Hey y’all, 

Reema here! We’re finally back with a new season of “This is Uncomfortable” — our tenth, which feels very strange to type! 

The team and I are excited to share what we’ve been working on these last few months. We’re kicking off the season with a conversation with poet, author and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib. Hanif and I chatted about his ambivalent relationship with success, the importance of community and how he thinks of redistributing his income. Our conversation, which is one of my favorites I’ve had on the show, made me think more deeply about how we relate to our communities, and what it means to actually invest in them. 

Hanif and I also talked a bit about grief, which is a topic we’re dedicating three episodes to later this season, specifically the intersection of grief and money. I know it can sound like a bleak topic, but our reporting took us in some unexpected and even joyful directions. There’s a rare coin collection, and the memory of a dog that led to surprising riches. Also in this season, we’ll dig into the world of alternative medicine and what it can look like to advocate for yourself in the workplace. 

Basically, we’ve got a wide range of episodes this season, and I really hope they resonate with you all in some way. If they do, please let us know. Seriously, I know all podcast hosts say this, but we really do love hearing from you all. That gets me to my next point: We’re planning a special anniversary episode, looking back at the last few years of the show. And we’d love to include your reflections too! 

Let us know how the show has impacted you — what’s something you’ve learned from listening to “This Is Uncomfortable”? How has your relationship with money or work changed? It can be a big or small thing, serious or funny. Maybe it’s something you heard that has stuck with you over the years or something that helped you shift your thinking. 

You can call and leave us a message at 347-RING-TIU (347-746-4848). Or you can record a voice memo and email it to uncomfortable@marketplace.org. Either way, you’ll want to include your name and where you’re from so we can include you in our episode. I’m excited to hear from you all! 

Alright, happy listening, and we’ll be back in your feeds next week with another new episode. 

— Reema

📚 Our next Uncomfortable Book Club selection! 📚

This week’s episode was inspired by one of our favorite recent reads, Abdurraqib’s latest book “There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension.” For the rest of season 10, we’ll be bringing you new book club interviews on the third Friday of each month!

In four weeks, we’ll be talking with Elizabeth Dunn, social psychologist and co-author of “Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending.” The book is from 2013, but Dunn’s advice and her five core money principles hold up.

Defend Your Splurge with Hanif Abdurraqib

Money messes with all our lives, but sometimes the right purchase at the right time can make things a little better. Tell us how you’ve treated yourself lately and we’ll include the best stories in our newsletter!

This week’s splurge comes from our guest on the show this week, Hanif Abdurraqib. This bit about his flower-buying routine didn’t make the episode, but we thought you all would dig it anyway.

I have a budget for flowers monthly, because it’s every other week. I go to the flower shop and I usually build out a bouquet on my own, so it depends on what they have, but I set like $110 aside for flowers every month, and usually I’m under that. Every now and then, you know, a bouquet will run me like $55 just because I go a little overboard, but generally they’re in the like $30 to $35 range.

The Comfort Zone

What our team is reading, watching and listening to this week.

• Abdurraqib recently published his first new poem in a while.
• Check out his profile of André 3000, too.
• We really needed to hear this.
• Rebuilding Gaza is complicated and costly.
• Some of us are already sick of “demure,” but it’s cool that Jools Lebron is making good money off her meme.
• Brands are using big data to predict if the influencers they hire will post politics alongside spon.
• Here’s a great tip for saving money without giving up the impulse buy dopamine hit.
• Alice loved the coming-of-age 2000s period piece “DÌDI.”
• Chappell Roan fans: Please chill out.
• Here’s an Uncomfortable but heartwarming story about being closeted on “Supermarket Sweep.”
• Who knew there were this many celeb brands? 
• Streaming is so over.
• From Metro: “I hate breakups, so I get ChatGPT to dump people for me.”
• We’ll leave you with a good season premiere song, from an album Abdurraqib has podcasted about: “Ready or not, here I come…”