the end about how Rachel and Nicole are doing today.If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And to get even more Uncomfortable, subscribe to our newsletter!

Growing up, Haein Shim was taught that if she wanted to succeed, she needed to change her appearance. Shim was raised in South Korea, where a competitive job market and booming beauty industry combined to make careful beauty maintenance all but mandatory for gainful employment. By the time she was a young adult, she was spending hours a day and hundreds of dollars a month on makeup and clothes, until one day her friend asked, “Why do we spend so much money on our appearance?” That question upended Shim’s family, career and sense of self. It led her to join...

This week, we’re sharing an episode from another podcast we think you’ll love. “Classy” is a new show from Pineapple Street Studios and Audacy exploring the ways that class infiltrates our day-to-day lives. Host Jonathan Menjivar has some hang-ups about class. In this episode, he takes us from a nightclub outside Los Angeles to the halls of a fancy Manhattan prep school, and asks sociologist Rachel Sherman, “Are rich people bad?”

Four years later, host Reema Khrais checks in with one of our favorite couples, Mandy and Zach. In our first season, they told us about the challenges they ran into early in their relationship around gift giving. Now, life’s latest milestones are forcing them to figure out how to become more fluent in each other’s languages — the ones they use to talk about life, love, and of course, money.