Financial infidelity
You find out your partner has hidden thousands of dollars of debt. Now what? Jordan Rosenfeld is a writer. Follow her on Twitter @Jordanrosenfeld .
Episodes
This Is Uncomfortable
This is a show about life and how money messes with it. Each week, Marketplace’s Reema Khrais digs in with stories about the unanticipated ways money affects relationships, shapes identities and often defines what it means to be an adult. How much money do you lend a friend? Who can afford to vote? Can you get your life back after being wrongfully convicted?
Episodes
Friendship is a full-time job, with Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow
Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman are very good friends. And as hosts of the podcast “Call Your Girlfriend,” and co-authors of “Big Friendship,” they’re also in business together. This week they sit down with Reema to talk about how work has changed their friendship and what they learned from couples therapy. Later, they join “The Group Chat” to answer listener questions about friendship and money. By the way, we’re still looking for your stories of hiding a...
Divorce story (rerun), plus a request for your help!
Money gets complicated when a marriage falls apart. First, we’ll hear from a divorce lawyer who ends up representing herself. Then from a couple trying to plan for the day they hate each other. Plus: Have you hidden a purchase, some funds or anything else money related from your partner? We’re working on an episode about that, and whether you were casually dating or married, we want to hear about it! Give us a call at 347-RING-TIU (347-746-4848).
Can’t make rent, can’t get evicted
Marilyn worked hard to afford her own home. But when a sheriff showed up at her front door with a summons for eviction court, suddenly she was stuck trying to navigate a system with confusing rules.
“Why don’t you fix your teeth?”
One woman’s smile becomes a marker of poverty that feels impossible to escape.
Who can afford to vote?
From restricted access mail-in ballots to poll taxes, voting rights have always been tied to power and money.
“This Is Uncomfortable” is back this week!
Money messes up everything. This pandemic is widening the wealth gap, pushing thousands of people into debt, and shifting family and relationship dynamics. Why do so many of us let our careers define who we are? Who can afford to vote this November? Can business and friendship mix? Will you ever get over that one money fight with your partner? We’ll sit with this discomfort all season, and it all starts this Thursday, Sept. 17. Here’s a preview....
Love in the time of coronavirus (rerun)
There are a lot of couples stuck at home right now. Some of them are out of work or dealing with canceled plans. Today, we’ll hear from two couples trying to figure out what their future will look like. This is a rerun of one of our favorite stories from last season. We’re back with new episodes on September 17, and we’re still doing weekly newsletters. Subscribe at marketplace.org/comfort ....
WeWork too much (rerun)
When WeWork acquired her company, she got executive training, fancy corporate retreats and a dope Patagonia jacket. It was almost enough to make her forget everything she lost. This week: Why we’re so obsessed with our jobs, even though they’ll never love us back. This is a rerun of one of our favorite stories from last season. We’re back with new episodes on September 17 and we’re still doing weekly newsletters between now and then. Subscribe at marketplace.org/comfort ....
Life in the coronavirus heckhole
To get a new bike, this 11-year-old signs a contract to do the thing he hates most: math. How one family is using a tactic borrowed from the business world to settle arguments (and help them get through the pandemic).
Money makes me sick
Meet the professional auditor who can’t stand to look at his own bank account. Our team goes on an adventure to help a man who’s anxious about his spending get more comfortable checking his finances.
The fight for fair pay in Big Tech
One woman’s fight against Silicon Valley’s racial pay gap. Plus, why it’s so hard for Black workers in tech to get ahead
How to pay for college
Years ago, one woman put college on hold because she couldn’t afford it. Now she faces a hard choice to keep history from repeating itself. Plus: What will college even look like this fall?
It’s expensive to get arrested
A teenager protesting police brutality lands in jail, and we try to understand the tricky business of bail.
Barred from benefits (from The Uncertain Hour)
Millions of Americans who are out of work don’t receive unemployment benefits. That’s by design. An episode from “The Uncertain Hour’s” pop-up season “A History of Now.” If you liked this epsiode, you can hear more at uncertainhour.org .
School’s out (forever?)
When you’re 17 or 18, you’re often making choices that can dictate the course of your whole life. Making those decisions during a pandemic is even harder. Today we follow three high school friends trying to figure out what comes after graduation when a global pandemic is clouding everything. By the way, today is the last day of Marketplace’s spring fundraising drive. We know not everyone can afford to give, but if you love the show and you are in a position to donate, we would really appre...
Our parents’ debts (from Terrible, Thanks for Asking)
This week, we’re showcasing a story from our colleagues at “Terrible, Thanks For Asking”: When a supporting pillar is knocked out of a family, the consequences can be costly.
From prison to pandemic
Kevin Harrington was exonerated last month after spending 17 years in prison for a murder conviction. He and his family are overjoyed, but the coronavirus pandemic means freedom looks a little different right now. By the way, Marketplace is in the middle of a really important fundraising drive right now. We know not everyone can afford to give, but if you love the show and you are in a position to donate, we would really appreciate it. You can give and find more information at marketplace.org/gi...
Confessions of a shopaholic
A woman grapples with her shopping addiction in quarantine. By the way, we were just nominated for a Webby! Please take a second and vote for us at wbby.co/pod09 .
A $35,000 COVID bill
Danni Askini fought cancer for 18 months before getting COVID-19. Their focus was on surviving, not the cost of care. That didn’t make the bill any easier to take.
What it’s like getting an abortion in Texas right now
The clock is ticking for one college student after she finds out she’s pregnant in the middle of a pandemic, in a state that’s trying to restrict abortion.
Zoom therapy in a pandemic
How do I keep from fighting with my partner about money? What do I say to a friend who’s just lost a job? This week, a little financial therapy session over zoom to help us all cope with our COVID-19 anxiety.
Love in the time of coronavirus
There are a lot of couples stuck at home right now. Some of them are out of work or dealing with canceled plans. Today, we’ll hear from two couples trying to figure out what their future will look like.
Hard choices
As states across the country close all non-essential businesses, people are rethinking what it means to do the right thing. Today we hear listeners’ stories of pay cuts, layoffs and telling employers they’re putting people at risk.
COVID-19 comforts
The coronavirus is changing how we think about money and community. We set out to see how people are coping and put together this audio care package. And we want to check in on you, too — let us know what you’re going through and how you’re getting through it at uncomfortable@marketplace.org .
What’s a friendship worth?
Would you spot a friend money if they needed it? How about if they asked every month? This week: the limits of friendship.
WeWork too much
When WeWork acquired her company, she got executive training, fancy corporate retreats and a dope Patagonia jacket. It was almost enough to make her forget everything she lost. This week: Why we’re so obsessed with our jobs, although they’ll never love us back.
My boyfriend wants to pay my rent
Sam Sanders, host of NPR’s “It’s Been A Minute” and Marketplace product specialist Sarah Menendez are here give advice on salary sharing, expensive olive oil, and bridesmaid duties in the latest installment of “The Group Chat.” Got anything you want to run by the group? Tell us at uncomfortable@marketplace.org, and don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter at Marketplace.org/comfort.
In sickness and in fraud
When a shady business partner leaves a newly married couple on the hook for over $300,000, it tests the limits of “for better or worse.” For even more “This Is Uncomfortable,” sign up for our new weekly newsletter at marketplace.org/comfort .
Total financial control
After getting married, Angie’s husband started to scrutinize every purchase. The situation soon got so much worse. We look at what happens when money becomes a form of control.