America is becoming less religious — but the story is more complicated than empty pews. Host Megan McArdle is joined by political scientist and former pastor Ryan Burge to talk about the shifts taking...

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Populist candidates have a way of making politics feel simple. They tell voters that the problem is obvious, the villains are known and the solution is to break through corrupt institutions standing i...

YouTube video by Reasonably Optimistic

YouTube video by Reasonably Optimistic

Eating food cooked at home has traditionally been considered a cheaper option to ordering takeout. So why are so many in Gen Z choosing food away from home? Host Megan McArdle explores how convenience...

The world still needs human authors to generate wild ideas.

Soaring interest rates and entitlements are driving a massive debt.

The average wedding now costs $36,000, and many couples feel like they are being taken for a ride. From weekend bottlenecks and customization to family dynamics and the pressure to get everything righ...

Trust in public health institutions has fractured since the covid-19 pandemic began, even as the threat of new outbreaks remains. Ebola is spreading in parts of Central Africa. Hantavirus has left som...

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The infinite scroll could contribute to lower fertility rates and smaller graduating classes.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

Prediction markets are having a moment. But what are they actually good for? Economist Robin Hanson has been thinking about this for decades. Long before betting markets went mainstream, he argued the...

Scroll through enough retro photos or vintage ads, and it’s easy to convince yourself that life used to be simpler, even happier. But why does the past look better the farther away it gets? Host Me...

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AI can echolocate authors through their prose. Your digital fingerprint is at risk.

From politicians to Silicon Valley, a growing chorus is sounding the alarm and calling for more babies. But the story behind America’s declining birth rate is more complicated than headlines and polit...

Anxiety around artificial intelligence is reaching a fever pitch and sparking real-world consequences. Recent violent incidents tied to opposition against data centers highlight growing public backlas...

YouTube video by Reasonably Optimistic

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....

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 throu...

YouTube video by Reasonably Optimistic

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. Jak...

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 c...

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 w...

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 c...

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 h...

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-defe...

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 writt...

There's a word for what they're doing.