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This Is Uncomfortable

This Is Uncomfortable

Marketplace 193 Episodes Jul 23, 2026

This is Uncomfortable is an 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 intimate, surprising, and deeply human conversations. 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.

Episodes

Help! I put in two months' notice… two years ago!
Help! I put in two months' notice… two years ago! Jul 23, 2026 00:27:12 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 Reema is joined by Marketplace correspondent Kristin Schwab and host/correspondent Sabri Ben-Achour to answer your workplace questions – from favoritism getting in the way of a promotion to persistent recruitment
Bonus: Should we mess with nature? From "How We Survive"
Bonus: Should we mess with nature? From "How We Survive" Jul 21, 2026 00:26:44 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 nature in an effort to save the planet, from shooting sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, to launching sunshades into space. In this episode, they explore the wildest intervention to date: de-extinction.The team ta
Confessions of a former homesteader
Confessions of a former homesteader Jul 16, 2026 00:30:54 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 small farm in rural Missouri and raised their family there for nearly a decade. Reema talks with Laura about the real cost of homesteading, and why she ultimately had to leave it behind.And later in the episode, we
Nicole Chung and the toll of caregiving
Nicole Chung and the toll of caregiving Jul 9, 2026 00:35:47 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, Reema talks to Nicole Chung, author of “A Living Remedy,” about her experiences caring for her parents in their final years of illness, how the U.S. healthcare system failed them, and the toll it took on her both
Sam doesn't know how to be rich, from “Proxy with Yowei Shaw”
Sam doesn't know how to be rich, from “Proxy with Yowei Shaw” Jul 2, 2026 00:58:53 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 gets it. Sam is a progressive person who suddenly has more money than friends and family — and he doesn’t know how to feel about it. He wants to be generous. He wants to be responsible. He wants to stop feeling gu
Should I adopt my friends?
Should I adopt my friends? Jun 25, 2026 00:37:41 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? What legal and financial options are out there for chosen family? Reema talks to LGBTQ+ legal advocate Angela Giampolo and tax expert Brixton Carothers about everything from setting up a revocable living trust t
Would you go broke for a bachelorette?
Would you go broke for a bachelorette? Jun 18, 2026 00:36:34 Weddings are meant to be joyful milestones and a chance to show up for the people we love. But for many people today, being a part of a wedding can come with multi-day trips, expensive outfits, and financial pressure that leads to years of debt. Reema is joined by cultural commentator Josh Lora and The Atlantic editor Annie Joy Williams to talk about the cost of being a wedding guest, why
The secret lives of romance scammers
The secret lives of romance scammers Jun 11, 2026 00:35:12 Unfortunately, a lot of us know someone who has been scammed… but how many scammers do you know? After reporter Carlos Barragán’s mother fell victim to an online romance scam, he traveled to Lagos, Nigeria, to investigate the world of “Yahoo Boys,” as Nigerian scammers call themselves. He spent years getting to know these young men, earning their trust and reporting the most intimate deta
Is it time for a new career?
Is it time for a new career? Jun 4, 2026 00:34:51 Lots of us have dreamed about taking on a completely different career, but how do you actually make the leap? This week, Reema visits a cohort of people pivoting to the trades in North Carolina and speaks with career coach Phoebe Gavin to get her tips on making a successful pivot. If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And let us know what you think by emailing uncomfortable@m
Money can make or break your relationship, from NPR’s "It’s Been a Minute"
Money can make or break your relationship, from NPR’s "It’s Been a Minute" May 28, 2026 00:42:46 Today, we’re featuring an episode of NPR’s “It’s Been A Minute.” Reema Khrais joins host Brittany Luse and Wailin Wong, host of NPR’s “The Indicator,” to talk about the hidden ways money shows up in dating and marriage.And we’ve got a new “This Is Uncomfortable” project to share! You’ve heard Reema Khrais ask rapid-fire “uncomfortable money questions” on the show, where she asks guests to
Everything's on fire, might as well get my nails done?
Everything's on fire, might as well get my nails done? May 21, 2026 00:28:27 Do you ever look at the world and think: everything is so uncertain, who knows if I’ll ever be able to retire … so I might as well get those concert tickets? Then you might be doomspending. Reema talks with The Financial Diet’s Chelsea Fagan and behavioral economist Judd Kessler about why we doomspend, and what we should do instead. Plus, producer Alice Wilder makes a confession. If you l
How far would you go for a boycott?
How far would you go for a boycott? May 14, 2026 00:35:53 How far would you go to participate in a boycott? Cancel your concert tickets? Spend 25% more on groceries? What about refusing to visit your family? This week, Reema speaks to Canadians who are going to great lengths to boycott the United States. Plus, a conversation with financial therapist Lindsay Bryan-Podvin about how to practice “good enough” boycotting. If you liked this episode, s

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