# Real Progress: Why We Ignore How Good We Have It | with Nick Gillespie

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-could-go-right-4120319/real-progress-why-we-ignore-how-good-we-have-it-with-nick-gillespie
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-could-go-right-4120319/real-progress-why-we-ignore-how-good-we-have-it-with-nick-gillespie.md
Podcast: [What Could Go Right?](https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-could-go-right-4120319)
Published: 2026-05-20T06:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/WRGRS7349029402.mp3?updated=1779257579
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/WRGRS7349029402.mp3?updated=1779257579
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/what-could-go-right-4120319/episodes/real-progress-why-we-ignore-how-good-we-have-it-with-nick-gillespie
Duration seconds: 3177

## Resource

Why does historic abundance breed widespread cultural anger? Nick Gillespie, editor-at-large of Reason Magazine and host of the Reason podcast, joins host Zachary Karabell to unpack the great conundrum of the 21st century: why humans have more security and financial means than ever before, yet feel increasingly dissatisfied. In a world deeply divided along absolute binary lines, Gillespie explains how a philosophy of libertarianism provides a refreshing, pre-partisan alternative to standard political gridlock. Moving past abstract data, Gillespie shares his own personal history as the son of a high school dropout from a working-class white ghetto in Hell's Kitchen. He contrasts his own path of white-knuckling student debt payments with the unique anxieties facing modern generations. And they ask the question, what does the world look like post Trump season two? What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope.For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.orgSubscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetworkFollow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrkSubscribe to Zachary’s Substack: www.edgyoptimist.substack.com/

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## Transcript

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