Magic moments do happen in real life. If you ask Brad Meltzer, magic happens when ordinary people choose to do the extraordinary.

Brad is a prolific writer and bestselling author. He’s published over 70 books in nearly every genre you can think of—thriller novels, biographies, children’s books, film and television. He’s written comic books for iconic superheroes like Spider-Man, Superman, and Batman. And in 2024, his commencement speech at the University of Michigan went viral for its simple, powerful message—to shock the world, unleash your kindness.

In this conversation, Brad tells me how his journey from a writer drowning in debt to bestselling author would not have been possible without the extraordinary kindness of a few ordinary strangers. He shares how other people’s negativity can become inspiration, why fictional heroes inspire us so much, and how ordinary people change the world.

This…is A Bit of Optimism.

For more on Brad and his work, check out:

his book, Make Magic

bradmeltzer.com

What if this podcast turned into a baking show?

For Christina Tosi’s third visit to A Bit of Optimism, we decided to find out. So we headed to Milk Bar to make compost cookies from things in my own pantry and my favorite beer bread from scratch!

Christina’s not just my best friend—she’s the founder of Milk Bar, host of Bake Squad on Netflix, a cookbook author, and a fan favorite on this podcast. She lives by one simple question: what if?

In this experimental episode, we dug into some big ideas about creativity, uncertainty, and the magic of trying something new. Recipes below!

This...is A Bit of Optimism.

You can watch the video version of this episode on YouTube here.

For more on Christina and her work, check out:

christinatosi.com

----------------------------

Simon's Compost Cookie Recipe (makes 15-20 cookies):

• 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons glucose syrup
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Maltesers
• 85% dark chocolate
• Optimism Coffee grounds
• Granola
• Space/Astronaut Ice Cream
• Kettle Corn Pop Chips

For the full step-by-step recipe, visit Milk Bar's website!

Beer Bread Recipe:

• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons honey (or to taste)
• 12 oz beer (Samual Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout is Simon's preference!)
• 2 tablespoons butter (and save a little for the top)

Mix ingredients slowly together
Bake at 350 for 45-60 mins until baked through

----------------------------

This episode is brought to you by True Classic!

I really love True Classic T-shirts, so we called them up and asked if they wanted to work together. And they said yes!

Check out their clothes at: trueclassictees.com