Reema Khrais

Reema Khrais is the host of This Is Uncomfortable. Follow her on Twitter here.

How did you get introduced to the podcasting space?
It kinda happened by chance! I’d been working as a radio reporter for Marketplace when they held an internal podcast pitch competition. At the time I was a general assignment reporter, covering everything from immigration policy to the retail industry, and I realized I kept gravitating towards human interest stories; I was more interested in talking about people’s emotions and motivations, than getting an expert on the line. So, I pitched a podcast where I could basically do that. At first, the podcast was called “Adulting” (very glad we didn’t go with that!) because I wanted to focus on younger people’s experiences with money/economy, but we quickly broadened the lens once we started piloting the podcast.

How much help do you have making each episode?
It’s a real team effort! I work with a senior producer, 2-3 producers, an editor and an intern. We’re a very collaborative team. Each episode is led by a producer, but everyone contributes at some point in the process. For example, we have table reads where folks give feedback, and everyone chimes in with notes throughout the different stages of an episode.

This Is Uncomfortable relies heavily on storytelling, why did you decide to go that route with it?
I love storytelling! But to be honest, at first, I wasn’t totally sure of that direction. During the piloting phase, Hayley Hershman, a producer at Marketplace, and I spent months testing out a few different formats. I tried talking to professor/expert types and we considered interviewing celebrities, but none of that felt quite right. I really wanted the show to feel relatable. And I didn’t want us to get lost in the world of personal finance just because the podcast is about money.  

I was far more interested in the emotional side of money, how this thing we rarely talk about dictates our choices and relationships. So, we just decided to really focus on people’s personal stories as a way of exploring larger societal and structural issues -- and also just featuring intimate conversations about money we don’t typically hear! 

What do you hope the show does for people?
I hope this show challenges people to think more deeply about their own relationship with money. Money can reflect our values and how we want to organize our life, but our relationship to it is also shaped by things beyond our control, like our upbringing and systemic disadvantages. So, by thinking of our personal relationship to it, I hope it also encourages people to think more critically of larger, systemic problems like wealth inequality and discrimination. 

I also hope it just gets people talking more about their money! I think there’s a tendency to be polite and diplomatic when it comes to certain topics around finances, but that’s just holding us back and creating unrealistic expectations. 

I loved “Why Don’t You Fix Your Teeth” but was it uncomfortable to record? How did you get Ryanne to open up?
Yes, there were definitely uncomfortable moments! For context, this episode featured one woman’s experiences growing up with “bad teeth” and how that impacted the financial trajectory of her life. 

Our producer, Peter Balonon-Rosen, did really phenomenal work on this episode. He met Ryanne through Redditt and pre-interviewed her, before scheduling an interview for the podcast. Between me and Peter, we probably talked with her for at least five hours, trying to understand her experiences, which I think helped her gain our trust. 

But, really, most of our interviews take that long. After a producer pre-interviews the person, we usually do one long interview that can last anywhere from two to four hours. Then, after we write the first draft of the script, we usually do a follow-up interview to fill in any gaps. We often joke on our team that a good interview can feel like a therapy session because the guest is often connecting dots in real time. It’s a patient process.  

Anyway, I digress! So, with Ryanne, I think the most uncomfortable moment was when she decided to take off her dentures during the interview. None of us anticipated she was going to do that, and I’m not sure she did either. She feels too embarrassed to even do that in front of her husband. But she felt compelled and empowered in that moment to be totally real and vulnerable. So, on second thought, it was more of a beautiful moment, than an uncomfortable one. 

How can storytelling help people with their relationship to money?
It can make people feel less alone. We frequently get emails from listeners telling us they felt seen listening to an episode, especially if we’re touching on a sensitive topic like financial infidelity or financial abuse, which rarely get talked about. Actually, more and more, our episodes feature listeners sharing stories they were inspired to talk about openly after listening to the podcast.

Is there a type of money story that you like to talk about the most?
I love money stories between couples. People don’t usually talk openly about their marriages, let alone about how they manage their finances, so I’m always SO intrigued when a couple willingly and eagerly shares their experiences with us. One of my favorite conversations was with Lindsay and Chris from season four -- they talked about how money impacts the balance of power in their relationship, and didn’t hold back.

Thanks, Reema!