Reasonably Optimistic

Journalist Katie Herzog was 12 years old when she first drank alcohol. It wasn’t until her 30s that she decided to quit. She tried everything — Alcoholics Anonymous, cleanses, therapy, yoga — but nothing stuck. Eventually, she turned to an unorthodox approach: the Sinclair Method. Katie joins host Megan McArdle to explain this science-based path to sobriety and how it inspired her book, " Drink Yo...

Early on Jan 3, news broke that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had been captured by U.S. troops and was being flown to New York to stand trial. Later that day, President Donald Trump said the United States would take control of Venezuela’s massive oil reserves. Protests erupted almost immediately, reviving the Iraq War–era slogan, “no blood for oil.” Host Megan McArdle breaks down the long, t...

Matthew Yglesias has been a disrupter his entire career. He started as an early adapter to the web, running a blog before blogs were a thing. He went on to co-found the media company Vox and has written all over the internet. He joins host Megan McArdle to discuss their career trajectories and how the internet has changed both media and politics.  Subscribe to The Washington Post here .

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After Charlie Kirk’s death on her campus, Utah Valley University president Astrid Tuminez found herself in an impossible position. She was at the helm of Utah’s largest public university and had to find a way to lead her campus after the tragedy. Now, at the end of the fall semester, she joins host Megan McArdle to discuss how her faith, upbringing and love for her community gave her the strength...

There’s no one in politics quite like the Democratic governor of Colorado, Jared Polis . He's a serial entrepreneur who cashed in on the dot-com boom and has pushed back on over-regulation of artificial intelligence and the tech industry. He’s in favor of abortion rights, but was against overregulation of mask mandates. He's pro-business and pro-weed. The “pro-liberty” governor joins host Megan Mc...

Science fiction writer Neal Stephenson predicted the metaverse, wearable tech and artificial intelligence long before those technologies arrived. What does he think of it all now? Host Megan McArdle talks to Stephenson about the future of AI, education and social media — and how his fiction became a window into the culture of Silicon Valley. Timecodes 0:00 Welcome to Reasonably Optimistic 0:33 Who...

Enough with the doom and gloom — we’re ready to talk about how America can thrive. Hosted by Washington Post Opinion columnist Megan McArdle, “Reasonably Optimistic” is your weekly conversation about how America can get unstuck and build a better future. Stop feeding your rage and start embracing our possibilities. Episodes drop Wednesdays. Subscribe to The Washington Post here .

After chemotherapy, Post Opinions writer Rachel Manteuffel felt like she was encountering a bald stranger every time she looked in the bathroom mirror. But then came the curls and lots of other surprising phenomena that science hasn’t been quite able to explain. She shares her story and her conversation with YouTuber and science explainer Hank Green, who had similar strange experiences with his po...

Where have all the benches gone? Deputy Opinion Editor Mark Lasswell reflects on the causes and consequences of the “defensive architecture” replacing seating in public spaces. Plus, contributing columnist Rick Reilly shares just how hard it’s become to find an Airbnb or VRBO that doesn’t feel like the inside of a Target. Additional reading by our columnists: Mark Lasswell: This punctuation mark i...

American women have grown more independent economically in recent decades, giving them greater choice in whom to date or marry — and the choice to opt out altogether. But where does women's rising stock leave men, and how is it connected with today’s so-called masculinity crisis? Post columnist Shadi Hamid talks with Richard Reeves, founder of the American Institute for Boys and Men, about why to...

Additional reading by Washington Post columnists: Colbert I. King: The spirit of Old Dixie rises in D.C. Shadi Hamid: My gut instinct on Trump’s D.C. power grab was wrong Megan McArdle: D.C. has a real crime problem. Federal control won’t solve it. Subscribe to The Washington Post here .

We’ve got some news. Read more about Dana’s new venture: We are losing our humanity. I am searching for an antidote . Enjoy some of our favorite episodes: What do men want? Is it time to delete our social media accounts? What the ‘tradwife’ trend says about modern life Remote work changed the country. Can it change back? AI is getting smarter. But are we? Subscribe to The Washington Post here .

Try as he might, President Trump cannot seem to shake the controversy over his former friend Jeffrey Epstein. Why are people so interested in this case, and what are the political opportunities and costs? Dana Milbank, Jason Willick and James Hohmann discuss how this story might end, and whether it’s the one scandal that could finally stick to “the Teflon Don.” Additional reading: Jason Willick: T...

It’s summertime, and when you’re traveling by air, flights are often overbooked, seats are cramped, and unexpected cancellations and delays feel all too frequent. Why do passengers find themselves in this situation, and is there a way to make it better? This week, we’re revisiting an episode with Charles Lane, Catherine Rampell and Marc Fisher exploring how, when people primarily look for the lowe...

The weapons deal President Trump announced this week marks a shift in his attitude toward Russian President Vladimir Putin and the full-scale invasion in Ukraine. But can it shift the trajectory of the war? If not, what will? Damir Marusic, Max Boot and Kori Schake discuss what the deal means for Ukraine and how Trump’s growing hawkishness will play to his “America First” supporters.   R...

A lot of famous bands go on long past their prime, doing nostalgia tours and squeezing their hits for all they’re worth. But not R.E.M., one of the biggest bands in the world during a stretch of the 1990s. The band went from regularly playing shows for more than 100,000 people to calling it quits. Contributor Will Leitch, who occasionally bumps into the former members of R.E.M. in the grocery stor...

A new immigrant detention center in Florida has been dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” by Republicans, who are now selling merch around the pop-up prison. It’s just one more stunt in a long line of immigration performance from President Trump and his administration. But is all this just a distraction from the difficulty of actually fulfilling his mass deportation campaign promises? And what happens to p...

Last month, Post columnist Dana Milbank hiked part of the Appalachian Trail with his brother. Along the way, he detached from the news and reacquainted himself with nature. In the process, he received a real-life lesson about how the world around us can reduce cognitive fatigue and enhance well-being. He reflects on his journey in a recent essay. Check out some of the other columns about Milbank’s...

Additional reading by our columnists: Ramesh Ponnuru: The Republican shell game on tax cuts Natasha Sarin: This senator’s comment on Medicaid cuts was brutal but accurate Subscribe to The Washington Post here .

Democratic socialism has notched another victory. Zohran Mamdani’s win over the establishment is just the latest in a line of self-proclaimed socialist candidates who’ve been invading the Democratic Party for the past decade. See: Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But are people actually drawn to the policies and ideology of socialism, or is it about something else? Molly Roberts, Drew...

After much hemming and hawing, President Trump joined the Israeli attack on Iran over the weekend. He’s now declared a ceasefire, but it’s off to a shaky start. So was the U.S. bombing a success and what’s next in the Middle East? Can the current leaders in Iran and Israel ever actually come together? Columnist Dana Milbank talks with Jason Rezaian, former Tehran correspondent at the Post, and Emi...

AI has become the one-stop solution to most of the problems we face. But can it truly substitute for human relationships? Drew Goins is joined by Post Opinions editor at large Bina Venkataraman and inclusion strategist Charlotte Marian Pearson to discuss the rise of AI companionship and what could be lost as more and more people get closer to this new technology. Subscribe to The Washington Post h...

With Israel’s relentless attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites and top military leaders, the country is on the verge of catastrophe and major change. But what are Israel’s end goals, and does it need the United States to achieve them? Dana Milbank is joined by Jason Rezaian and Keith Richburg to talk through what’s happening in the Middle East and how the politics are playing out in an interesting way b...

As troops descend on Washington to show off U.S. military might, the National Guard is being sent to respond to protests in Los Angeles and accompany ICE on raids. At the same time, President Donald Trump is saying the military’s mission is not to spread democracy, but to “dominate any foe.” Contributing columnist and Navy veteran Theodore R. Johnson joins Drew Goins and Molly Roberts to discuss w...