Thanksgiving Prep: An Optimist’s Guide to Dinner Table Debate
Optimist Economy
Kathryn Anne Edwards and Robin Rauzi
4.9 • 829 Ratings
🗓️ 20 November 2025
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Your drunk uncle calls Social Security a Ponzi scheme. Your crypto-bro cousin thinks tariffs make China pay. Your grandfather blames working women for tanking wage growth. Economist Kathryn Edwards takes on a dozen hostile dinner-table challenges to help optimists everywhere prepare for dinner table debate. Robin plays every annoying relative you've ever argued with. Pass the [expletive] gravy.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, Optimists, it's Robin. |
| 0:02.1 | We are, as you know, on hiatus, but we have a little surprise episode for you while Catherine's off on her family leave. |
| 0:09.6 | We did want to tell you about two updates. |
| 0:11.7 | One is we have a new website, and more importantly, on that website, you can find our merch store. |
| 0:16.7 | So if you need a tote bag and who doesn't, go to optimisteconomy.com and we'll help you out. |
| 0:28.3 | Hello and welcome to Optimist Economy. |
| 0:30.4 | I'm Catherine Ann Edwards, economist. |
| 0:32.5 | I'm Robin Rousey, editor. |
| 0:34.6 | On this show, we believe the U.S. economy can be better, and we talk about how to get there |
| 0:38.5 | one problem and solution at a time. And if there were ever a time to talk about problems in the United |
| 0:48.7 | States, it's at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Optimist economy is in the middle of a break |
| 0:54.1 | between season one and two, but we recorded this |
| 0:56.9 | episode in October before I went on maternity leave to keep our fellow optimist rhetorically |
| 1:02.9 | armed and ready for the holiday. |
| 1:05.0 | So if you're new to the show and haven't heard us before, we encourage you to check out |
| 1:08.4 | our back catalog. |
| 1:10.1 | Each episode takes on a different |
| 1:11.4 | socioeconomic problem, but we're going to have fun with this one. This is a bonus episode. |
| 1:15.5 | Our listeners have told us that we are a mix of humor, education, hope, joy, insights in a way |
| 1:22.0 | that is, quote, unquote, delightfully unhinged and quote unquote, an assault on the medium |
| 1:26.7 | of podcasting with our lack of |
| 1:29.2 | professionalism. So y'all, let's bring it to the Thanksgiving table. Let's get ready. |
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