The Edgy Optimist

The Edgy Optimist

Home
Notes
Archive
About
The Affordability Hoax
Oh, how the proverbial worm turns.
 • Zachary Karabell
Context Over Outrage
I’ve often remarked in these pieces over the past year that taking a less pessimistic stance about the world today can be enraging to many people, as if…
 • Zachary Karabell
Tariffs and Tallies
n the United States, this was a banner week of off-year elections and Supreme Court oral arguments on the legality of many of Trump’s tariffs.
 • Zachary Karabell
If Trump Does It, Does That Mean It’s Wrong?
As the 2020 pandemic was unfolding, I wrote a piece with the deliberately provocative title, “If Trump says it, does that mean it’s not true?” Now, as…
 • Zachary Karabell
Popcorn Politics
After two weeks in Western and Central Europe, it’s clear to me that many people around the world are misreading the endless obsession with American…
 • Zachary Karabell
Charlie Kirk, Free Speech and American Hysteria
The past decade has seen a rising intolerance of free speech, on the left with what has loosely been called “woke” and on the right in its backlash…
 • Zachary Karabell
The Virtues of Discontent
In a Gallup poll released this week, American support for capitalism reached its lowest point since the survey began, with only 54% having a positive…
 • Zachary Karabell
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
Study Marry Kill
Study Marry Kill
Alexis Coe
Freddie deBoer
Freddie deBoer
Freddie deBoer
Granite Goodness
Granite Goodness
Andy DeMeo
Gray Mirror
Gray Mirror
Curtis Yarvin
Slow Boring
Slow Boring
Matthew Yglesias

The Edgy Optimist

AboutArchiveRecommendationsSitemap
© 2026 Zachary Karabell · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture