This Is Uncomfortable

“This Is Uncomfortable,” our podcast all about life and how money messes with it, returns for our seventh season on Oct. 6.

This season, we’re looking at some of the expectations we carry with us about how life should play out, and all the ways money can interfere with the best-laid plans and lead us to a totally different reality...

Tasha met Stewart soon after she finished high school and was working as a dance instructor in Las Vegas. He promised her the world — but instead gave her a life very different from her  romantic dream. Over the next two decades, he pressured Tasha into providing emotional and financial support while she and their six children lived in poverty and isolation...

What do dried apple slices, bear spray and divorce debt have to do with the Jan. 6 insurrection? You’ll find out in this episode. When Stewart Rhodes launched the alt-right militia group the Oath Keepers, his wife, Tasha Adams, hoped that this just might be the key to a better life for their family. And right away, the Oath Keepers started attracting a lot of attention … and money. Stewart was finally getting the following and admiration he’d always told his family that he deserved...

Halloween is almost here, which means it’s time for some Money Horror stories!

When Abigail Keel got a call saying she might be a victim of identity theft, she had no idea what to do. All she could hope for was that the government official on the other line could help her protect her savings. We’ll go on that harrowing journey with her.

Then, Zinzile Sibanda couldn’t have been more excited about being a bridesmaid in her college best friend’s wedding...

When Joe Hanson got the call to start a varsity esports team at the local community college, he didn’t know what to think. He already had a full time job. He had a family to think about. And this coaching gig, it was basically a glorified volunteer position. Plus, he didn’t even know what “esports” really meant...

This week, we’re running a story from WUNC’s award-winning sex and relationships podcast “Embodied.” Each week, host Anita Rao guides listeners on an exploration of our brains and our bodies that touches down in taboo territory.

Anita does not work with her boo, but after sharing home office space for two pandemic years, she’s started to wonder how couples who *do* work together make it work...

How much generosity is too much? Would you pay for your friend’s lunch every week? Or risk falling behind on bills to pay for a Christmas gift? And what does it take to ask strangers to be generous with you? We tend to think of generosity as a good thing, but it can also get… complicated. This week: three stories about giving and receiving generosity, and how it changes our relationships and ourselves...

How far would you go to right a wrong? When Kari meets a nice man on a dating site, it feels like a dream come true. But when the relationship turns into more than she bargained for — she sets off on a crime-fighting quest that forces her to reevaluate her world and herself.

This episode was reported and produced by Peter Balonon-Rosen, edited by Karen Duffin and engineered by Drew Jostad.

Marriage is all about beginnings, but staying married can often depend on how well two people adapt to change. The changes for Taylor and Gavin have been constant in the 14 years since they said, “I do.” There have been struggles and arguments over money, or the lack thereof. But even when money’s been the problem, having more of it hasn’t always been the solution...

“Life Kit” host Marielle Segarra asks friends and family for advice on how to overcome her new-job jitters, meet new colleagues at NPR and stay confident.

“Life Kit” was produced by Summer Thomad.