This Is Uncomfortable

Last spring, Jay Benedith and Ben Williams matched on a dating app and quickly hit it off. But just a few weeks into their budding romance, a Venmo request started to raise questions about their future together. What happens when your partner’s approach to money clashes with yours? Can nickel-and-diming jeopardize a connection?  If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And to get even more Uncomfortable, subscribe to our newsletter!

This week, we’re sharing an episode of another podcast we think you’ll love. “Notes From America With Kai Wright” is a show from WNYC Studios about the unfinished business of our history, and its grip on our future. In this episode, Wright interviews choreographer Bill T. Jones about his groundbreaking dance performance “Still/Here.” Jones shares his reflections on creating such an essential piece of performance art amid the AIDS epidemic and while grieving his own partner, what he learned from spending time with the “survivors” who inspired it, and how “Still/Here” has evolved for a new generation of audiences. To get even more Uncomfortable, subscribe to our newsletter!

What does it mean to make a living from death? From a young age, Joél Simone Maldonado was fascinated by mortality, leading her to a career as a funeral director, embalmer and sacred grief practitioner. In the final episode of our miniseries on grief and money, Reema Khrais talks with Joél about her profession: the tough conversations around money, the toll it takes on her mental health, and why she advocates for more cultural competency in death care. Also, Joél offers tips to financially prepare ourselves for the inevitable, and Reema reflects on the personal impact of her recent experiences with loss.  If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And to get even more Uncomfortable, subscribe to our newsletter!

In the early 90s, Mike Perry found himself in a tough spot. He was living a carefree life when he was asked to take in a black mutt named Wisdom. What began as a reluctant favor evolved into something much deeper — a bond that would reshape Mike’s financial future, even long after Wisdom was gone. This week, as part of our miniseries on grief and money, we explore how our love for pets shapes our financial decisions. Mike’s journey with Wisdom takes him from heartbreak to an unexpected windfall. And then later in the episode, we ask: is there such a thing as spending too much on our pets? Reema Khrais talks with Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams about the emotional and financial costs of caring for a beloved pet in their final days. If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And to get even more Uncomfortable, subscribe to our newsletter!