Reasonably Optimistic

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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.

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

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14 min
24-12-2025

Charlie Kirk was killed on her campus. This is what happened next.

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. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

44 min
17-12-2025

‘The weirdest Democrat in America’

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? Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

44 min
10-12-2025

The sci-fi writer who predicted the future

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 is Neal Stephenson? 1:19 Living in the future 3:25 Neal's origin story 5:18 The disruptive effects of new technology 8:18 The premise of The Diamond Age 14:23 AI’s confident wrongness 17:43 What AI is good at 18:56 Is AI good for kids? 20:03 Fixing education in an AI world 23:14 Will AI make nerds less valuable? 26:44 AI is eliminating entry level jobs 29:45 How tech founders got political 34:37 Is Neal Stephenson’s work political? 36:50 Technology is easier to predict than culture 40:11 What is Neal Stephenson reasonably optimistic about? Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

43 min
03-12-2025

Introducing '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. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

2 min
19-09-2025

I got cancer. And met a different me on the other side.

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 post-chemo self. See Rachel’s hair transformation here: My cool cancer story | Opinion Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

13 min
12-09-2025

The horrors of modern-day travel

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 is semi-dead. People have thoughts. Rick Reilly: I have decided never to go outside again Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

13 min
05-09-2025

Want to find a wife? Be a better man.

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 pay on the first date, whether we’re heading toward a world of surplus men and how to be a man women want to marry. Here’s the study Richard mentions from the American Institute for Boys and Men: Will college educated women find someone to marry? Additional reading by our columnists: Shadi Hamid: Men are struggling to find love. Here’s why. Rahm Emanuel: What’s really depressing America’s young men Julien Berman: No, Gen-Z men aren’t special Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

23 min

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TRAILER

Introducing '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. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

03-12-2025

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2 min

Post Reports is the daily podcast from The Washington Post. Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Everything you’ve come to expect from the newsroom of The Post, for your ears. Martine Powers and Elahe Izadi are your hosts, asking the questions you didn’t know you wanted answered. Published weekdays around 5 p.m. Eastern time.

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DAGELIJKS NIEUWS
“Try This” from The Washington Post is a series of audio courses designed to jump-start the parts of life where we can all use a few pointers — with pithy, snackable solutions you can easily use. Host Cristina Quinn brings exactly the right amount of motivation with her endearing enthusiasm and the curiosity to learn along with you. Each course is a quick and practical guide that provides new perspectives on the kinds of hurdles we all share. If you’ve been searching for the right place to start, Try This.

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ZELFHULP
Every minute of your morning counts. Host Hannah Jewell takes you through the seven most important and interesting stories of the day, with the reporting and insight of The Washington Post. Get caught up in just a few minutes every weekday at 7 a.m.

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DAGELIJKS NIEUWS
The Washington Post's Presidential podcast explores how each former American president reached office, made decisions, handled crises and redefined the role of commander-in-chief. It was released leading up to up to Election Day 2016, starting with George Washington in week one and ending on week 44 with the president-elect. New special episodes in the countdown to the 2020 presidential election highlight other stories from U.S. presidential history that can help illuminate our current moment. Hosted by Lillian Cunningham, the series features Pulitzer Prize-winning biographers like David McCullough and Washington Post journalists like Bob Woodward. [When you're done, listen to Lillian's other historical podcasts: Constitutional and Moonrise]

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GESCHIEDENIS
“Truer, but also darker.” This is the real origin story behind America’s decision to go to the moon. The story we learn starts with Sputnik, then President Kennedy’s challenge, and ends with triumph: an American flag on the lunar surface. But in the 50 years that have passed since the moon landing, as presidential documents have been declassified and secret programs have been revealed, a wilder story has begun to emerge. “Moonrise,” a new Washington Post narrative mini-series, digs into the nuclear arms race of the Cold War, the transformation of American society and politics, and even the birth of science fiction, to unearth what really drove us to the moon. Join host Lillian Cunningham (of the Presidential and Constitutional podcasts) as she uncovers a story that has so much to reveal about America -- and about the dreams and nightmares of being human on this Earth.

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GESCHIEDENIS
With a typical search warrant, police are supposed to knock and announce themselves. But with no-knock warrants, police can force their way into people’s homes without warning. This six-part investigative podcast from The Washington Post sheds light on how easy it is to plan, obtain and execute no-knock warrants — one of the most intrusive and dangerous police tactics. We explore the consequences when these warrants become the rule, rather than the exception. Hosted by investigative reporters Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca, “Broken Doors” is about how no-knock warrants are deployed in the American justice system — and what happens when accountability is flawed at every level.

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Megan McArdle

Host

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.