Retcon on Season One (+ Executive Orderpalooza)

Summary

Podcast Summary: Optimist Economy

Episode: Retcon on Season One (+ Executive Orderpalooza)
Hosts: Kathryn Anne Edwards & Robin Rauzi
Date: October 21, 2025

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Overview: A Reflective Season One Finale

In this special season finale, economists Kathryn Anne Edwards and co-host Robin Rauzi take a step back to recap, reflect, and laugh about their first year making Optimist Economy. Rather than tackling a specific economic policy problem, this episode is a joyful “retcon” (retroactive continuity), revisiting lessons learned, the podcast’s origins, and the evolution of their mission to empower and inform Americans about building a stronger, fairer economy. The final third features listener-submitted “executive orders”—quirky, practical, and wishful policy ideas, read and discussed with warmth and wit.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Podcast’s Origin Story and Early Days

• Kathryn recalls calling Robin to pitch the podcast:

  "It's been almost exactly a year since you called me out of the blue and said, hear me out." (01:35)
  Robin admits she’s “still at ‘I’m not saying no,’” while Kathryn jokes that season two’s goal is to get an enthusiastic “yes.”

• Their original vision was highly prepared, “tight” episodes—contrasted with current, looser, sometimes chaotic but heartfelt shows.

Memorable Moment:

"As opposed to our advanced amateur podcasting days." – Robin (04:20)

Timestamps:

• Podcast beginnings: [00:53]–[02:29]

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2. Learning and Growing with Listeners

• Both hosts are surprised and moved by listener engagement—from social media DMs to detailed emails and voicemails, especially after sensitive episodes like paid family leave.

• Kathryn shares the delightful disruption of economic jargon entering her friends’ conversations:

  "When we said we wanted to inform people and help them talk about the economy, it was just to ruin their language as much as mine is ruined." (08:24)

• Robin is tickled that high school friends “caught up” on the podcast road-tripping, blending it into real-life discussions.

Timestamps:

• Listener reactions: [06:28]–[12:16]

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3. The Podcast as an Anchor During Turbulent Times

• The show started just after Trump’s return to the presidency, amidst “hard news days”—which turned out to be near daily.

  "We knew there would be hard news days ahead... I don't think we knew it would be every single one of them." – Robin (04:59)

• They reflect on their intent to create a “safe space” for optimism, even as political events (firings of federal officials, attacks on institutions) became deeply personal. Kathryn notes:

  "You just put it in a box and just, like, lock it up… Actually, most therapists will tell you repression is a really good technique and you should do it more often." (14:40)

• Robin credits the show with helping her process news and resist paralyzing despair:

  "Despair is paralysis… Grief is something that you go through, you don’t just stop at. But despair is paralysis.” (14:05)

Timestamps:

• Processing Politics & Pessimism: [04:29]-[18:10]; [12:43]-[14:27]

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4. The Power of Optimism and Looking Forward

• Both hosts are motivated by focusing on the future, not just reacting to negativity. Robin shares:

  “Think about what you want, don't think about what you don't want.” (16:08)

• There’s ongoing discussion of balancing realism and optimism:

  "I feel like, oh, I am an eternal optimist. Like, in my soul. It's not a persona I put on..." – Kathryn (29:16)

• Kathryn also highlights the podcast’s value for economists—not every “sciencer” wants to be a public communicator, but the show brings specialist knowledge into the mainstream.

Timestamps:

• Optimism and forward thinking: [17:05]-[22:29]; [29:16]-[30:49]

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5. Behind the Scenes: Building the Podcast & the Non-profit

• Both joke about their amateurism and how much effort goes into each episode; Robin laughs about hearing Kathryn’s voice so much during editing.
• They never anticipated episodes becoming so long (“funniest part… how tight we thought we were…” [19:22]), and moving across the country during the season didn’t stop them from weekly releases.
• Optimist Economy is now a non-profit—not just a podcast, but aiming for broader education and empowerment. Kathryn also teases a forthcoming book.

Timestamps:

• Production & growth stories: [18:38]-[28:34]

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6. Executive Orderpalooza: Listener-Submitted "Executive Orders"

A highlight segment features light-hearted, practical, or wishful “executive orders” sent in by listeners (and family members), including:

• Buildings keeping matching paint to cover graffiti (Nicole in Maryland) [34:05]
• Manufacturers required to put barcodes in logical places (Lee in Chicago) [34:30]
• Mandatory service year for HS grads, funded by auditing the military (Sarah in DC) [35:13]
• No more credit card requirements for free trials, instant call-back for customer service (Roman in WA) [38:41]
• Job postings must include compensation and clear process details (Mandy in Georgia) [39:01]
• Mandatory recognition of all podcast producers and team members at the end (Amanda in MA) [39:25]

Notable Quote:
“We were gonna sell our soul to Big Cinnamon. Big Sin plays. I get so many Big Sin comments of, like, Robin, your dislike of the Cinnamon agenda is amazing.” — Kathryn (25:44)

Timestamps:

• Executive Orders: [33:43]-[40:29]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “Despair is paralysis. Grief is something you go through, you don't just stop at.”
  — Robin quoting Peter Kalmus (13:31)
• “The only thing that shines through is my love for the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”
  — Kathryn (25:19)
• “If all you do is respond to what you hate... you're not thinking about what you do want.”
  — Robin (30:30)
• “I try so hard to make sure everything I say is accurate, and I end up listening to the show four times…”
  — Kathryn (20:50)

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Final Reflections and Farewell for Season One

• Both express gratitude for their listeners (“original optimists”), their spouses, and their small production team—publicly recognizing staff by name, fulfilling Amanda from Massachusetts’ “executive order.”
• Kathryn assures listeners that season two will be a “disaster” in the most optimistic, growth-filled sense.

Timestamps:

• Closing thanks: [40:21]-end

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For Listeners: Why This Episode Matters

This episode captures the heart of Optimist Economy: transparent, vulnerable, witty, and deeply invested in both economic issues and the people affected by them. Expect laughter, candid self-examination, and a contagious sense of hope. It's not just a review of content—it's a window into why the show exists, who it's for, and what might come next.

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For more information or to get involved:

• optimisteconomy.com
• Email: [e-mail]

Transcript

[A]

I was talking to someone who's a journalist. This is not good, by the way. I'm really professional. I was talking to some outlet about something. Anyway, they recorded me. It was all on the record, so I hope I sounded okay.

[B]

Sorry.

[A]

I don't even remember what I was gonna say. That Victory. We're done for the season. Cut it right there. I got Robin to do a spit tank. Okay. Hello, and welcome to Optimist Economy. I'm Katherine.

[B]

I'm Robin.

[A]

On this show, we believe the US Economy can be better, and we talk about how to get there one problem and solution at a time.

[B]

Except not this week.

[A]

Except not this week. We aren't talking about a problem or a solution unless it's a problem with the show because this is our last show of the season. And when we started this, we kicked off with an introductory episode of who we Are, what we were doing, how I tricked Robin into doing this with me, at what point she lost free will and said yes. And now we want to end the season with, you know, a show about I don't know how to go where we are. Where we are. We typically start off after announcements. We go into retcon, but really, this show is just one big retcon. It's my dream episode.

[B]

I was actually thinking, you know, that it's been almost exactly a year since you called me kind of out of the blue and said, hear me out.

[A]

Hear me out, hear me out.

[B]

And I had no idea, no idea what was coming.

[A]

Yeah. But I did know that your wife liked our Zoom chats, so I was like, maybe just ask her what she thinks before you say no. Do you want to just check with your wife real quick? I was so willing to go above you.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. I think at the time I said, I'm not saying no. I think was my answer.

[A]

Oh, it was such a victory. I was like, oh, my God. She didn't say no.

[B]

I'm kind of still at. I'm not saying no.

[A]

Our goal for season two is to get Robin to be like, yes, I'll do this.

[B]

Yes, I'll keep doing this.

[A]

Yes, I'll keep doing this. So this is one big retcon, which I think we don't need to do terms and conditions or, you know, we could just go. Unless you had one that you wanted to do.

[B]

I don't have a term or a condition. Do you?

[A]

I mean, I had kind of a silly one, which is that I read my 3 year old a book about Marie Curie, and when they described it back to me of like, can you read this book? They referred to Marie Curie as a sciencer instead of a scientist. And I just thought, that's awesome and better. We should have sciencers. We shouldn't have scientists. We should have sciencers. And I was like, you know, mama's kind of a sciencer. There was, like, a little bit of a moment of like, does mommy have a Nobel Prize? Because the key part of the book is that Marie Curie has two, in fact. So, you know, mom's a basketball.

[B]

There are sciencers, and then there are sciencers.

[A]

Yeah, Marie Curie was a real sciencer. I'm a podcast host, so that gives you a sense of how good of a sciencer I am.

[B]

Okay, so you went back and listened to the. To our first episode.

[A]

Yes. And I think there's some real fun nuggets in there. I do manage to reference both the BLS and testifying in front of Congress. So that's on Brand.

[B]

You've done it again. So, you know, drink if you're playing the optimistic kind of a drinking game.

[A]

So it was all there in the beginning. Defending apolitical institutions and bragging about Congress.

[B]

Bragging about arguing with Congress, I think. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Part of me is like, oh, this is so cute.

[B]

So cute. In our early amateur podcasting days, we're only. As opposed to our advanced amateur podcasting days.

[A]

I mean, in some ways, it sounds more professional than we sound evolution. It was a tight conversation. We had, like, a very clear outline. Nobody has taken on more work than they thought they would take on an unpaid podcast hobby that cuts into prep time, and we were very prepped. But it's an interesting moment in time because we recorded just a few weeks into the Trump administration. Yeah, we both mentioned that, like, we knew that there would be hard news days ahead.

[B]

Yeah. I don't think we knew it would be every single one of them.

[A]

No, we didn't know. Didn't know the fire hydrant of bad news days that were coming our way and just the extent of them. I didn't know. I had this, like, moment of listening in of, like, man, good for us. We're literally sitting there saying, like, it's about to get bad. So we're going to create a safe space to talk about how it doesn't have to stay bad, and we won't let them win by turning to despair and pessimism. And I, I. So there's something, like, kind of, like, cute about it. Of like, oh, this is a girl who doesn't even know that a BLS commissioner can be fired and slandered.

[B]

Right. She has no idea. She has no idea what's coming.

[A]

She has no idea that the only black woman ever appointed, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, is about to be target of a smear campaign in order to take over interest rate policy. Things not on her bingo card.

[B]

Oh, God.

[A]

So many things. So many things. Like, looking back, like, what a great encapsulation of a moment of time. Of like, it was almost this declaration of, like, we will not succumb to the despair and pessimism that we know is coming. And we will be here every week finding something to be optimistic about, which is funny on some level because we have lots of episodes where people are like, wait, where was the optimism in this one? It's true, it's true, it's true. So I had some questions for you and I about wrapping up season one.

[B]

Mm.

[A]

What kind of reaction did you get from friends and family when the podcast went live and we started airing episodes? Any good ones? Any, like, surprising ones? Any funny ones? Hmm.

[B]

I will say I am continually surprised that people that I know only maybe through someone else, reach out on social media or some other way to say that they've been listening to the show. One of the funnier things that happened to me was I got together with my high school friends over the summer, and they were all driving from a couple hours away, and so they used that opportunity to listen and catch up on the podcast on their way. And we hadn't been there an hour when my friend Emily said, I was just about to say something to you about something I just learned. And then I realized I learned it on your podcast. You're just in the flow of conversation. And so it was really. But it was great to see. This is. I think what we had hoped is that we'd hoped that we would be giving people information and facts and an understanding of things that they hadn't had an opportunity to think about so that they would feel armed and empowered to take that into their own conversations with their own family, with their own friends.

[A]

Even if Robyn is in those conversations.

[B]

If I've actually heard that conversation a few times, that was a. I think that was my kind of funniest podcast moment.

[A]

I think after the paid family leave episode, that was an incredible. For me to find out just how many people listened to the podcast and how quickly they listened to it, because I, for almost a month, would get text messages that was like, oh, my God, I just listened to you.

[B]

That's when you Said that you were pregnant.

[A]

Yeah, I just listened to paid family lead, you're pregnant again. So that was really fun. And then I have had people in conversation, maybe like closer friends will drop in. Something like, oh, consuming leisure are we? And I'm like, oh, my God, you've been listening. When we said we wanted to inform people and help them talk about the economy, it was just to ruin their language as much as mine is ruined.

[B]

Exactly, Exactly. I love a good buzzword as much as anybody, and I'm pleased that we have populated consuming leisure into the discourse. That's satisfying.

[A]

Yeah. The things that have resonated with people and the people who have gotten in touch and especially people that we have, we don't know them like the reviews we've gotten. I love the person who was like, you said you were unhinged. Don't get hinged. That one was great. This show is a disaster. I love it. Every review has meant so much. Just the number of people that have emailed to say that we're so bad at podcasting that we started this without actually thinking deeply about audience. Because I want.

[B]

That might be true. That might be true. That might be true.

[A]

That might be true.

[B]

And I think that if we'd thought too much about it, I don't know if we would have done it.

[A]

I don't think. Definitely wouldn't have done it.

[B]

I mean, you had given it more thought than I had, obviously, because you had come up with the name Optimist Economy and other things about the structure of the show. But yeah, I think that if I had any idea, I don't know that I would have gotten past. I'm not saying no.

[A]

I just didn't know we would have so much interaction. I had come from, you know, writing columns and making TikToks and Instagram videos. You know, you put a lot out. You don't get a ton back in return. And I was expecting that type of low bar interaction of like, we're going to put ourselves out there and we'll get. We're going to get a little bit in return. We got so much in return.

[B]

Yeah, we did.

[A]

I don't think I could have counted on it because it would have been like, I can't get my hopes up. But yeah, low bar people, that's the. That is the clearest path to optimism is having a low bar.

[B]

Yeah, I think that's true. I was replying to emails last night and I actually emailed somebody and she got back to me right away and said, oh, my God. I'm listening to this, your podcast right now. So I'm freaking out a little bit. And the funny thing is that we're just regular people. We're just sitting here answering our own emails. Mail. And that email might be from you. So I have really enjoyed the interactions I've had with people who've written into the show especially. And, oh, among the things that I loved. In fact, we should probably just run the entire thing. At the end of this episode, we got a voicemail. It's actually three voicemails in a row. It adds up to almost, I don't know, nine minutes. From a listener who explained in fantastic detail the problems of paid family and medical leave implementation from the point of view of somebody who works in payroll accounting for a multi state staffing firm. Oh, my God. So if you can imagine if you have a staffing company where people don't all work the regular number of days and they are operating in different states and each state has different rules about paid family medical leave and who qualifies and who doesn't and what it takes to go over this threshold about whether you pay the tax and you're a staffing firm. It's a nightmare. It's absolutely a nightmare. And this person, she knew that we would understand and she could call us and tell us exactly what gigantic pain in the ass it is that every state in the country has a different paid medical and family leave, if they have one at all.

[A]

Oh, man. Okay, well, so she needs to call back and tell us about unemployment insurance because that's going to hit her as well.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Another thing that we talked about.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

We wanted to do something about the bad news fire hydrant that we knew was coming. You said in particular fire. Wait, bad news. The fire hydrant drinking out of a fire hydrant drinking out of a fire hose. Which is it?

[B]

Either one. Yeah, but I was thinking about while I was thinking about the fire hose of falsehood.

[A]

Fire. Okay, it's been rough.

[B]

I honestly don't know how these nine months would have gone for me if I weren't doing this podcast. I mean, I don't know about you, but this has been a way to focus on something that isn't that fire hose.

[A]

It's kept me so motivated.

[B]

I think there's something about talking on a podcast that has made me take my own thoughts a little more seriously.

[A]

How so?

[B]

Isn't that weird? But I like just looking back at your sort of list here of thoughts we sort of put down when we started the show in February. March about despair as paralysis. That's not my thought. Like, I stole that from my friend Peter. But when I said it aloud, I thought, you know, I have to live that. I've said it aloud on a podcast. So apparently I am committed to it now.

[A]

Yeah, it. It does change the way I process the news.

[B]

Yeah. So this is Peter Kalmus, who's a climate activist and scientist, and I helped him a little bit on his book. Anyway, he also said, you know, despair is different than grief. And I think a lot of what we're all processing about what's happening with everything from layoffs to shutdowns to immigration kidnappings to all of it, is grief. Grief is something that you go through, you don't just stop at. But despair is paralysis. Anyway, the wisdom of that has stuck with me.

[A]

Something that I've said when we're talking about specific policies is you have to keep your eye on the ball. And I. This show has functioned of, like, keep your eye on the ball. They want you to look away, but, like, don't look away from the future.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, when. When the BLS commissioner was fired, that was a bad day for me personally. That one hit home. I mean, you always kind of internalize news by its proximity to you.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So the attacks on federal employees. That one hits. And the attacks on economists at statistical agencies. That one hits, too. When DOGE started firing federal workers at random and attacking certain agencies because they were the ones that were saying, Elon Musk needs to be regulated in payment processes, so he's going to go after their Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I mean, just like the personal vendetta aspect of it all, it was so upsetting. I couldn't talk about it on the show. You just put it in a box and just, like, lock it up and you put it in the closet, and you don't think about that feeling. And actually, most therapists will tell you repression is a really good technique and you should do it more often. And don't talk about your feelings. But then I think about six months later, Erica being fired, and, like, I don't know, it was easier for me to, like, also deal with the bad news, knowing that, like, I had this, like, constant task of. Of keeping your eye on the ball for the future.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And at the start, that was hard. And then the show is like, exercise this muscle. So that means we're on a break for. For family leave. Nothing bad can happen.

[B]

We're just gonna.

[A]

And I'm sure it's gonna go great.

[B]

I'll Just send a postcard to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, let them know, sorry, gather down payments. We're taking a hiatus.

[A]

Just. Just go golf, come back in January, and then start your bullshit again.

[B]

Well, you know, it's funny. One of the things that I have that has been in the back of my head related to optimism in general is something that I heard from my favorite yoga teacher years and years ago that has always stuck with me, which is think about what you want, don't think about what you don't want. And I do think that there's a certain amount of staying informed that we need to do. And like, to your point, the things that I've had to put in a box and stick in a closet is the attacks on the news media, the attacks on the freedom of the press and the freedom of speech in general, in addition to everything else. But that's the one that strikes close to home for me. And to your point, I've done a lot of exercising, mental exercising around. Think about what you want and don't give in to letting your attention be dominated by somebody who wants to dominate your attention for no good purpose.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. And it, you know, he's a reality TV star. He's good at getting attention.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I was on the record talking to someone about something about the economy, probably. Yeah, no, I said. I said it makes a lot more sense if you think of him as a reality star and less than as a president. And it's just about drama and distraction and ratings and attention. And that was like a helpful filter for me of like, there's some producer that's like, you know what you should do? Fire her or like, you know something.

[B]

Sending Marines and National Guard into my hometown.

[A]

Sending Marines and National Guard into my home for of a decade. My second city. My second hometown city, I guess. Adopted hometown city. I guess I just really love it. Maybe I should just say that. And it doesn't have to have a title. I just love D.C. god. You know what's crazy? When we started this season, I lived in another place.

[B]

We both lived in different places when we started the show. I mean, I. When I think about, like I said, it's a year ago that you first called me to say, I'm going to do this podcast and I think you should do it with me. And I can see myself sitting in my house in Spokane, sitting on the couch in our front room, a house which we no longer own. There's just so many things that are just beyond just the news that have happened in our lives. I Think that it's kind of a whirlwind.

[A]

I know. I also, like, we cannot. We cannot thank Andy and Sophie enough. Y' all didn't hardly notice that, like, I moved across the country. We didn't record for, like, three weeks or. I mean, we had an episode. I'm just. Part of me is like, you know, we actually had an episode posted every Tuesday for, like, nine months, which is amazing.

[B]

I mean, when we started this show, a couple of things that I. That I think back to. One was we had to give ourselves a lot of permission to fail and said, as Katherine put it, you know, we can't be afraid of going to podcast jail.

[A]

Yeah. That we. We could very easily end up in podcast jail for doing something we're not supposed to do.

[B]

Yeah. And then the second thing was we thought this show would be 25 minutes long.

[A]

That is actually the funniest part, looking back. That's the absolute funniest part of how tight we thought we were to keep this, like, half hour episodes, easy, tops.

[B]

This is a show you're going to listen to while you walk your dog.

[A]

That is exactly right. I was like, I'm walking my dog. And I'm thinking, I'm envisioning a show where I walk my dog and listen to the episode. No, no.

[B]

And I think what we also didn't realize is the fact that we couldn't hold ourselves to that meant that everything we do takes more than twice as long.

[A]

Everything we do? Yeah. The. The quality control listens and the audio checks and everything took longer.

[B]

I listen to your voice so much. I feel like you live in my house. Man, I must have Sophie's dreams while you were. While you were traveling. And I was like, did Catherine move out? Like, what happened?

[A]

I mean, someone asked my husband if he listens to the show, and he's like, I hear it a couple of times. I've been here since the concept stage. So call back to the first episode. You said that you were so outside your comfort zone.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I said, like, I felt like I was about to get called up to the front of the classroom and people were gonna laugh at what I was weari. That kind of went away. I feel a little bit more comfortable here.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But, man, optimists out there, you should know. I try so hard to make sure everything I say is accurate, and I end up listening to the show four times because I'm like, every fact, every random citation, every. I mean, this is why we have to retcon is because I'm so I'm so nervous about getting it wrong, and I don't want to. I don't want to do that. So that, believe it or not, this Unhinged podcast has a lot of perfectionism behind it. Not in, like, the way that you're thinking.

[B]

Yeah. In terms of being outside my comfort zone. I was at a party last weekend with a whole lot of newspaper people that I've worked with over the years, and my wife was there with me, and she. She is our biggest hype man. And so she walks around and telling people about the podcast all the time. And I have to say, I'm still a little embarrassed, and, I don't know. Not. I'm not embarrassed of the show at all. I'm embarrassed that. That I would think that I could do this.

[A]

Oh, I have, like, a little bit of embarrassment of, like, you know, I used to have a real job.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Right.

[B]

I think partly because I'm an editor, we're really behind the scenes people, and I think what we do is important and valuable, but it's not front and center usually, unless you're Jeffrey Goldberg. And so being on a podcast really does feel like drawing attention to myself in a way that I didn't think that I would do. I feel like editing has value, but I don't know that. I didn't know that it would be valuable in this context.

[A]

It's so valuable. I will hear from economists, and they'll say things like, I'm so glad you're doing this, because I would rather die than do it. I mean, it's a lot of, like, detective work of people who work. They're at their desk, they're at their computer, and they're going through data, and they're looking for patterns, and they're building up, I mean, just the smallest conclusions that the world can think of. You know, like, with the evidence on, like, school lunch. I think that I probably summarized 25 different papers over the course of that episode of just how small one paper's contribution can be, but, like, how important that you have all of those contributions lined up. And so I've heard from so many people who. Who work on that, like, just like Frontline detective work, who have said, I mean, I'm so glad that you're doing this, because I don't like what you're doing. I want to keep doing what I'm doing. I want to be, like, in the closet at the computer, looking at the D data, not talking to anybody. But I've had so many reach out to say that like, there's this. I'm glad that you are communicating this to other people in kind of sharing what we know and hold to be facts and making this information less of a privilege. I was at a conference and I talked to a specific economist, and I was saying, like, oh, I'm actually putting together a column on that. I was going to cite your paper. And he's like, but no one will talk to me. Right?

[B]

I don't have to talk to anyone about it.

[A]

He's like, no, no one has to talk to you. You don't even have to talk to me right now. He just goes, thank God. So it's helped me be more confident here and feel less ridiculous knowing that there are people who are very much like silent warriors in the process for social justice and a better economic future. You know, we don't all need microphones, especially if I'm hogging it.

[B]

Well, one of the things that I really like about the fact that we've done this show is that, I mean, I saw your videos, of course, and they certainly are you, but they aren't the this you that I knew. Right. They weren't the slightly snarky, can be really funny Katherine Edwards that I knew was beneath all those very serious Bloomberg.

[A]

Columns and very, like, pointed TikToks where I'm just trying to explain. And I don't make many jokes. I did have a TikTok to video I put up recently, and they're like, why aren't you funny like you are on the show?

[B]

Yeah. I mean, I do feel like it's like the three faces of Catherine. There's the Bloomberg Catherine, there's the TikTok Catherine, and then there's podcast Catherine. And I don't know if any. If people didn't know, they would know you're the same person. Except for your love of the BLS comes. Comes through in all of them.

[A]

The only thing that shines through is my love for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There are many things that have been happening in parallel to the podcast this season. That's Optimist Economy is a podcast, but we have.

[B]

Oh, my gosh. Yeah, we have so many, like, so much like all other stuff we've done. Yeah.

[A]

Okay. So, like, in the background.

[B]

In the background.

[A]

Oh, yeah. We record this show. But in the meantime. And we thought at the start of the show, we'd sell ads. Like, I'm sure y' all need mattresses or ads from the Beef Council or, like, tips on how to hire Equifax Workforce Solutions or Like, we were gonna sell our soul to Big Cinnamon. Big Sin plays I get so many Big Sin comments of, like, Robin, your dislike of the Cinnamon agenda is amazing.

[B]

Went to Trader Joe's the other day and there they were. I was like, I should just take a picture of this and post it.

[A]

I think someone commented on one of the Big Sin video clips that we put on TikTok that, like, there should be an executive order of people who don't know how to shop at Trader Joe's have to go at, like, a special time.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

But when we started this, we were like, okay, we'll get people who will listen to the show. They'll download it. We'll take that and, like, get sponsors and put ads in the show. And, like, we thought of this as being like a very much a self sustaining. Sell y' all energy drinks or, like, yogurt or something. I don't know.

[B]

Yeah, we obviously didn't think that through. We didn't think that through. I think companies are going to alienate before we finish.

[A]

I think it was the union episode where I kept on trashing Starbucks that I was like, I'm starting to see why maybe we don't. We aren't going to get a ton of sponsors. But we pivoted in the background in another way, which was that we've now incorporated Optimist Economy as a nonprofit, and we see the podcast as being, like, step one iceberg. Yeah. It was the first thing we did. And it'll. If we're lucky, it'll be one of the smallest things we do to make this wait. What? Robin, I'm sorry, What'd you. No. Sorry. No. Robin. What? Nothing. Nothing. I haven't signed you up for a ton of work. It doesn't matter anyway. You said yes. You said not. No. You're on the hook. I just, you know, we just know we wanted to get out our message and that we hoped it would have an audience and that that would somehow come together with funding. And we want to make Optimist Economy more than just a podcast, but an organization whose mission is to inform and empower not just through a podcast, but through many avenues. And that this is the beta version.

[B]

This is the first one. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

This is the building the plane while we fly it. Maybe we should do more than just podcast. Maybe we should get this message out in any way we can. And all of that happened in the background of season one. And so we've. We've basically been building two things at the same time. The podcast that you Download and the non profit that we're building.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I don't know if we should put this in, but we are going to have a book, but not for like two years because it takes a long to write and publish. But.

[B]

And by we, she means her.

[A]

Yeah, I will have.

[B]

You are going to write a book.

[A]

I'm going to write a book. Everyone has to buy 10 copies, hardback, pre order. Thank you. In like a year, we'll stop asking for you to give us money. We'd be like, stop what you're doing. Go buy Katherine's book on pre order.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

I'm looking back at the start of the first season of, like, we're wrapping this up, and I'm already thinking about how, like, oh, man, I can't. Like, we're gonna be at the end of season two and being like, oh, my God, like, look at all we've done. I'm looking forward to that moment. I can already see it.

[B]

I may be in. Better off not looking too far ahead.

[A]

I feel like, oh, I am the. I am. I am an eternal optimist. Like, in my soul. It's not a Persona I put on for y'. All. I am, in fact, an eternal optimist. Yeah.

[B]

I believe I like to be. Did you ever ride motorcycles? Like, when you ride motorcycles, you have to find this, like, exact distance that you want your focus to be at. You don't want to be looking too close. You don't want to be looking down at the ground. You absolutely don't want to do that. But you can't look too far out because you really need to stay attentive to the things that might go under your wheel. That's kind of where I am. It's kind of a journalist looking slightly far ahead, but not too far.

[A]

We get it, Robin. You road motorcycles. You're cooler than all of us. I have two kind of ways to end this conversation. We try not to talk about politics on this show because it's not really about the politics of the day. It's about the economics that will build a better future. But at some point, those two have to meet. You know, getting into the politics is. Is a part that comes eventually. And I've appreciated that. To have this, like, moment of, like, well, we're going to get through this time, and I don't have to think about how any of this becomes real or how people get it out the door. It's just like a n. Nice. Almost, like fresh and raw. Like, this is just. These are just the ideas.

[B]

And why not? Why not do that? I mean, do other things, by all means. But we're in a moment where, you know, if all you do is respond to what you hate and what you don't want, you're not thinking about what you do want. And if you're not thinking about and articulating what you do want and what you do need, you're not going to get the politicians who give it to you.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, right.

[B]

This isn't. You go to Target and all the choices you have are the shirts that are on the rack. You know, this is. You have to go and demand what it is you want.

[A]

Yeah. And I think I feel like as Americans, we tend to fall in love with politicians. I have a friend who's a presidential historian, and she was like, we are a deeply optimistic people that falls in love with presidents. We like to be captivated and charmed. And, you know, there's never going to be one person that has all the answers. They can just be the catalyst for making the answers reality. We tend to put that on a person, and it seems almost safer to put it on a policy that we know will work and just look for the person who can help us get us across the finish line. Part of me thinks that having a show that's truly just about the ideas, at least for as long as we can do that, is a way to almost, like, take the pressure off of what we expect from politicians. Like, at the end of the day, we need an executor. We just need someone who gets things done. I don't know. I've said before that in talking about what we're trying to do, the message isn't, here's the best version of paid family leave. The message is that we should stay optimistic about our economic future and whatever door you walk through to get there. I just want you to have a seat at the table. And I sometimes have this love metaphors. Not so great at them, but I love them. And this idea that I'm just trying. What we're doing here is just opening doors for people to give them a path in, to get a seat at the table. Of, like, I'm in. America's gonna have a better future. It's however you get there. I mean, you. You say despair is paralysis. I. I have to tell myself over and over, like, you don't need to slam any doors and lock them shut. Like, you have to leave the door open that someone's gonna come. And. And I don't know if this metaphor. The longer I talk about it. The. The less confident I get that it's making any sense. But I do think about that of, like, who gets to sit at the table? And this is this space, this show. Podcasts, nonprofit. Everything we're trying to build is not about selling a specific policy of, like, y', all, I'm here to get you to agree that we should have paid sick leave at least 10 days. Like, it's not about that detail. It's about getting you to think, like, oh, it would.

[B]

It could be different if we did this.

[A]

It could be different. Like, the economy could be different, and we can make a different choice than the one we've made.

[B]

And I also think there's plenty of podcasts. I mean, the Internet runs on outrage. There's plenty of podcasts for that. And I mean, I don't know about you, but I very often will write a social media post and then just delete it.

[A]

Delete it. Yeah, definitely.

[B]

And I do that, you know, and then it's out of my system, and then I. Nobody needs to hear that from me. What I think listeners of this show have told us is what they need from us.

[A]

Yeah. And so we'll come back. That's almost a wrap on season one. I. This is the part where we move on to executive orders and spiritual sponsors, and we have a treat for y'. All.

[B]

We do. You guys have been sending us so many executive orders, and we've been keeping them in a list over here, and we're going to read them all out now in our executive order Palooza.

[A]

Executive order Palooza.

[B]

For instance, on this list is Nicole in Maryland. Buildings on main Thoroughfares must keep 10 extra gallons of matching paint on hand to quickly cover up graffiti. That's my sister. What she really said is, you need to keep a bunch of extra paint around so when someone paints a giant dick and balls on the outside of your building, you can paint it over.

[A]

Okay, executive orders. Lee in Chicago. Product manufacturers must put barcodes in logical, scannable locations. No more hunting around creases, folds, or awkward positions at checkout. Endorse.

[B]

Endorse. Wynn in Columbus, Ohio, says everyone should switch to the now legal gummies instead of smoking stinky weed at the bus stop.

[A]

I'm going to add a quick addendum that you also shouldn't smoke weed inside the car of a Metro when people are on their way to work and don't want to smell like weed when they get to work. So I'm. Yes, endorse and expand. Sarah in Washington, D.C. we need to have a mandatory 6 to 12 month service requirement for all high school graduates and communities across different regions and socioeconomic classes to build empath and understanding. And we can fund it by cutting military spending until they pass an audit. I love this. I wanted to put a real proposal like this out in the world, but it was called AmeriCamp and it was a. A way to do summer camp where it would bring people together from different parts of the country. And so you'd fill out regions of the country for different camps and make people like travel and stuff like that. Like a civics camp that everyone had to go to. I'm really fun. It's a learning camp. Everybody wants it fun in the summertime.

[B]

Kyle, My buddy in LA says autocorrect cannot change correctly spelled words to different words that it thinks you meant and definitely can't change it back again when you fix it. Endorse Kyle. Endorse.

[A]

Endorse Kyle. I'll also expand and say that any type of AI infrastructure, you have to be able to turn off on any program that you have.

[B]

Yeah, easily.

[A]

Please just turn off AI for at least two more versions. Y' all are not there yet. Okay. Rich In Michigan, hotels must reset alarm clocks after every guest checks out to address the national sleep emergency and end 5am wake up calls from previous guests schedules. Make America sleep again.

[B]

He did send this in all caps written like a tweet from.

[A]

Oh yeah. Oh, I do remember this one. It did come in all caps.

[B]

Yes, this clearly happened to Rich. Yeah, this had happened to Rich and he was like, executive order.

[A]

It's happened to me and I've been devastated.

[B]

Emily in Silver Spring, Maryland says real estate apps like Zillow and Redfin have to have a public comment section after each listing to collectively shame sellers who are pushing overpriced low quality properties. Endorse. First of all, I spend way more time on Zillow and Redfin than I do on actual social media. I would spend so much time commenting on people's homes for sale. So maybe I shouldn't endorse. Maybe this would be a time suck for me. But I love this idea.

[A]

Robert In Virginia, all legislation must use publicly accessible blockchain technology in real time, making each portion of a bill directly attributable to whoever authored it for transparency and accountability.

[B]

I like that. Who put this amendment on there?

[A]

Who put this in?

[B]

Yeah, who put this in here? I'm going to go to Teagan in Maine. Car manufacturers must design car seats so you can actually vacuum underneath them instead of Creating cosmic black holes for dirt, hair, and old receipts. Love it indoors, Claire.

[A]

In Philadelphia, diapers with color change wetness indicators cannot use that same indicator color anywhere else on the diaper. If the line is blue when wet, there should be no other blueprints allowed. Yeah, I'm with you, Claire. And also make the line bigger.

[B]

All right, Kinser in North Carolina says drivers over retirement age must have regular license retesting. But Kinser's only 23, and so we're not going to let him implement this until he's 35.

[A]

All right, Stacy says frozen pizzas that must be cooked directly on the oven rack for quote, unquote, best results are banned. No more cheese sauce and toppings, scorched and welded to the oven floor. Practical.

[B]

Yeah. Roman in Washington state says companies cannot demand credit cards for free trials. All subscriptions must be cancelable in one click, and every company phone line needs automatic callback. Absolutely. Absolutely. That basically is the all the executive orders of season one rolled into one.

[A]

All right, Mandy and Georgia, all job postings must include compensation, location requirements with remote work clarity, application deadlines, and interview process timelines. Well, I endorse this.

[B]

Yeah, she sent this, actually, before we did the unemployment episode.

[A]

Oh, man. Mandy, we are in sync. Cause I'm like, let's do that times a thousand.

[B]

And I replied to her at time. I was like, oh, yeah, we're going to get to this. We have so many feelings.

[A]

All right, last one.

[B]

Last one is from somebody named Amanda in Massachusetts who says, please, as hosts, introduce yourselves with your full names, and please, at the end of episodes, use your producers full names, too, so that everyone involved in the production of the show is publicly recognized and given suitable credit for the excellent work you all do together as a team. I'm Robin Rousey. I'm an editor in Los Angeles.

[A]

I am Katherine Ann Edwards. I'm an economist in Houston, Texas. And we end our show by snapping out our production team, Andy Robinson of Robinson Video Consulting and Sophie Lalonde in.

[B]

Chicago, who has a [e-mail], who we.

[A]

Absolutely endorse, who run their own businesses, much like Robin and I do, and.

[B]

But they're not nonprofits.

[A]

They're not nonprofits. And they are available for all your podcast and video editing needs, especially as we break for the season.

[B]

Exactly. Thanks, guys.

[A]

And we'll put in our spiritual sponsors. My season one spiritual sponsor is our listeners.

[B]

My season one spiritual sponsor is our spouses.

[A]

Yeah, Deaf. Deaf. Right there. Need both of them. To all of our listeners and spouses out there. Thank you so much for joining us.

[B]

Thank you so much.

[A]

Thank you for being original optimist here from the beginning. For season one. We. We look forward to coming back.

[B]

We have a merch store.

[A]

We're gonna have a merch. We're have so much. We're gonna have so much for season two. It's gonna be a disaster. I can't wait. It.