Reasonably Optimistic

Public confidence in higher education has been eroding for years. Rising costs, uncertain job prospects and political conflict have led many people to question whether colleges still serve the public. But trying to fix that by slashing research funding or putting campuses under tighter government control could destroy a lot of what makes them valuable.

Host Megan McArdle argues that universities must confront their credibility crisis by recruiting a wider range of viewpoints, stepping back from institutional politics and recommitting to open debate. Meanwhile, conservatives must decide whether they want to reform higher education or merely punish it.

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Relationships have always required compromise and patience. But dating apps, social media and therapy-speak can make ordinary human flaws feel like reasons to walk away. So, when is it right to leave and when are we giving up on people too quickly?

Host Megan McArdle talks with psychotherapist, author and New York Times “Ask the Therapist” columnist Lori Gottlieb about ghosting, going no-contact, unrealistic dating standards and what actually makes relationships last. They also discuss how to tell the difference between settling and choosing wisely, why the perfect partner does not exist and how giving people grace can make us less lonely.

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For generations, owning a home was seen as the first real step into adulthood: a place to raise a family, build wealth and claim a piece of the American Dream. But for Gen Z, soaring prices, high mortgage rates and a shortage of starter homes have pushed even modest houses out of reach.

Host Megan McArdle argues that young Americans really have received a worse housing deal than earlier generations. But the era of cheap, abundant homes to buy was shaped by forces we cannot simply recreate, and a good life does not have to begin with buying the perfect house.

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The drug crisis in the United States did not begin with fentanyl. It began with a series of choices that seemed compassionate at the time — prescribing opioids for people in pain, scaling back punishment and trying to make drug use safer. But addiction spread, fentanyl changed the stakes, and the solutions no longer fit the crises unfolding in communities.

Host Megan McArdle talks with Keith Humphreys, a Stanford professor and psychologist, about what America got wrong about drug addiction, why overdose deaths are finally falling, where harm reduction lost its way and what a better approach could look like.

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Gen Z has been told a lot of things about loneliness: that it’s caused by phones, social media, remote work, dating apps, the pandemic, the decline of third places and a culture that makes staying home easier than ever. But what if the more uncomfortable truth is that loneliness is also something people have to actively fight?

Host Megan McArdle talks with Wall Street Journal editor Emma Camp about her essay “Loneliness Is for Cowards,” why so many young people seem afraid of embarrassment and rejection, and how to start making real friends again.

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