All Episodes
Reasonably Optimistic — 164 episodes
Why homeownership feels impossible for Gen Z
What America got wrong about drug addiction
Lonely Gen Z needed this wake-up call
This actor drove 10,000 miles to ask men about loneliness
The problem with ‘Tax the rich!’
How populists turn distrust into power
Why Europeans are falling in love with America
What happened when fashion moved online
What's behind the South's sudden boom
Modern dating is miserable. Can it be fixed?
Voters can push back against unsavory politicians
Is there such a thing as too much empathy?
Gen Zers don’t cook. It’s costing them.
Do aliens exist? I asked an astrophysicist.
How weddings got so expensive
Why $1 million doesn’t feel rich for Gen Z
Why everyone is talking about peptides
What’s going on with Ebola and hantavirus?
Is life better in Europe? It's not so simple.
Men are falling behind. Let's talk about it.
The problem with celebrity politicians
What prediction markets tell us about the future
Introducing ‘Make It Make Sense’: Should you be worried about hantavirus?
Tax the rich! But then what?
Why is anger so addictive? A psychologist weighs in.
Longing for 'simpler times'? Consider this first.
Why Americans aren’t having as many kids
Everyone wants to live like an influencer now
How Americans developed an unhealthy relationship with the Supreme Court
The temperature is rising on AI. What comes next?
I'm not anti-tax. But this one should go.
What a Catholic feminist dares to say
Where AI will be in a year — and in a decade
Health care is life or death. How can Americans be rational about it?
Universities charged into the culture wars. Now they’re fighting to get out.
How America keeps reinventing itself
What comes next in Iran
AI is coming. Is there enough power to run it?
Forget the best president. Who was the most underrated?
Dating is a market. Here's how to hack it.
An economist explains why he’s still ‘bullish on America’ — AI and all
How can cities win back families? This developer has a plan.
What Jason Rezaian learned after 544 days in an Iranian prison
What it will take to fix American policing
Dry January? Sometimes drinking is part of the solution.
No blood for oil? That doesn’t make sense for Venezuela.
How the internet changed politics — and our lives — forever
Was 2025 the ‘end of America’? Of course not.
Charlie Kirk was killed on her campus. This is what happened next.
‘The weirdest Democrat in America’
The sci-fi writer who predicted the future
Introducing 'Reasonably Optimistic'
I got cancer. And met a different me on the other side.
The horrors of modern-day travel
Want to find a wife? Be a better man.
Lending a hand doesn’t require being armed
A message from ‘Impromptu’
Why does the Epstein story keep on going?
The paradox of fixing airline travel
Trump breaks with Putin. But will it last?
The rare band that knew when to walk away
Alligator Alcatraz and the loss of America’s soul
Can nature help fix our brains?
This ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ got even worse
The generational shift coming for Democrats
Did Trump just bring peace to the Middle East?
Lonely? Call your AI best friend.
Why the U.S. should stay out of Iran
When the military gets politicized
Are the immigration protests a turning point?
Trump 2.0 is changing the meaning — and feeling — of Pride
Is Trump chickening out on foreign policy?
Movies in 2025: reduce, reuse, recycle
Can universities survive this?
We’ll defend Sesame Street with our life
There’s nothing beautiful about this big bill
AI is getting smarter. But are we?
The Art of the Grift
Birth rates are falling. So what?
Trump’s math is just … no
What college costs — and what it’s worth
Has it been 100 years? Or 100 days?
Why religious people are happier
RFK Jr. just doesn’t get it
Has the right revived comedy — or destroyed it?
Will Trump blink on deportation?
Does anybody want to visit the U.S. right now?
How many ‘shocks to the system’ can America take?
Don’t whitewash this national treasure
Is gravity catching up to Trump?
Why we want to believe in every wellness fix
Make Democrats excited again
Well, at least we aren’t severed or stuck at a White Lotus
Just come in legally, they said
Some beautiful, slightly deranged ideas for more sunshine
Trump’s shock-and-awe strategy hits the economy
Out with the girl boss, but in with…what?
Did Trump’s address to Congress trap Democrats?
The Oscar films ask more questions than they answer
The right-wing media machine is now the U.S. government
Is America trying to rebrand?
Will Trump sell out Ukraine?
More pennies, more problems
Trump fought the law. Will the law win?
Remote work changed the country. Can it change back?
Elon Musk seems to want to break government. Can anybody stop him?
As companies take sides, does it matter where we buy?
Trump is playing all his cards all at once
Is it time to delete our social media accounts?
Trump: The Sequel
Alcohol is linked to cancer. But isn't everything?
Big houses, small houses, we just need (a lot) more houses
The laughs, heartbreaks and hopes of 2024
Luigi Mangione's motives — and ours
Americans don’t like experts? Send in the clowns.
Mexico vs. Trump: The rematch
Searching for gratitude
She’s the future. How does the government keep her?
RFK Jr. has some good ideas. It’s what makes him so dangerous.
Trump 'Resistance' didn't work. What will?
This is bigger than any one mistake Harris made
It’s Election Week. Grab the whiskey.
Are Republicans Kamala-curious? Not so much.
To tip or not to tip? That is now the question. Everywhere.
Doritos and cocaine: Harris and Trump try out podcast populism
‘I exist because of this piece of paper’
Just how bad will the Middle East get?
How a cyber sleuth in the IRS takes down terrorists
JD Vance had nowhere to go but up
What’s a government for? Let me count the ways.
The meaning of ‘Jeopardy!’ in a post-truth America
To find new planets, you have to dim the stars
The real reasons Americans are having fewer kids
Harris wiped the floor with Trump. But what did we learn about her?
What do men want?
Why not pay teachers $100,000?
Out with the old at the DNC
Surviving Putin's gulag: Vladimir Kara-Murza tells his story
Tim Walz won’t hurt Kamala Harris. Will he help?
The misery of airline travel might be our fault
Introducing, "The Sports Moment"
Can Kamala Harris win?
Republicans are euphoric. Can it last?
Democrats feel doomed. What’s the least risky move?
America, we love you. But it’s hard.
Biden finally overshadowed Trump, in all the wrong ways
Is the smartphone panic dumb?
Movie theaters are dying. Do you care?
Why can't Americans agree on immigration?
So you married a Supreme Court justice
An impromptu ‘Impromptu’: Processing Trump’s conviction
Do we actually want AI that seems human?
Is home ownership the wrong dream for America?
Rethinking identity in a fractured America
It's bigger than Caitlin Clark
Fewer Americans believe in God. Is that a problem?
Campuses are wrestling with the politics of war. So are we.
Is Trump above the law? The Supreme Court weighs in.
What the 'tradwife' trend says about modern life
How to cope with the absurd, high-stakes 2024 election
What we saw on the ground in Ukraine
Biden is pushing EVs. Who actually wants them?
What to expect when you’re expecting an abortion pill argument
A fresh new 'Impromptu'