OM DENNE EPISODE
Candid, direct conversations about money—how much we have, where it comes from, and how it colors our day-to-day reality—are, at best, uncomfortable and, more often than not, avoided entirely. In her new book, Ten Lives: How What We Have Shapes Who We Are, the Pulitzer Prize–winning data journalist and illustrator Mona Chalabi takes this collective discomfort and holds it up to the light. Through the stories of 10 Americans across the economic spectrum, as well as her own, she explores how our financial realities collide with our identities, relationships, ambitions, fears, and deeper sense of security. The book is a natural extension of Chalabi’s vital work over the past decade, in which she’s honed a distinct ability to make complex data feel deeply human. Addressing a range of pressing issues, from human rights to the climate crisis, her hand-drawn illustrations foster greater understanding and clarity, challenging us to look more closely, to question what we think we know, and, perhaps most importantly, to feel something.
On the episode, Chalabi discusses the flawed premise of the American Dream, our often incorrect assumptions about wealth and class, and what the fear of not having enough costs us in the long run.
Special thanks to our Season 14 presenting partner, L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, supported by Van Cleef & Arpels.
Show notes:
Mona Chalabi
[01:12] Ten Lives: How What We Have Shapes Who We Are (2026)
[15:17] U.S. Census Bureau: Wealth of Households (2026)
[40:28] The Journalist and the Murderer (1990)
