Season 4 has been our favorite season yet of The Fairer Cents, and today we're talking about our favorite moments and reading lots of listener mail we've received, some of it inspiring to financial feminists everywhere, and some of it heartbreaking.  We'll be back soon, so make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss any new episodes when they're ready. And in the off-season, check out the links below for all the places you can find Kara and Tanja online. Stay safe and healthy! Kara: Kara's site, Bravely Kara's Instagram Kara's Twitter Tanja: Tanja's site, Our Next Life Tanja's book ..read more

This is the second episode in a two-part mini series on money in our relationships, today exploring money and family (most especially parents), AND it’s the last full episode of season 4. Before we dive in to talk about family, we’re talking about the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and the stock markets crashing, because they’re way too important not to discuss, including steps to take with your money and how to make sure you prioritize self care at a time that feels completely chaotic, especially for women. Our guests to talk about navigating financial family relationships are Cameron Huddle ..read more

This is the first episode in a two-parter about how money impacts our relationships, and how we talk about money within those relationships. Within friendships, it’s a big social taboo to discuss money, right up there with politics and religion, but there are massive benefits that can come from breaking that taboo, from getting to know your friends on a deeper level, to feeling seen and known yourself, to even opening up the opportunity to do cool projects with friends (like this podcast!). Our guest is Kiersten Saunders, who writes the blog Rich & Regular with her husband Julien, and who ..read more

This is the second in a two-part series on the evolving nature of careers, especially as it pertains to women and people of color, today focusing on the myriad ways our current work world doesn't work for women. We've talked before about the economic disadvantages that mothers face in the workplace and across their entire careers, as well as the costs of beauty double standards, but we're now layering in the costs of disability -- which will affect 1 in 4 women during our lifetimes -- and how our economy forces many women to be seen as disruptors whether they want to be or not. Our guests are ..read more

This is the first in a two-part series on the evolving nature of careers, especially as it pertains to women and people of color, today focusing on creating your own path when there is no road map, whether that's because you're trying to break into a legacy industry without connections, or because you're literally heading out into uncharted territory. Our guests are Jada Gomez, senior platform editor at Medium (and formerly of Bustle, Time, People and a slew of other prestigious media outlets), and Paula Pant, creator and host of the Afford Anything podcast and blog, both of whom got where the ..read more

This is the second part in a two-part series on women speaking, focusing today on our actual voices and how they are heard (or not heard) by our bias-filled culture. There is a ton of research showing that women and men are perceived differently when we speak, and that's both socially wired and generational. Like in so many parts of the economy, women are held to an impossible standard where you lose no matter what: either you're too assertive or you're not assertive enough. You're not authoritative enough or you're bossy. Our guests are Kristen Meinzer (host of the By the Book podcast along w ..read more

This is the first part in a two-part series that is years in the making, and a topic close to our hearts. The fact is that when women and people from marginalized groups speak, it’s heard differently than it is when men speak. So we’re digging into that, today starting with the more figurative meaning of women’s voices, as in women daring to speak up and fight for something they believe in. Our guests are Noami Grevemberg who Instagrams about the lack of inclusivity in #vanlife at @irietoaurora, and Julia, a trans woman suing the state of North Carolina for its discriminatory health care polic ..read more

Today we’re completing the two-part series on the economic implications of reproducing, talking about the costs – often mysterious -- of giving birth for women and others who can get pregnant, especially in the U.S. In this episode, Kara talks to Carol Sakala from the National Partnership for Women & Families about the actual costs of delivering a baby, and shares an audio essay on the range of known and unknown stats a mother must contend with when pondering the costs of delivery. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the episode, so please email us at fairercents@gmail.com or hit us up on T ..read more

Today’s show is the first in a two-part series all about the economic implications of reproducing — or not reproducing. On the next episode, we’ll talk about the wide range of financial implications of giving birth for women and others who can get pregnant, but today we’re talking about the massive financial impacts of not being forced to have children you don’t want to have for any number of reasons, impacts that go well beyond women themselves. In this episode, Tanja talks to Brigette Courtot of Urban Institute about the economic impacts on women of having access to birth control, and Kara t ..read more

This week, we conclude our two-part series on wellness by focusing on diet and weight loss, the real centerpiece of the entire wellness industry. Just how big a business it is, the lengths the industry goes to to hide itself, and how it hurts us as women in particular. Feminist dietician Rachael Hartley talks to us about how we’ve focused too much on diet and fitness in our quest to be healthier (or, really, thinner), and Tanja looks at the fat phobia that’s the real motivator behind so much of our wellness and weight loss obsession. Big thanks to Freshbooks for sponsoring season 4 of The Fair ..read more