Reasonably Optimistic

Host Megan McArdle breaks down why the corporate tax system is so complex, costly and potentially inefficient — and explores a bold idea: What if we eliminated it altogether? From hidden economic trade-offs to who really pays corporate taxes, this episode challenges how we think about fairness, efficiency and the future of taxation.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

In recent years, the idea of a “crisis of men and boys” has taken center stage in the cultural conversation. That can feel like a pendulum swing: from making space for women to examining men’s struggles, rarely holding both in view at the same time. Some see this moment as a reaction to the 2010s — an era shaped by “girlboss” ambition, #MeToo and a renewed focus on women’s advancement and autonomy. So, what gets missed when these struggles are framed as separate?Host Megan McArdle is joined by Leah Libresco Sargeant, senior policy analyst at the Niskanen Center and author of "The Dignity of Dependence: A Feminist Manifesto." Sargeant offers a different lens — challenging the idea that independence is the ultimate goal and instead pointing toward a more interconnected understanding of men and women.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

From AI-generated scams that cost Americans hundreds of dollars to voice cloning schemes, the line between real and fake is becoming harder to detect. At the same time, technology companies are setting their own limits on how these artificial intelligence tools can be used. This is raising new questions about who really controls this technology — and what that will mean for our future.Host Megan McArdle is joined by Dean Ball, a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and former White House AI policy advisor, to unpack the rapidly shifting landscape of AI governance, what it will take to rein it in — and what comes next. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

When UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed on a Manhattan sidewalk in December 2024, the nation was stunned. But the act of violence exposed the fury simmering beneath America’s health care debate. For many, the system feels impossibly expensive, confusing and unfair — especially when compared to other countries.Host Megan McArdle is joined by Dr. Ashish Jha — physician, public health expert and former White House covid-19 response coordinator — to unpack what’s really going on inside the U.S. health care system. They explore why costs are so high and what it would actually take to build a system that works better for everyone.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Until recently, universities were widely seen as places for asking questions, debating ideas and accessing upward mobility. Now, they’re just as likely to be seen as battlegrounds in the culture wars. As public trust eroded and political scrutiny intensified, a bigger question emerged: When did this shift happen? And more importantly, can it be repaired?Host Megan McArdle is joined by Daniel Diermeier, chancellor of Vanderbilt University. He is trying to answer those questions not just in theory but in practice. Drawing on his experience leading a university, Diermeier shares where he thinks universities have gone off course, what needs to change and what’s still worth protecting — and whether they can once again become places where more people feel they belong.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

How can the U.S. lead in rebuilding industrial capacity? Christian Keil believes the answer lies with American dynamism. He is a partner at a16z, who sees technology as a key to our future. Even through uncertain times and sharp competition from China. He joins host Megan McArdle to discuss his experience — from innovating satellite technology during his time at Astranis to now investing in companies through venture capital. He also gives more detail on his recently published the report "More Perfect," which explores how technology has shaped and will reshape America.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

On Feb. 28, the U.S. and Israel initiated strikes on Iran. What comes next? Host Megan McArdle sits down with Washington Post Columnist David Ignatius to discuss Iran's response, whether the U.S. can sustain a prolonged conflict, what the war signals to adversaries like China and the economic risks of a closed Strait of Hormuz.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

We hear a lot about what artificial intelligence can do. We hear a lot less about what it takes to run it. The explosion of AI depends on massive data centers — and massive amounts of energy. Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) joins host Megan McArdle to discuss how his views on AI have evolved, and to explore how his state — and the nation — can meet the energy and infrastructure demands of the AI boom.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

This week, we celebrated Presidents Day, which makes it a fitting time to recognize one of America’s most underrated presidents. Herbert Hoover presided over the onset of the Great Depression and is widely viewed as the inferior predecessor to Franklin D. Roosevelt. But, as host Megan McArdle explains, that judgment is unfair to Hoover. It also reflects a larger problem: the assumption that a president can singlehandedly fix or wreck the economy.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Want to win the dating game? Turns out business school has the playbook. Host Megan McArdle breaks down romance through Econ 101: addressable market, signaling, specialty products and sunk costs.Whether you’re single, swiping or settled down, this episode will reshape how you think about love and commitment. Because in relationships, the fundamentals still matter — and sometimes it pays to think like a market participant.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

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.

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.

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.”Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

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.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

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."Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

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.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

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 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.

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.Timecodes00:00 Welcome Gov. Jared Polis01:27 Jared Polis’s entrepreneurial start03:54 Three most important qualities in an entrepreneur04:28 Most important qualities in a governor05:00 Transition from tech to government05:52 Transition from Congress to governor07:03 First year as Governor08:20 Regulation of Tech Companies11:45 The “Pro-business,” “Pro-trade” Party15:02 Are tariffs shifting voters?16:35 Being pro-freedom17:22 The only Democrat in The Liberty Caucus 18:39 The polarization of transgender care22:59 The Jared Polis brand of politics23:29 Making health care more affordable27:40 Making housing more affordable31:14 Does his politics have national appeal?32:22 Jared Polis’s MAGA uncle33:24 Can Americans be civil again?34:55 How to fix Congress 36:02 The activist base of the Democratic Party37:36 One thing to praise Trump on 38:32 Collecting Coins41:02 What is Jared Polis reasonably optimistic about? Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

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.Timecodes0:00 Welcome to Reasonably Optimistic0:33 Who is Neal Stephenson?1:19 Living in the future3:25 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 wrongness17:43 What AI is good at18:56 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 jobs29:45 How tech founders got political34:37 Is Neal Stephenson’s work political?36:50 Technology is easier to predict than culture40:11 What is Neal Stephenson reasonably optimistic about?Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

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

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 againSubscribe to The Washington Post here.

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 menJulien Berman: No, Gen-Z men aren’t specialSubscribe to The Washington Post here.

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 wrongMegan 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 lifeRemote 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: Trump’s subordinates ran an Epstein Ponzi scheme. Now comes the bank run.Editorial Board: Conspiracy theories take root when government misleadsSubscribe to The Washington Post here.