The Edgy Optimist

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…

Nov 13 • 

Zachary Karabell

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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.

Nov 7 • 

Zachary Karabell

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October 2025

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…

Oct 24 • 

Zachary Karabell

10

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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…

Oct 10 • 

Zachary Karabell

14

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September 2025

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…

Sep 22 • 

Zachary Karabell

13

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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…

Sep 10 • 

Zachary Karabell

11

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August 2025

The Scandal is What's Legal...

Last week, the Trump administration nominated E. J. Antoni, chief economist of the Heritage Foundation, to be the new commissioner of the Bureau of…

Aug 18 • 

Zachary Karabell

20

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The Trade War is Over

On April 2, Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs on almost every country in the world, with 10% tariffs across the board and additional rates…

Aug 1 • 

Zachary Karabell

13

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July 2025

A Contented Summer of Europe’s Discontent

One of the subplots of the wavering support of the United States for Ukraine has been whether the European Union can possibly fill whatever void is left…

Jul 16 • 

Zachary Karabell

12

8

2

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…

Jul 3 • 

Zachary Karabell

11

9

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June 2025

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…

Jun 25 • 

Zachary Karabell

14

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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…

Jun 13 • 

Zachary Karabell

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