This Is Uncomfortable

How much do you share with your partner about your finances? Sometimes, a little privacy starts to look a lot like a secret. And secrets (especially the money kind) have a way of becoming problems.

On this week’s episode, Reema talks to people on the streets of Portland about their real-life money secrets, and chats with divorce lawyer Randy Kessler and couples counselor Jeff Guenther, who’ve seen how financial sec...

Author and journalist Aymann Ismail wants his kids to grow up with a real connection to their Egyptian roots, including speaking Arabic. For his family, that means committing to a private Islamic school -- and figuring out how to afford tuition.

Reema sits down with Aymann as he walks through his family budget and the financial trade-offs that decision requires. They talk about what’s at stake for him, financially and ...

Ever wrestled with an unusual work problem and didn’t know where to turn? In our recurring advice column, “Work Drama,” we try to find answers to your sticky work situations. This week, Reema is joined by culture writer and podcaster, Sarah Hagi (host of “Scamfluencers”) to unpack some uncomfortable workplace problems – from scammy bosses and boundary-pushing coworkers to negotiating for a raise and navigating workplace fr...

Job hunting has a way of testing your limits. It can be hard not to question yourself (or spiral) when the process stretches on far longer than you imagined. 

Reema is joined by career coach Phoebe Gavin and writer Rachel Meade Smith to talk about the emotional side of the job hunt -- practical ways to navigate it, and how to get through it without losing yourself. 

Do you have a job hunting horror story you want t...

What does it mean to have “enough” money? Reema Khrais explores the feeling behind this question — the fear, comparison and the way “not enough” can follow us around even when things technically look okay on paper.

She talks with experts and people who’ve landed on very different answers, including someone whose definition of “enough” meant closing her bank account and giving up money altogether.

If you liked this ...

“This Is Uncomfortable” returns Jan. 15. Listen to this note from Reema for more, including an exciting change — we're going to start coming to you weekly! Bringing you more uncomfortable conversations with everyday people, experts, and authors about how money shapes our choices, relationships, and identity.

If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And let us know what you think by emailing uncomfortable@mark...

Reema and the team are working on some updates to the podcast that will arrive in your feeds in the new year. You’ve been telling us you want more TIU and we heard you. Stay tuned to this feed for more soon… 

In the meantime, if you’re looking for something that gets you thinking about the emotional side of money, you’ll enjoy Reema’s recent guest appearance on “Alive with Steve Burns.” Reema and Steve dig into what sh...

This week, we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes, plus a new update and your surprising reactions.

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 hob...

What would you do with a million dollars…in crypto? Reema Khrais talks with Marketplace reporter Matt Levin about one man’s journey to becoming crypto rich. Levin’s reporting reveals a complicated picture, not just about the ups and downs of crypto, but also about what it means to chase the American dream when you're living on the margins.

We want to know what you think about This Is Uncomfortable. Please complete a sh...

When newlyweds Chantal and Travis Lisback started searching for their dream home in Seattle, they weren’t entirely on the same page. Chantal was eager to settle down as soon as possible, while Travis was more comfortable waiting a few years. As the search dragged on, what began as a shared dream started to feel more like a standoff. 

This week, a story about how a big life decision can bring to light the money and comm...

Ever wrestled with a work problem and didn’t know where to turn? We’ve got you. In our new advice column, “Work Drama,” we try to find answers to your sticky work situations. 

This week, “This Is Uncomfortable” host Reema Khrais is joined by career coach and podcaster Mandi Woodruff-Santos to unpack your workplace problems -- from messy, toxic bosses to dealing with salary negotiations.

Got workplace drama you need...

After decades of trying to make it as an actor and comedian in Hollywood, Claudette Powell felt deeply unfulfilled. So she set her sights on a radically different life -- one that required her to pay off nearly $150,000 of debt. When she finally wrote that last check, she took a vow of poverty and entered a convent. 

But leaving behind her material life wasn’t as simple as it sounded. This week: how paying off debt was...

Hanna Sanborn was a single mom with newborn twins, struggling to find affordable childcare. Her best friend, Bryer Rossi, was burned out at work and looking for a way out. One day, Hanna floated an idea to him: “What if you quit your job and took care of my babies?” 

What started as a running joke between friends turned into a lifeline that changed their lives and the way they saw each other.

If you liked this epis...

“This Is Uncomfortable” returns with four brand-new episodes about life and how money messes with it.

This season: Two best friends, struggling with work and unaffordable child care, come up with an unconventional solution that reshapes their relationship. A woman walks away from a Hollywood career to take a vow of poverty. Our “Money Fight” series is back, following a couple whose search for a dream home turns into a ...

“This Is Uncomfortable” will be back in your feeds with brand new episodes in May, and in the meantime, we’re sharing the first episode of “Unlocking the Gates,” a series from Marketplace and APM Studios hosted by special correspondent Lee Hawkins. He tells the story of how the Minnesota suburb he grew up in went from being a place where the housing market was inaccessible to Black families to one where many Black families...

Hard to believe, but we’re celebrating 10 seasons, and five years, of  “This Is Uncomfortable”! In this special episode, we’re pulling back the curtain to reveal the show’s origins, the biggest lessons Reema’s learned along the way and our favorite money tips from expert guests. Plus we’ll hear from you, our listeners, about the insights that have stuck with you through the years. 

We’ll be back with a new season in 20...

Last spring, Jay Benedith and Ben Williams matched on a dating app and quickly hit it off. But just a few weeks into their budding romance, a Venmo request started to raise questions about their future together. What happens when your partner’s approach to money clashes with yours? Can nickel-and-diming jeopardize a connection? 

If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And to get even more Uncomfortable, subs...

This week, we’re sharing an episode of another podcast we think you’ll love. “Notes From America With Kai Wright” is a show from WNYC Studios about the unfinished business of our history, and its grip on our future. In this episode, Wright interviews choreographer Bill T. Jones about his groundbreaking dance performance “Still/Here.” Jones shares his reflections on creating such an essential piece of performance art amid t...

What does it mean to make a living from death? From a young age, Joél Simone Maldonado was fascinated by mortality, leading her to a career as a funeral director, embalmer and sacred grief practitioner. In the final episode of our miniseries on grief and money, Reema Khrais talks with Joél about her profession: the tough conversations around money, the toll it takes on her mental health, and why she advocates for more cult...