Archive - The Tragic Optimist

Tragic Optimism and other paradoxes

How The Tragic Optimist got his name and how tragic optimism is a philosophy for our “time of monsters.”

Jan 1 •

December 2024

Latke Vodka Babka Kafka Tchotchke

For nearly 25 years now, my chosen family has been celebrating a very unusual Christmas tradition: Latke Vodka Babka Kafka Tchotchke. It’s an eclectic…

Dec 10, 2024 •

November 2024

The Future is Unwritten

Personal reflection on election defeat and passing the torch.

Nov 6, 2024 •

August 2024

Pessimism of the intellect; optimism of the will!

This video (and the larger piece it draws on) gets at one of the core ideas in I Want A Better Catastrophe: how optimism and pessimism are not what they…

Aug 14, 2024 •

February 2024

The only certainty is uncertainty, and I’m not even sure about that.

Here’s another piece from the Better Catastrophe cutting-room floor.

Feb 15, 2024 •

January 2024

December 2023

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