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Optimist Economy

Optimist Economy

Kathryn Anne Edwards and Robin Rauzi 68 Episodes Sep 1, 2026

Optimist Economy is an anti-doomscroll economics podcast hosted by economist Kathryn Anne Edwards and editor Robin Rauzi. Each week they break down one economic problem affecting American life, such as work rules, tax fairness, healthcare, housing, or retirement, and offer a practical solution. They use data, history, humor, and a belief that tools for a better economy exist but remain untried. New episodes arrive on Tuesdays.

Episodes

The U.S. is in the Hole. Will We Stop Digging?
The U.S. is in the Hole. Will We Stop Digging? Sep 1, 2026 51:44 (Originally aired June 10, 2025) The national debt is $36 trillion. That could be a panic-inducing big number. So maybe it will help to understand how we ran up that debt. We've blown 37% of it on tax cuts, with precious little to show for that. But 28% went to stabilize the economy during two major crises (in ‘08-’09 and during the COVID pandemic), which is when you do want the federal g
Occupy! An Unfinished Uprising: The Invitation (Ep. 1)
Occupy! An Unfinished Uprising: The Invitation (Ep. 1) Aug 11, 2026 38:07 Optimist Economy is on break this month, but we know that optimist listeners are interested in tales of economic history, issues of inequality and movements for change. So we thought some of you might enjoy "Occupy!" a six-part narrative series about  Occupy Wall Street, the 2011 protest village that lasted nearly two months and turned a spotlight on systemic economic inequality in the U.
Stop Donating Your Vacation Days to Your Boss
Stop Donating Your Vacation Days to Your Boss Aug 4, 2026 50:20 Nearly 90% of private-sector workers get paid vacation days from their job, but a Pew survey found 46% leave at least some of it on the table. Government survey data also show that the share of workers who are on vacation in any given week has fall by about half between 1980 and 2022. Blame thin staffing, guilt culture, and “PTO bundles” that push people to ration days between vacation da
The Government is Already Paying for Your Health Insurance, Buddy
The Government is Already Paying for Your Health Insurance, Buddy Jul 28, 2026 48:19 About 18% of U.S. GDP every year gets spent on health care. Half of that, 9%, is coming from the government, which is about the whole cost of  other countries’ public health programs. In other words, for what the U.S. spends on Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, VA benefits, and the tax write-off for employer-sponsored plans, we could have free basic health insurance for everyone. This is why t
Mr. Justin Time Sets a Cruel Work Schedule
Mr. Justin Time Sets a Cruel Work Schedule Jul 21, 2026 48:39 Just-in-time scheduling lets an algorithm decide when — and whether — millions of people work. Surveys find 40% of shift workers (mostly in retail and food service) don’t know their schedule a week in advance. They can also get sent home mid-shift or asked to be on call, unpaid. Studies show that more than 50% of hourly workers’ income swings up to 30% month-to-month, making it hard to bu
Young Americans Should Be Raising Hell About Social Security
Young Americans Should Be Raising Hell About Social Security Jul 14, 2026 44:08 Nobody has more riding on any changes to Social Security than people under 40. The trust fund is currently projected to run dry in the fourth quarter of 2032, but it could be sooner. Every election, starting in November, selects the lawmakers who will shape the program’s future. Neglecting to fix its finances will mean an automatic 22% cut to everyone's benefit. But for Millennials and Zo
Simple Immigration Economics: Bigger is Better
Simple Immigration Economics: Bigger is Better Jul 7, 2026 52:06 (Originally aired 6/24/2025) One in five workers in the United States was born in another country. Without them, the country’s prime-age workforce would be shrinking, and thus so would our economy. So the calumny (Terms & Conditions) directed at immigrants is at odds with the basic fact that the U.S. needs them. What about depressing wages? Research finds such a mixed bag of results t
America at 250: Case for the Defense
America at 250: Case for the Defense Jun 30, 2026 52:37 It’s the United States’ semiquincentennial … and one of us is not feeling it. The other is literally carrying a flag in her bag — and that’s just her road flag. Kathryn Anne Edwards makes her case for optimism right now: The U.S. is undergoing one of the most dramatic demographic and cultural shifts of any industrialized nation. Americans agree that Congress is broken. And the people's ag
Optimist Q&A: The AI Bubble, the Rapture, and Free Lunch
Optimist Q&A: The AI Bubble, the Rapture, and Free Lunch Jun 23, 2026 52:18 We can’t give financial advice. Or feedback on your 20-page tax proposal. But economist Kathryn Edwards did take a run at nearly 20 listener questions in under 60 minutes. Among them: Why care about birth rates if robots are taking all the jobs? What happens if the AI bubble bursts? Will the dollar collapse? Can the bond market sway the White House? Plus: Why the minimum wage matters even
Inflation Risk is the Wrong Recession Lesson
Inflation Risk is the Wrong Recession Lesson Jun 16, 2026 49:38 This might be the most dangerous economic assertion circulating today: the high inflation from 2021-2023 was caused by government stimulus. The talking point on the right goes: the third COVID-era stimulus checks landed in March 2021, prices took off, case closed. Of course reality is more nuanced. And most serious estimates pin only a point or two of the inflation peak on the bill; the r
Make the Economy Work for Freelancers, Too (#askingforafriend)
Make the Economy Work for Freelancers, Too (#askingforafriend) Jun 9, 2026 48:09 Thirty million Americans, more or less, work for themselves. They freelance, do gig work, have solo LLCs, or — as a certain economist says — participate in “ non-employee employment.” The economics of their situation is harder than it needs to be. Making self-employment more viable is good for everyone in the labor market, because when workers have options, they also have more power. Plus
About That College Grad Who Can’t Find a Job…
About That College Grad Who Can’t Find a Job… Jun 2, 2026 58:49 (Originally aired 7/1/2025) Newly minted college graduates are having a harder time landing that first job than in recent years. Is it AI? Is college useless? Is it a crisis? (No. No. And not yet…) College graduates under 27 still have significantly lower unemployment rates (5.8%) than high school graduates of the same age (6.9%). What economist Kathryn Edwards finds worrying is that thes

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