Marketplace All-in-One

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. He’s written six books, several of which are bestsellers, including his most recent, “There’s Always This Year.” His work spans sports, pop culture and politics, often focusing on issues of race and class, while also delving into themes of grief, beauty and love. He’s been the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” and a finalist for the National Book Award, among other accolades. If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And to get even more Uncomfortable, subscribe to our newsletter!

“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 in. And we’ll take a look back at the past 10 seasons of TIU and what we’ve learned along the way. All that and more starting Aug. 22. To get even more Uncomfortable during the season, sign up for our newsletter.

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 felt like her old self.  We’re currently working on Season 10, which will launch in August. In the meantime, we hope you listen to this intimate conversation about how Hana is grappling with an uncertain future.  If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And to get even more Uncomfortable, subscribe to our newsletter!

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 story about the Salvadoran Civil War, the assassination of a beloved archbishop, and an unsolved murder in her own family. Reema and Jasmine bond over the challenges of reporting personal stories and reflect on how the show’s themes connect to current news events. If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And to get even more Uncomfortable, subscribe to our newsletter!

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 to get even more Uncomfortable, subscribe to our newsletter!

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 overconsumption. To learn more about how fast fashion impacts climate change, check out this episode from Marketplace’s “How We Survive.”  If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And to get even more Uncomfortable, subscribe to our newsletter!

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 Elizabeth W. Dunn, Lara B. Aknin, and Michael I. Norton, as well as Dunn’s TED Talk on the same topic “If Money Doesn’t Make You Happy Then You Probably Aren’t Spending It Right,” by Elizabeth W. Dunn “Heads or Tails: The impact of a coin toss on major life decisions and subsequent happiness,” by Steven D. Levitt “Harvard Study of Adult Development” and an awesome TED Talk by Robert Waldinger, the project’s director   If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And to get even more Uncomfortable, subscribe to our newsletter!  

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 a movement called Escape the Corset, calling for an end to strict beauty standards. In this episode, we also speak to NPR’s Elise Hu, who spent years reporting on the rise of the K-beauty and how it has impacted Korea’s economy and gender politics. Her book on the subject, “Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture From the K-Beauty Capital,” examines how women like Haein Shim are changing the face of beauty in Korea.

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.

At what point do you walk away from your dreams? Kashy gave himself a deadline: if he didn’t become a pop star by the time he turned 25, he’d give up music. But years after he left his music career behind, the universe gave him a second chance, thousands of miles from home.

We wanted to share a particularly uncomfy episode from Marketplace’s “Financially Inclined,” a financial literacy podcast for teens. Being a first-generation student can mean facing bigger financial pressures than your peers, with less generational knowledge and wealth. “Financially Inclined” host Yanely Espinal talks to Gigi Gonzalez, the First Gen Mentor, to help you navigate the unique pressures of being the first in your family – whether that’s being a first-gen American, first-gen college student, first-gen professional, first-gen entrepreneur or more! Think you’re financially inclined? Check out these resources: Explore resources for first-gen students from the Collective Success Network Learn more wealth building tips from Business Insider Prepare for a “money talk” with your family using this guide from CNBC Are you in an educational setting? Here’s a handy listening guide. This podcast is presented in partnership with Greenlight: the money app for teens — with investing. For a limited time, our listeners can earn $10 when they sign up for a Greenlight account.

Overnight, Hana’s life became unrecognizable. She used to enjoy quiet mornings in her lovingly decorated apartment in Gaza, but since Israel’s invasion forced her to evacuate, she’s now sleeping on the cold floor of a crowded house, fearful of airstrikes. Hana shares how the war is threatening the life she built for herself and the impossible financial calculations ahead of her.

In our new season premiere, Reema sits down with her father to reflect on how recent global headlines have been impacting their family in Gaza.

“This Is Uncomfortable” returns for its ninth season Feb. 1, with brand-new episodes about life and how money messes with it. We’ve got stories about medical scams, workplace discrimination, the fast fashion industry and more. New episodes coming Thursdays.