It’s the most wonderful time of the year and, if you’re not careful, it could be the most expensive. The day after Thanksgiving has historically been the official start of the holiday shopping season, but we’ve been seeing Black Friday deals advertised earlier each year.

Moreover, Americans are increasingly concerned about the rising costs of food, housing and health care. Throw in the longest government shutdown in U.S. history and recession-level layoffs in the private sector and money might be tight for many households this holiday season.

Personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary joins host Colby Itkowitz and explains how you can avoid overspending on gifts and holiday celebrations. Singletary gives us permission to scale back for the holidays and prioritize togetherness over consumerism.

Today’s show was produced by Charla Freeland. It was edited by Reena Flores and Ted Muldoon and mixed by Sean Carter.

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A group in D.C. ditched their smartphones for a month. Washington Post reporter Brittany Shammas joined them. Here’s what she learned.

If you want to learn more about Brittany’s story, you can read it here.

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Today’s show was produced by Maggie Penman and Ted Muldoon, who also mixed the show.

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After months of buildup, Congress voted to release the Epstein files on Tuesday. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law. But language in that legislation leaves wiggle room for the Justice Department to hold back some of the files, and questions remain about how much transparency the measure secures.

Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with Justice Department reporter Jeremy Roebuck and Dan Merica, co-anchor of The Washington Post’s flagship politics newsletter, The Early Brief. They talk about this latest step in the Epstein saga and also unpack some recent setbacks facing the second Trump administration. And they answer a question from an Early Brief reader about gerrymandering in Texas.

Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff and Josh Carroll. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Alec Dent and David Lauter.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here. Watch this episode on YouTube here.