So Money with Farnoosh Torabi

Sometimes making work more fair doesn’t require a sweeping policy change or a million-dollar program. Guest Siri Chilazi is a researcher at Harvard who studies gender equity, workplace behavior, and decision-making. She is also the co-author of the bestselling book Make Work Fair, written with behavioral economist Iris Bohnet.

Siri’s work challenges one of the most common assumptions we make about inequality at work — that the problem is biased people who need to be “fixed.”
Instead, her research shows that unfairness is baked into systems, processes, and everyday practices — how we hire, evaluate, promote, pay, and even run meetings.

In this conversation, we talk about:

What fairness actually means — and how it’s different from equality or equity
Why traditional DEI programs often fall short
The small, evidence-based changes that make the biggest difference
What employees at any level can do to create fairer workplaces
And why transparency and clarity are among the most powerful tools leaders have

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Imagine a world where you were no longer expected to compete. That’s the world today’s guest, Ruchika T. Malhotra, invites us to imagine—and to start building.

You may remember Ruchika from her last appearance on So Money, when she turned our understanding of imposter syndrome upside down, revealing it not as a personal flaw, but as a systemic one. Her new book, UNCOMPETE: Rejecting Competition to Unlock Success, does something equally radical: it questions the very belief that competition is healthy—or even necessary—for success.

Ruchika argues that our obsession with rivalry and scarcity thinking has made us anxious, exhausted, and disconnected. She calls for a new framework built on collaboration, abundance, radical generosity, inclusion, and solidarity—principles that might sound soft, until you realize how much they fuel innovation, well-being, and long-term wealth.

*This episode first aired on October 29, 2025.*

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**This episode is a replay. It first aired on November 7, 2025.**

We’re doing something a little different this week. My guest is my friend and financial planner, Georgia Lee Hussey, founder and CEO of Modernist Financial, and together we’re unpacking the Big Beautiful Bill and what it means for your taxes in 2025 and beyond.

We explore how this new legislation could impact everyday taxpayers, what it reveals about our national priorities, and how we can each align our financial decisions with our values. It’s a thoughtful and, yes, sometimes political conversation—because as Georgia reminds us, taxes are political.

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January always asks big questions of our money—and this one felt especially heavy. In this solo episode, Farnoosh takes a step back to reflect on what the first month of the year has revealed about our finances, our fears, and our priorities. From midlife money check-ins to the idea of “financial coasting,” this conversation is about being honest about where you are—not where you think you should be—and redefining progress as stability, maintenance, and intention.

Farnoosh revisits standout moments from January’s most impactful conversations, including a full-circle interview with David Bach, whose Automatic Millionaire helped shape her own financial life, and a candid discussion with Jesse Mecham of You Need a Budget on why being “good at money” has far less to do with income and far more to do with clarity and calm. She also breaks down her recent conversation with college-planning expert Patricia Roberts on the true cost of college, the ROI question families are wrestling with, and how student debt can quietly shape a lifetime.

The episode closes with a reflection on the emotional weight of the month and a call for accountability, drawing on recent remarks from Andrew Ross Sorkin about systems, responsibility, and leadership.

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College today can easily cost six figures — even at public universities — and yet so many families still feel completely in the dark about how to prepare for it without sacrificing their own financial future.

My guest today knows this stress intimately.

Patricia Roberts grew up in a low-income household and nearly didn’t attend college at all. A guidance counselor once suggested she stick with her waitressing job instead. But she pushed forward, working multiple jobs, sending money home, earning not just one degree, but eventually a law degree. That education changed her family’s life… but it also came with over $100,000 in student loan debt that took two decades to repay.

That lived experience is what fuels Patricia’s passion today. She’s spent more than 25 years working with 529 college savings plans — from helping launch some of the earliest plans at Citigroup to advising families and employers on how to use them smarter, earlier, and with far less fear.

In this episode, we break down what 529 plans really are — and what they’re not. We tackle the biggest myths, from “What if my kid doesn’t go to college?” to “Will this hurt financial aid?” to “Is college even worth it anymore?” We also dig into major new changes that make 529s far more flexible than most people realize — including using them for trade schools, certifications, student loan repayment, K-12 expenses, and even rolling unused funds into a Roth IRA.

More about Patricia: She is Chief Operating Officer of Gift of College, Inc., where she helps employers improve employees’ financial well-being by offering student loan repayment assistance and matching contributions to 529 college savings and ABLE (disability savings) accounts.

Patricia is also the author of Route 529: A Parent’s Guide to Saving for College and Career Training with 529 Plans, a book she wrote with some extra time on her hands during the pandemic to help educate and inspire even more parents.

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