This Is Uncomfortable October 24, 2024 Transcript

Note: Marketplace podcasts are meant to be heard, with emphasis, tone and audio elements a transcript can’t capture. Transcripts are generated using a combination of automated software and human transcribers, and may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio before quoting. 

Hayley Hershman: should I say it? Should I be the one that starts since… You’re like, “No, I do that.”

Reema Khrais: That’s my job!

Reema: That’s Marketplace senior producer Hayley Hershman. Back when we were in the office, we sat next to each other and became close friends. 

Hayley: Well, I thought about you when I was making my lunch, because it was a tuna salad. And I was like, “Oh this is so Reema!”

Reema: Dude, I always think of you when I make a tuna salad. [laugh] I think it’s because you put me on it.

Hayley: I thought you put me on it?

Reema: Oh, really? Well, I remember you shared the recipe to make it with yogurt and that was pretty revolutionary for me… 

Reema: So while I’d love to just swap lunch recipes with Hayley all day, I actually called her cause this week, we’re doing something a little different. Hayley was the founding producer of This Is Uncomfortable, helped me create the show more than five years ago.  

And so in honor of our 10th season, we wanna pull back the curtain and give you a peek behind the scenes. You’ll hear things about the show that we’ve never shared before: the terrible titles we almost named it, our all-time favorite tips from money experts, how I deal with my dad’s wild expectations for my finances, and how this show has helped some of you all make dramatic changes in your lives.

To get this party started, Hayley and I are going back to the very beginning…

Hayley: Do you want to take us back to baby Reema in 2018? What, what were you thinking about when you thought about pitching this show?

Reema: Yeah. To give it some context, at the time – I’m trying to put myself back there – I was a reporter at Marketplace, and I was covering everything from housing and immigration to the retail industry to the stock market. And there was an internal pitch competition for a new podcast.

Hayley: Yeah, Marketplace was kind of looking to expand their podcast portfolio, and so there was like a call around the shop for pitches…

Reema: And I actually pulled up this pitch because I was curious myself to look at it… And [laugh] it’s called the, what I pitched, um, the show I pitched was called “Adulting,” um, which feels difficult to even say out loud right now. Um, I’m really glad we did not go with that title. And so, I knew that I wanted to pitch a storytelling show, and I also knew that I wanted to reach a younger audience, and similar to how the show is today, I really wanted to create a space where people could talk openly and vulnerably about their relationship with money.

Hayley: Yeah. Well, I was in the room when we were evaluating pitches. Um, I was like, the…

Reema: Oh, you were? Wait, you were a judge?

Hayley: Yeah. I was a resident young person at Marketplace. [laugh] And I remember the adults loved the title “Adulting.”

Reema: Oh! Did they?

Hayley: …which was the first sign that we couldn’t name it “Adulting,” but yeah I think… 

Reema: [laugh] That’s funny!

Hayley: Yeah, it felt like a very, just, breath of fresh air.

Reema: I was really excited about it. Because also at the time, I guess I was maybe 26, 27, and I wanted to do a show that reflected what I was going through at the time, which is, you know, I was living in LA, I was single, I had a roommate, and I was just lost financially. I think I had this avoidant relationship with money, where you know, I made sure I paid my bills and whatever, but I didn’t think that deeply about how I was managing my money. And yeah, I think, at the time – we talked about this – there wasn’t really anyone I was talking about money with openly. Like I had friends who seemed to be in similar financial positions, but I had no idea. And it wasn’t until later that, you know, I really learned how some of them were getting help from family or, you know, others were burdened with student debt. And it made me realize just how easy, how tempting it can be to make assumptions about other people’s financial circumstances and then use those assumptions as benchmarks for our own success or failure, without really understanding, you know, someone’s unique circumstances.

Hayley: Yeah, I think it’s, uh, maybe surprising for people when they hear that Marketplace reporters don’t have their money stuff together. [laughter]

Reema: I know, I remember when I first got hired, you know, I’d tell friends or people in my life, and they’re like, “Oh, so do you have like an economics degree? Uh, do you like…?” Or they would ask me financial questions. I’m like, “No…” [laughter]

Yeah, so if I’m remembering correctly, I pitched the show, it got greenlit, and then they assigned you as my producer for the show. Um, and that’s when we started sitting next to each other and working closely. Um, and yeah, we basically had six months to develop this show, before we had to come out with it.

Hayley: Mmhm.

Reema: What was that experience like for you?

Hayley: it was chaotic. It was… [laugh] No, it was really fun. It was, um, you know, I don’t think that neither of us had done a long form narrative podcast before. It was like a lot of learning and a lot of making mistakes. We tried a lot of stuff and a lot of stuff that didn’t work.

Reema: Mmhm, mmhm.

Hayley: Or I, like, I’m speaking for myself – I tried a lot of stuff that didn’t work. [laughter]

Reema: Yeah, well I remember one of the first shifts that we made, we were like, okay, we gotta scrap this “Adulting” title. Remember when we were just so stuck on what to call it? I feel like that was the, one of the hardest challenges.

Hayley: Uh, well, speaking of that, I have a list of finalist titles that we had come up with.

Reema: Oh!

Hayley: So I was, like, scavenging through my Google Drive to figure out where we had a record of this, and we don’t have any record of this except for a picture of a whiteboard that I took on my phone.

Reema: Well, I just remember we had so many whiteboards and post-it notes around our desks with just, like, these insane titles. Dude, remember at one point we were gonna call it “Hot Cheetos”…? What was it? There was something with Hot Cheetos…

Hayley: Oh my god! “Hot Cheetos for Dinner”?

Reema: Ugh [laughter] like, there was like a week where I was like, that’s what the show is gonna be called.

Hayley: I’m glad we didn’t go with that. So, okay. Here’s the, here’s everything else we have on our list. Um, “Kinda Awkward.”

Reema: Oh yeah. “Kinda Awkward.”

Hayley: “It’s Personal,” “It’s Kinda Private,” “Discomfort.” I like this one: “Drained.”

Reema: Oh, it sounds like a plumber’s podcast.

Hayley: [laughter] you’re like, “yeah, I still don’t like that one!”

Reema: No… I remember we would just go around the office being like, “What do you think? What do you like? What would you listen to?” Um, every day it was a new title, and in the end, I don’t even remember how we came up with “This Is Uncomfortable,” or who came up with it. Was it you?

Hayley: I was going to ask you if it was you. I don’t remember.

Reema: I don’t remember either. It was both of us.

Hayley: Yeah, it was a team effort by the end of it.

Reema: Yeah. We got there.

Hayley: And I remember at the time thinking it was so funny because I imagined you reading it the way that Kai Ryssdal says, “This… is Marketplace.”

Reema: “This… is uncomfortable.” [laughter] Oh, man. But that was also a tricky transition trying to figure out how to, you know, shift from being a reporter to a host because, to your point, being on the air, I talk differently, or I present myself a bit differently. I think that was something we struggled with or I struggled with during the piloting phase, of just how I’m going to come across and trying to, you know, still be a journalist but also be more of a human. And how much of myself do I want to share with listeners? These were things I was grappling with at the time and, you know, to be honest, still, to some extent, trying to figure out.

Hayley: What are you still grappling with?

Reema: You know, I think over the seasons, I’ve shared more of myself with our listeners. But, um, you know, like how much of myself to center versus other people’s stories. Um, so, you know, I think last season I shared a very personal story about my family, which was very vulnerable, but I’m glad that I did.

Hayley: Mmhm. So you are Marketplaces like resident money and feelings expert now after 10 seasons. So I’m curious what you have learned from all of the experts and people you’ve talked with about their relationships with money?

Reema: Yeah. Wow. You know, talking with so many people over the years about some of the most intimate and difficult moments of their lives, and joyful too, but it’s made me realize just, this is like a little cheesy, but just how interconnected we all are, like it does make me see our shared humanity in a way that feels heartening. Like in the end of the day we’re all longing for the same things, like we all want to belong, we want to feel heard, we want to feel seen, we want to feel valued. And  when people are sharing their financial insecurities or their financial troubles with their partner or whatever it might be, what I’m really trying to get at are their underlying fears and desires. Cuz, we’ve said this on the show so many times when people are talking about money, they’re often not really talking about money..

Hayley: Mmm.

Reema: I think they’re talking about these things I just listed, you know? And so, we might have these different life circumstances and experiences, but what I hope the show gets across is that we all share these innate feelings of wanting to belong and wanting to feel accepted and also just find certainty in a world that does not guarantee that.  Um, so that’s the, the…

Hayley: Just that! [laugh] That’s all I’ve learned…

Reema: You know, I’m just trying to

Hayley: Not too much! [laugh]

Reema: …get at the shared humanity, you know, um… [laugh]

Hayley: Nothing… [laugh]

Reema: Um no, but really it does, we’re all just fumbling just we’re all just fumbling and trying to figure things out, you know. 

Hayley: Yeah. No, it’s a great point. Do you feel like your relationship with money has changed?

Reema: I was hoping you wouldn’t ask that question.

Hayley: How can I not!

Reema: I know. Um, yeah, it has. You know, I will be honest, there are some ways in which I have not changed. I still do think I have avoidant tendencies. I’m just, I have language for it and, you know, I just have more context.

Hayley: Well, when I hear you, like, when you say that you found language for it, even if your habits or tendencies might not have changed that much, I’m like, oh, she took ownership of her, of her story…

Reema: Hmm.

Hayley: Like, it’s, you know, it’s not just this thing that’s kind of like happening that you don’t know why, but it’s

Reema: You feel like you have more control over that

Hayley: yeah. Or that you have more acceptance of it. That it doesn’t have to be, like, a bad thing necessarily. That it’s just you have awareness of.

Reema: That’s, that’s a good observation. Yeah. It’s, there’s not as much of a moral judgment there, like I see things more holistically, and it’s definitely led to some changes in my behavior. I, definitely save more than I did before and I’m more responsible, yada yada. But um… [laughter]

Hayley: yada, yada, yada. [laughter]

Reema: But I also think I’m just more open about my financial life in a way that I wasn’t before in a way that I think also surprises and makes some people uncomfortable.

Hayley: Hmm

Reema: Um yeah, I, I’m just don’t hesitate in asking a friend or a colleague how much money they make or how much they’re paying for rent. And it doesn’t feel as heavy to me. And, um, and I think it, I hope it encourages other people to also talk about these things openly because, there’s this tendency to be polite and diplomatic about certain topics around money, and that just holds us back. So I think I’m trying to be as transparent as I can with the people in my life.

Hayley: Well, I think, um, when we were first starting to make this show, I remember you having,  uh, you relayed a story to me about your dad and like…

Reema: Oh yeah.

Hayley: as like a way to illustrate how skewed everyone’s understanding of like where you’re supposed to be financially in your 20s and how like, you know, they can like run the gamut. Yeah…

Reema: I think it.. Yeah I was 27. And, um, I think it was one of the first times I really talked openly about money with him. And he was like, “How much money do you have in your savings account?” And I, you know, didn’t want to tell him.  He was like, “Okay you’ve lived with us…[laugh] you lived with us a couple of years. You know, we helped you pay for college…” Um, you know, he’s just sort of like doing this analysis of my financial life. And he was like, “Based on all these things, you should probably have a hundred thousand dollars in your savings.” And I. [laugh]

I remember just being speechless because  it’s absurd.  I still do not have that much money, uh, as a 34-year-old. That was like a big wake up moment for me where I really… Well, it actually told me more about my dad and, um, it got me curious about him because it makes sense, given what I know about him, why he would think that. He’s, you know, an immigrant from Gaza. He, uh, you know, didn’t have much when he came here and so he aggressively saved, um, and I think he’s kind of embodies a scarcity mindset, and so it makes sense to me that he would expect that of me too, to some extent.

Hayley: Do you feel like that is a perspective that you’ve gained over 10 seasons? Because I remember at the time …

Reema: Oh that’s interesting…

Hayley: you hearing that and being like, oh, you know, scared a little bit or a little like alarmed, like, “Wait, do I have my like **** together? Because, um, my dad’s telling me otherwise.” And I think that’s interesting that…

Reema: You’re right! That’s a good observation.

Hayley: …that the way you interpret it now is so different.

Reema: Yeah, you’re right, because at the time I was more alarmed and felt bad about myself.

Hayley: I mean, I was alarmed for myself. Like, this isn’t even my dad. [laugh]

Reema: I felt like a failure. [laugh] Yeah, I think you’re right. And now that I have learned so much more about how we all have these unconscious beliefs about money and how much of our childhood and background informs how we handle money today. I see that much differently than I did when I was 27.

Hayley: Yeah.

Reema: Like when you think about your time on the show, um, is there anything that you learned or that you took away that you still apply to your life?

Hayley: Yeah. Do you remember like maybe right before the pandemic leading into it, we did some stories on productivity and our relationship with work. And those like helped my thinking around my relationship with work a lot. Not that I have the best, uh, relationship to this day, but [laugh]

Reema: You have a healthier one, for sure.

Hayley: but I think it, yeah, I have a healthier one.  And I think those have stuck with me the most because, like talking with people who, even if our circumstances were very different, there was this collective feeling of like, work is taking too much of my time and my life, and like try everyone trying to find their own ways…

Reema: Mm

Hayley: through that. And so it was also very cathartic to hear other people’s perspectives and stories on that.  

Reema: Yeah, I know. I actually think about that, too, and it really influenced the way that I think about work. I remember talking to Derek Thompson of The Atlantic

Hayley: Mm hmm.

Reema: And he talked about the phrase “workism” and how there’s been this shift in that, like, we think of work as our religion now and our source of contentment and self-fulfillment, and, um, yeah, we had him on the show to challenge that idea. Um, And, I feel like, to your point, it came at a time when the pandemic, you know, like, things were shifting, there was also…

Hayley: hmm.

Reema: this collective moment of people rethinking their relationship with work,

Hayley: hmm.

Reema: Those are some of my favorite episodes, I, I took a lot away from those interviews,

Hayley: Yeah.  Well Reema, I loved developing this show with you

Reema: Yeah, I’m really glad that we worked together. I think the show would sound so different today had I worked with someone else, um,

Hayley: Well, thank you.

Reema: Basically I’m just trying to say that I appreciate you, Hayley! [laughter]

Hayley: Thank you. Um, congratulations on 10 seasons. It’s a huge accomplishment. And I, I can’t wait to listen to 10 more seasons.

Reema: Thanks, Haley. Alright, I’ll catch you soon.

Hayley: Bye.

Reema: Bye.

Reema: While working on this episode, my senior producer Zoe told me that we’ve made more than 100 episodes of this show so far, which I found very hard to believe. So I actually went back and counted, she was right, but also doing that reminded me of all the different conversations over the years, and the things I’ve taken away from them. Coming up after the break, I share some of my favorite tips from the experts I’ve interviewed – some practical advice to help make our money and work lives easier 

<<MIDROLL>>

Reema: And we’re back. After talking with Hayley, I dug back in the archives and found some of the most useful and interesting gems from my interviews with experts over the last ten seasons. 

The first piece of advice comes from cognitive neuroscientist Sahar Youseff.  Her tip: Sniff a lemon. No seriously. Working from home, she said, can make our lives feel like one endless workday. And so Sahar gave us a simple way to create some boundaries.

Sahar Youseff: Every single morning I would grab a lemon from the kitchen. I’d give it a sniff, I’d give it a squeeze. I would look at it. And then I would put it down next to my laptop. When the lemon is on the table right next to my computer my brain knows: Oh, it’s go time. It’s work time. This is not my dining room table anymore. So what that does is it allows you an opportunity to create an association that is unique to working, that you can put away at the end of the day

Reema: So I don’t use a lemon, but after talking with her, I actually started lighting a specific candle or an incense stick at the beginning of my work day. Sahar also shared another tip that’s easier said than done…

Sahar: Notifications have to be off. The number one thing that makes us feel like we do not have control – that I am a passenger in my day, I am not a driver –is notifications. Because I no longer have control about what my mind is paying attention to.  

Reema: Since I talked with Sahar back in 2020, my phone is always on do not disturb, which I’m sure some people in my life don’t love, but it has helped!

Okay the next tip comes from my conversation with writer Aminatou Sow. We talked about friendship and gift giving, and how we don’t have to overthink it: 

Aminatou: gift giving really is just about listening to what your friends need. Like, I just have like a note in my phone that is just, um, anytime I hear my friends express something that they might be interested in, where I just jotted down, and so it’s like, Oh yeah, like so and so said they would be like into getting a weighted blanket or trying it out, or so and so is like complaining about their glassware or blah, blah, blah.

Reema: That tip reminds me of research we’ve shared on the show before — that we actually derive more joy from spending money on others than on ourselves, whether that’s giving a gift to a best friend or donating money to charity. 

The next tip is about overspending: if you feel like you’re not making the most responsible financial choices…then you should do what financial therapist Megan McCoy recommended and tap into the power of delayed gratification. 

Megan McCoy: It’s not like I cannot buy these items, but it’s instead saying, I’m gonna save this for when I finish my bills this month, when everything is cleared in my account, and then I will spend some time intentionally shopping about what I still want. So like, putting things in the shopping cart and saving them for later. And then be intentionally, let me wait three weeks and then in three weeks, I can explore the shopping cart with a budget and say, these are the things that actually will bring me joy, and these are things I don’t care. You’ll actually be happier from delaying that gratification. 

Reema: This next takeaway is about how to deal with expensive medical bills. I talked with Jerilyn Arneson, who’s a patient advocate, and she shared things that blew me away. She said if you get a hefty bill, don’t freak out 

Jerilyn Arneson: That’s the trap that a lot of people fall into, is they don’t know any better and they just pay it.

Reema: She says what you need to do is call the hospital and ask for an itemized list, because it’s not uncommon for them to be wrong, to have coding errors or duplicate charges.

And even if your bill is right, you can still negotiate it, cause hospitals set their own prices. You can look up the fair market price for that procedure or whatever service you got and compare it to what they charged you. And if that fails, you still have other options…  

Jerilyn Arneson: Let’s say you’re stuck with an $11,000 bill. Now, if you go to the hospital and you say, “I can’t pay this $11,000,” the first thing I would ask is, “What is your financial assistance policy?” Because financial assistance programs don’t exist just for uninsured patients; they exist for everyone, and they’re income-based. Now, you may not qualify for 100 percent assistance, but you may qualify for 80 percent assistance. 

Reema: Some of my favorite conversations on the show have been about getting paid fairly in the workplace. In one episode, I talked with professional negotiator Carrie Menkel-Meadow about how to negotiate your salary. I remember her telling me when an employer offers you a number, always take a beat before responding. 

Carrie: Ask the question why: Why are you offering me that amount? How did you come to that amount? How does it compare to other people doing the same job? What do you expect from me for that amount of money? In other words, get some reasons and justifications.

Reema: She also shared this underrated tip that can make a huge difference in your quality of life: 

Carrie: Every aspect in a job is negotiable, everything. Ask yourself: What do I really want? Is there an amount of money that I need? But also, are there other things that I need that I might actually try off money for? such as vacation? sick leave, parental leave, you know, some of these things are required by law, but others of them vary by employer.

Reema: And one more unexpected tip from Carrie… a fashion tip:

Carrie: A little thing I would say to anybody going to an in person meeting, wear comfortable clothes. If you are uncomfortable in your soul and what you’re wearing, you won’t be a good negotiator. 

Reema: And then lastly, as we know, some of the hardest conversations we’ll ever have about money are actually with the people closest to us. So many experts I’ve talked with have told me, you need to set up regular money dates with your romantic partner – even if they last just like 15 minutes, it’s better than nothing. 

And to drive this last tip home, I’m going to play a snippet of our very first episode of the show that I still think about til this day – I talked with this couple who regularly has money dates. They have a whole ritual around it, where they make time together to go over their shared household budget…

Nika: Yeah, we just sit on the living room play some music, probably put on something slow, some type of 90s R&Bs, so it’ll probably be Babyface or Toni Braxton, those are my go-tos… 

Reema: Gotcha

Nika: Light a candle maybe even get a glass of wine if you thought I’d be a long convo…

Reema: So romantic!

Nika: I know, date night! Haha, no… but have usually just one computer open, even though it’s a shared Google doc and work through it. Like you know, Shawnika, how much do you think you’ll spend a month on your hair? 

Reema: How much? 

Nika: My budget for hair is I think a hundred dollars a month. 

Reema: Oh, nice…

Nika: And my budget for nails is like 150 a month. 

Terence: I was very surprised by some of those numbers. I did not know the maintenance cost of being a woman. Whenever tensions start to rise and I feel like we’re getting a little bit heated, it’s like, “OK let’s take a sip, let’s move on to something else.”

Reema: That was Nika Giger and Terence McPherson from my conversation with them back in 2019, in the very first episode of This is Uncomfortable. We’ve been recommending money dates ever since… 

I’ve changed a lot while making this show. I got married, I moved, and I got my cat, Simsim. Earlier, Hayley asked me how the show has changed my approach to money and work… I told her I’ve tried to be more transparent with friends and coworkers, but also I think my mindset has shifted. Like I used to think, “If I make x amount, then I’ll be happy.” But these days, l don’t see money necessarily as the end goal; it’s a tool to help me get closer to the actual goals I have in my life…which includes investing in myself and creating memories and experiences with people I love. 

I couldn’t help but wonder what you all would say… So over the past couple months, we’ve asked y’all to share what you’ve learned from listening to the show…

Camila: Hi Reema, it’s Camilla calling from Toronto. I’ve actually learned something about love from your show. I know that sounds overly sentimental, but love, working through the difficulties around money, finances, all it represents, and also going it alone, making those choices to build the life for yourself. So, thank you.

Beth: Hi, this is Beth calling from New York, New York, and I’ve learned from listening to your podcast that people really hate talking about money. And so, honestly, I now just will talk about money. I’m in a union, so my co-workers and I all make the same amount of money, but I’ll bully them. I’ll be like, did you sign up for your 401k yet? Why not? You know, all that kind of thing. Forcing people get more comfortable with talking and thinking about money. 

Bruno: Hello there, my name is Bruno. I was born in Brazil, and I’m speaking from Brisbane, Australia. I was always suspicious that I made a lot less money than my friends, and after listening to your show, I felt more comfortable to open up and discuss this with them. And then I realized how far behind I was. I was basically making about 60 percent of most of my friends around me. And so I told myself that I’m going to choose the company I’m going to work at, I’m going to choose the position that I’m going to be in, and I’m going to choose my pay. And so I did! I basically doubled my pay, when I moved out of one company to another company.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that this new job made it possible for me to start investing my money, and the money has grown for the past few years. And this week, I am about to make an offer on my first house. [laugh] So yeah, I couldn’t be happier and more sleepless! So thanks so much. Okay, bye bye.

Hallie: Hi, my name is Hallie. I’m calling from Madison, Wisconsin. Early on in my career, I always felt like I was, lucky to get a job, and therefore I never negotiated, and I even had a very – well, it was more than uncomfortable, it was a really, pretty awful experience of learning that I had been hired at a salary that was below even what they were supposed to give me. And then I had to confront my boss’s boss, and it was a whole thing. Anyways, I ended up leaving that job and in an exit interview, the president of the company said to me, “Don’t ever take a job without negotiating for a higher salary again. If they want you, they want you.” 

Daisy: Hi, this is Daisy from Chicago. I grew up with financial instability and with housing instability and eventually made choices that gave me those things. But I don’t have, you know, the 401k or the savings account that people like my colleagues, people in my professional world might have. And it’s just really difficult to talk about anything related to money and spending habits with my friends and all of them. And I just really appreciate this outlet to listen to other people’s stories because I end up feeling a little bit more comfortable with my relationship with money and where I’m at, where I’m not, and that means a lot to me.

Charlie: Hi, Reema. My name is Charlie de Kanter, and I’m calling from the Woodlands, Texas. I have listened to your show since the very beginning. There are so many things I’ve learned and taken away from your show. There’s a common theme I hear in many episodes that immediately transport me back to my youth. I can still hear my dad’s voice in certain situations saying, “Listen, it’s only money.” Now, they were words that simply didn’t resonate with me as a kid. “What do you mean, it’s only money? Money is everything!” Of course, as an adult, I understood what he was trying to teach me. The simple lesson that regardless of means and our own large or little amounts of money, disposable or otherwise, it should never dictate how we treat others, or define our social status or who we are as a person. Your show has revealed to me that what my dad forewarned me about all those years ago is more prevalent than I thought. So I’ve learned to listen to people, and of course your podcasts, with more empathy and compassion. So I’m grateful for dad’s lesson and to your show for reminding me of that every episode. Thanks for the great podcast.

Reema: That’s it for our anniversary episode. I really appreciate everyone who wrote in… it made me kind of emotional putting this episode together. I feel very grateful for you all, thank you so much for listening, for supporting the show over the years, and I hope you all keep listening. 

So this episode is the last one of our tenth season, but we will back next season with more uncomfortable stories. If you have an idea for us, a topic you want to cover, or want to share your own story, please let us know! I always love hearing from you all, you can drop us a line at uncomfortable@marketplace.org

We’re keeping the festivities rolling on social media, so be sure to check out Marketplace on, Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook andThreads… where we’re sharing a curated list of our staff’s favorite episodes and more behind the scenes moments. Plus, you can weigh in with your own takeaways and lessons learned using the hashtag #ThisIsUncomfortable

Also don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter if you haven’t already. There’s always great recommendations in there for things to cook or listen to or watch. This week, I’ll be sharing my reflections on the end of our 10th season… plus what lies ahead for season 11. You can sign up for that at marketplace.org/comfort  

Now one last thing before we go… meet the team:

Zoë:  Hi, I’m Zoe Saunders, the senior producer for TIU, and I produced this week’s episode.

Alice:  I’m producer Alice Wilder.  

Jasmine:   This is Jasmine Romero. I’m the editor. 

Drew:  This is Drew Jastad. I do the sound engineering for This is Uncomfortable,

Tony:  My name’s Tony Wagner. I edit the This is Uncomfortable newsletter. 

Reema: And I’m your host, Reema Khrais. Bridget Bodnar is Marketplace’s Director of Podcasts. Caitlin Esch is the Supervising Senior Producer. Francesca Levy is the Executive Director of Digital. Neal Scarbrough is Vice President and general manager of Marketplace. And our theme music is by Wonderly. Alright thanks again for listening over the years, we’ll be back in 2025. I’ll catch y’all then. 

Hayley (Kai voice): “This… is Marketplace.”

Reema (Kai voice): “This… is Uncomfortable.”