{"podcast":{"title":"The Messy City Podcast","slug":"the-messy-city-podcast-6070040","podcast_index_feed_id":6070040,"rss_url":"https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/1271500.rss","website_url":"https://kevinklinkenberg.substack.com/podcast","image_url":"https://substackcdn.com/feed/podcast/1271500/7260785aa3e48f4ea76ebcd046c98a31.jpg","author":"Kevin Klinkenberg","episode_count":126,"summary":"Embracing change, uncertainty and local initiative for our cities and towns","last_synced_at":"2026-07-29T02:19:59.713844+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-messy-city-podcast-6070040"},"episode":{"title":"The Case for Optimism and Beauty","slug":"the-case-for-optimism-and-beauty","published_at":"2026-03-31T13:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-messy-city-podcast-6070040/the-case-for-optimism-and-beauty","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-messy-city-podcast-6070040","url":"https://kevinklinkenberg.substack.com/p/the-case-for-optimism-and-beauty","audio_url":"https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/192612897/5d5e1aa5fb0fa2ee59e7263d8e767e2b.mp3","summary":"Social media is an unlikely place to find truly positive and optimistic people. But occasionally you find one. Today’s example: the charming and determined Coby Lefkowitz, whose relentless optimism can only rub off on you. Coby is a developer in New York state, and a prolific writer, poster and speaker on the value of beauty in the built environment. He’s written a book called “Building Optimism” and has a Substack by the same name. In his Substack, you can read more about his forthcoming project in Kingston, NY , and what all he’s trying to accomplish. Coby and I discuss the role of optimism in a longer, healthier life , whether or not building beautifully is actually more expensive, and the intriguing benefits of thinking of your social media audience as just yourself and your Mom. Coby’s story is also a great example of how a young person can gain valuable experience working for someone else for a few years, grinding it out, and refining your skills before embarking on your own. You can find Coby on X/Twitter here . Find more content on The Messy City on Kevin’s Substack page . Music notes: all songs by low standards, ca. 2010. Videos here . If you’d like a CD for low standards, message me and you can have one for only $5. Intro: “ Why Be Friends ” Outro: “ Fairweather Friend ” Get full access to The Messy City at kevinklinkenberg.substack.com/subscribe","meta_description":"Social media is an unlikely place to find truly positive and optimistic people. But occasionally you find one. Today’s example: the charming and determine…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4103,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-messy-city-podcast-6070040/episodes/the-case-for-optimism-and-beauty/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-messy-city-podcast-6070040/the-case-for-optimism-and-beauty.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}