The podcast episodes highlight how budgetary constraints have impacted the production of the Artemis program and the Survivor South Africa reality show, requiring the teams to be more resourceful and innovative.

In the Nature Podcast episode, the topic of tighter budgets for the Artemis program compared to the Apollo missions is noted as a programmatic challenge that NASA must navigate.

Similarly, the Reality Escape Pod episode discusses how the smaller budget for Survivor South Africa compared to the US and Australian versions has forced the producers to be more creative in their approach to storytelling and challenge design.