We live in a world that rewards us for producing, and producing, and producing. But why is it that no matter how much we do, it never feels like enough? This week, we’re going to look at our obsession with productivity — the exhausting effort to be completely optimized in work and outside of it.

Productivity won’t save you

This is a show about life and how money messes with it. Each week, Marketplace’s Reema Khrais digs in with stories about the unanticipated ways money affects relationships, shapes identities and often defines what it means to be an adult. How much money do you lend a friend? Who can afford to vote? Can you get your life back after being wrongfully convicted?

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Doris Tyler has energy well beyond her 80 years. Even after retiring from her career as a music teacher, she remained active in her community — driving to church events, coming up with creative surprises for all her grandchildren. But then one day, she realized her vision was so blurry she couldn’t safely drive. When traditional medical treatment stopped working, Doris’ community came together to help her pay for a brand-new medical technology: stem cell injections. 
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The promise of a miracle cure

Lorena has been a garment worker in Los Angeles for over twenty years, going to work each day in a small factory to sew trendy fast fashion clothes for pennies per item. But one day, she decided enough was enough, and she took a stand against the poor work conditions and low pay. In part two of our mini-series on fast fashion, we look at the system of production: who pays the price for cheap clothes? And how might that system change for the better?
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The high price of cheap clothes















What’s behind our desire to reinvent ourselves through fashion? Is it even possible to shop sustainably? This week on the show, Reema sets out to answer these questions with help from fashion educator and sustainable stylist Lakyn Carlton, who shares her own journey away from fast fashion. Plus, producer Alice Wilder takes Reema on a thrifting journey in North Carolina, hunting for work clothes that will allow Reema to feel like herself without breaking the bank. This is Part 1 of our two-part miniseries on the costs of fast fashion. First up, we look at escaping the cycle of overconsumption.

To learn more about how fast fashion impacts climate change, check out this episode from Marketplace’s “How We Survive.” 

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No more panic shopping

Lindsey Niehay dreamed of being a doctor since she was a teenager. But when she graduated from medical school and started a residency program in emergency medicine, she felt like her weight drew negative attention from colleagues. Then, she learned about the conversations happening behind her back. This is a story about how weight discrimination can derail a career, and why our legal system doesn’t offer the protections you might expect.
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The bias we don’t talk about

A while back, we asked you to share your money struggles, and we heard from many of you! In today’s episode, we booked a session with financial therapist Megan McCoy to answer your burning financial questions — everything from navigating financial differences among friends and talking to an avoidant partner about money plans, to making big career decisions and learning how to curb spending.
As promised, here are some of the research studies and articles discussed in this episode:




“Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness,” by Elizabeth W. Dunn, Lara B. Aknin, and Michael I. Norton, as well as Dunn’s TED Talk on the same topic



 



“If Money Doesn’t Make You Happy Then You Probably Aren’t Spending It Right,” by Elizabeth W. Dunn



 



“Heads or Tails: The impact of a coin toss on major life decisions and subsequent happiness,” by Steven D. Levitt



 



“Harvard Study of Adult Development” and an awesome TED Talk by Robert Waldinger, the project’s director




Take the Klontz Money Script test to measure your core money beliefs.




 
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Productivity won’t save you

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