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.
Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
Money Horrors II: The Sleep Shopper Strikes Again
#34 trending · Business
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
Oct 30 18 min
Money Horrors
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 spendin
Oct 29 21 min
What do we owe our families?
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
Oct 22 27 min
Trick yourself into better money habits
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
Oct 15 39 min
Why is every celebrity trying to sell me something?
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
Oct 8 28 min
Min Jin Lee asks, is college still a reliable investment?
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
Oct 1 28 min
Is money ruining fan fiction?
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 f
Sep 24 25 min
Should you leave the country for your next doctor’s appointment?
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 trav
Sep 17 41 min
When boomer "collectibles" become millennial "inheritance"
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.
While sorting through her
Sep 12 35 min
Listeners weigh in: Wedding hacks, questionable investments, and a fix for doom spending
Who doesn’t love getting mail? This week on the show, Reema and Alice open up the mailbag and respond to your messages about questionable investments, doomspending, and c
Sep 10 26 min
Is there too much money in college sports?
College sports has become a multi-billion dollar industry, but until just a few years ago, the actual athletes never saw a penny. It wasn’t until 2021 that the NCAA decid
Sep 3 28 min
If only he hadn’t spent so much on those turntables!
Ever look back and wish you could stop your past self from making a financial mistake? Yeah, us too. This week, Reema talks to researchers Abigail Sussman and Hal Hershfi
Aug 27 43 min
How does anyone afford childcare?
How much should parents budget for daycare? Does it make more financial sense for both parents to work and pay for childcare, or for one parent to stay home and care for
Aug 20 28 min
"If this is your first time being poor..."
Tight grocery budget? Try a "recession recipe." Reema talks producer Alice Wilder about her trip to meet Kiki Rough, a TikTok creator who makes hyper affordable recipes.
Aug 13 23 min
Abigail Disney: “There is such a thing as too much money”
How were you raised to think about money, and how do you know when the values you inherited no longer fit? What do we owe other people, and when is generosity a duty? Ree
Aug 6 37 min
Subscribe and save... or not?
How many subscriptions are you paying for right now? Whether we’re watching TV, listening to music, or even just storing photos, it feels like we are required to rent so
Jul 30 32 min
Help! I put in two months' notice… two years ago!
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. Th
Jul 23 27 min
Bonus: Should we mess with nature? From "How We Survive"
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 tinkerin
Jul 21 26 min
Confessions of a former homesteader
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 move
Jul 16 30 min
Nicole Chung and the toll of caregiving
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? Th
Jul 9 35 min
Chart trend
Position in the Business chart (US), last 90 days.
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#40
all-time peak
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days in the top 50 since Nov 2024
Chart positions
Where This Is Uncomfortable ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Oct 31, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
I love, love, love this podcast so much. I came across it about 2 years ago and now I anxiously wait for new seasons to drop. I will say that I struggled with the most recent episode about what felt like out-of-touch upper-middle class problems (the one about when it is the right time to buy a home), but I guess there are some listeners who can resonate with the struggles of having to pass on a million dollar home because it’s next to an affordable housing unit. I am very likely projecting as a response to the recent tech villainy in the US, but I do think it would have been a great moment to pose questions about how our personal financial goals can sometimes be complicit in the oppression of others.
With that being said, I hold Reema in high esteem and respect the impulse to represent varying perspectives and lifestyles. I think she normally does such an excellent job asking these critical questions, which is why I wish I would have heard more of in the recent episode. Looking forward to the next episode!
Noiceeeeee · May 2025
I love the beautiful storytelling and examination of human life. I particularly love the blend of human story with finances.
RosieLu22 · May 2025
Really thoughtful interviews and intimate stories about a topic most don’t talk about!
dr dredrienne · Sep 2024
I look forward to every episode. I learn a lot about my own choices when I listen to someone else’s personal story on how they deal with finances. It gives me less anxiety to deal with a tough topic and be less judgy. Thank you!
AngstAngie · Aug 2024
I really did like this show in the first two seasons. However, after the second episode, of this season, where the host referred to the Oct 7th attacks as perpetrated by “Hamas Fighters” I can’t listen to it anymore without acknowledging the clear bias that the show has taken.
The GoodWife · May 2024
We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.
Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of This Is Uncomfortable, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.
