Reasonably Optimistic

Everyone wants to live like an influencer now

April 24, 2026·14 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

From overdone plastic surgery to open-concept floor plans, we’re designing our lives to look good on camera instead of optimizing for what we need. Influencer culture — and our constant exposure to curated, edited and optimized images — has reshaped the way we see the world and ourselves. But chasing the perfect image can leave real life feeling strangely hollow.Host Megan McArdle unpacks how we got here — and how to start seeing past the screen.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

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