# What’s behind the financial strain Americans are feeling?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/mpr-news-with-angela-davis-239489/what-s-behind-the-financial-strain-americans-are-feeling
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/mpr-news-with-angela-davis-239489/what-s-behind-the-financial-strain-americans-are-feeling.md
Podcast: [MPR News with Angela Davis](https://stenobird.com/podcast/mpr-news-with-angela-davis-239489)
Published: 2026-08-31T14:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2026/08/31/whats-behind-the-financial-strain-americans-are-feeling
Audio file: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/5/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/tracking.swap.fm/track/VnCzW2iO9G8z4eDWfXCd/play.publicradio.org/podcast/o/minnesota/podcasts/angela-davis/2026/08/31/ad-financial-strain_20260831_64.mp3?awCollectionId=apm-ADavis&awEpisodeId=01M14J96M8HVM622JZFVNS4FMJ
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/mpr-news-with-angela-davis-239489/episodes/what-s-behind-the-financial-strain-americans-are-feeling
Duration seconds: 2822

## Resource

Many Americans are finding it harder to stretch their budgets — and wondering when they’ll feel some financial relief. Inflation, higher gas prices and difficulty keeping up with bills and other payments — like buy now, pay later loans — are straining household budgets, while tariffs and changing trade relationships, including with Canada, raise concerns about additional costs. MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about why so many people feel financially squeezed, what’s driving these pressures and what they reveal about the broader economy. Guests: Chris Farrell is the senior economics contributor for MPR News and Marketplace. Catherine Rampell is economics editor at The Bulwark, an independent media company. She is also an anchor at MS NOW, formerly MSNBC, and a contributor to Marketplace. She previously worked as an opinion columnist for The Washington Post and was an economics reporter for The New York Times. Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts , Spotify or RSS . Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

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## Transcript

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