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Reasonably Optimistic — News
Reasonably Optimistic

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.

Copyright: © The Washington Post

Latest Episodes:

An economist explains why he’s still ‘bullish on America’ — AI and all Feb 11, 2026

Show notes

Artificial intelligence is moving fast, with new tools changing how people work, create and compete. Whether you’re an AI doomer or AI boomer, it’s hard to ignore what’s coming. Economist and professor Tyler Cowen has spent years analyzing how these developments could reshape the economy and everyday life. He joins host Megan McArdle to talk through how AI could transform talent, human capital and competition — and how to make sure you don’t get left behind.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

How can cities win back families? This developer has a plan. Feb 04, 2026

Show notes

Walkable neighborhoods, vibrant nightlife, the sheer bounty of it all. City living isn't for everyone, but it's amazing for the people who want it. Unless, that is, they also want a family.

Today's cities are designed for demographic churn — as a rest stop en route to the suburbs, rather than a place you can live a full life. That's bad for families and for America. Bobby Fijan is one of the people trying to fix that. He is the co-founder of The American Housing Corporation, a real estate development company building affordable, family-sized rowhomes in cities across America.

Fijan joins host Megan McArdle to explain how urban housing pushed families out of cities and how his company plans to bring them back.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

What Jason Rezaian learned after 544 days in an Iranian prison Jan 28, 2026

Show notes

This month marks the 10-year anniversary of Jason Rezaian’s release from imprisonment in Iran. In 2014, Rezaian — then The Washington Post’s Tehran bureau chief — was arrested with his wife at their home and detained in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison. He joins host Megan McArdle to discuss his time in captivity, Iran’s trajectory since his release, and what his experience reveals about press freedom — and its fragility — around the world. Read more in Rezaian’s book, “Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison.”

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What it will take to fix American policing Jan 21, 2026

Show notes

When Renée Good was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, it reignited a familiar debate. Was this another case of police brutality, or an act of self-defense? Protests followed. Politicians and public figures weighed in. But why does this keep happening—and how do we make policing better and safer for everyone?

Host Megan McArdle speaks with former New York City police commissioner William Bratton and former NYPD chief Kenneth E. Corey. They join Megan to discuss their work at University of Chicago’s Policing Leadership Academy, and advocate that the program, and more like it, can reduce violence and improve fairness in policing.

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Dry January? Sometimes drinking is part of the solution. Jan 14, 2026

Show notes

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 Your Way Sober."

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No blood for oil? That doesn’t make sense for Venezuela. Jan 10, 2026

Show notes

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, troubled history of Venezuelan oil and explains why the U.S. has a responsibility to help rebuild the country's economy.

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How the internet changed politics — and our lives — forever Jan 07, 2026

Show notes

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.

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Was 2025 the ‘end of America’? Of course not. Dec 31, 2025

Show notes

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Charlie Kirk was killed on her campus. This is what happened next. Dec 24, 2025

Show notes

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 and wisdom to get through. Plus, she shares the lessons she learned through the process to help other leaders — including the president of Brown University — who may find themselves in a similar position.

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‘The weirdest Democrat in America’ Dec 17, 2025

Show notes

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 McArdle to discuss Trump’s tariff and immigration policies, transgender care and how to make housing and health care more affordable.

Timecodes

00:00 Welcome Gov. Jared Polis

01:27 Jared Polis’s entrepreneurial start

03:54 Three most important qualities in an entrepreneur

04:28 Most important qualities in a governor

05:00 Transition from tech to government

05:52 Transition from Congress to governor

07:03 First year as Governor

08:20 Regulation of Tech Companies

11:45 The “Pro-business,” “Pro-trade” Party

15:02 Are tariffs shifting voters?

16:35 Being pro-freedom

17:22 The only Democrat in The Liberty Caucus

18:39 The polarization of transgender care

22:59 The Jared Polis brand of politics

23:29 Making health care more affordable

27:40 Making housing more affordable

31:14 Does his politics have national appeal?

32:22 Jared Polis’s MAGA uncle

33:24 Can Americans be civil again?

34:55 How to fix Congress

36:02 The activist base of the Democratic Party

37:36 One thing to praise Trump on

38:32 Collecting Coins

41:02 What is Jared Polis reasonably optimistic about?

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