The Edgy Optimist

The Edgy Optimist

Home
Notes
Archive
About
One Big Beautiful Country
As Washington consumes itself with the One Big Beautiful Bill and as the Second Season of the Trump Show launches a fragrance line of perfumes and…
 • 
Zachary Karabell
8
Getting Real
The 12-day air war between Israel and Iran, with a brief cameo bombing by the United States on three of Iran’s nuclear enrichment and weapons sites…
 • 
Zachary Karabell
17
Déjà vu All Over Again
Today’s reaction to the federal militarization of law enforcement against protests in Los Angeles is portrayed as a classic first step in a fascist…
 • 
Zachary Karabell
7
Most Popular
View all
Well, that happened...
 • Zachary Karabell
193
Hyperbolic Hyperbole
 • Zachary Karabell
49
A Realignment
 • Zachary Karabell
53
Launching The Edgy Optimist
 • Zachary Karabell
19
Season Premier
 • Zachary Karabell
42
"I'm Mad as Hell..."
 • Zachary Karabell
29
There’s A Lot Of Money Out There
The latest episodes of the Second Season of the Trump revolve around how much power the executive branch has and how much it should have.
 • 
Zachary Karabell
12
It's Not About The Plane
Far too often, the stories that dominate our discussions are not the ones that will matter most over the arc of time. The drama of “if it bleeds, it…
 • 
Zachary Karabell
5
Ailing States
Whilst the Second Season of the Trump Show continues to break ratings records, elsewhere in the world two events of lasting import are unfolding: one is…
 • 
Zachary Karabell
5
One Hundred Days of Solitude
It’s been said that it’s lonely at the top. It should now be said of the first 100 days of the Second Season of the Trump Show that, after all the…
 • 
Zachary Karabell
15
Schlock and Awww
There is an emerging global narrative that democracy is imperiled, and that with the seeming retreat of the United States as the arbiter of the economic…
 • 
Zachary Karabell
17
You Can't Step Into The Same River Twice
It’s Passover and Easter week in the Western world, and whether you are a believer or not, it seems fitting to pause for a moment and consider the wider…
 • 
Zachary Karabell
5
Trump's Power Has Peaked
In the space of a week, global stock markets sold off 15–20% on the announcement of U.S. tariffs and then rallied more than 10% when Trump announced a…
 • 
Zachary Karabell
6
The Edgy Optimist
The Edgy Optimist
Taking a weekly look at what might go right, rather than focusing relentlessly on all that is going wrong.
Recommendations
View all 32
Summation and Five Links by Auren Hoffman
Summation and Five Links by Auren Hoffman
Auren Hoffman
Silver Bulletin
Silver Bulletin
Nate Silver
After Babel
After Babel
Jon Haidt
The Bulwark
The Bulwark
The Bulwark
Study Marry Kill
Study Marry Kill
Alexis Coe

The Edgy Optimist

AboutArchiveRecommendationsSitemap
© 2025 Zachary Karabell
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture