so optimistic: poverty was eliminated on Earth, and many things disappeared alongside it.
I wish.
This conversation is right on point with the new podcast arc 
Poverty is easy to eliminate. That’s what Soylent Green is for. 
What’s the new arc?
The Prime Directive (though not just in Star Trek - the idea of noninterference, I believe is how Chuck put it)
Cool! Any specifics?
Not that I’ve heard (all my info comes from the live 'cast)
I heard them mention it, but I didn’t catch that it was the next arc.
And everyone’s back in their places
From Memory Alpha:
It is interesting to note that in 1893, Samuel Clemens was traveling on book tours, mostly in Europe. He only returned to the US briefly (New York City) and moved his family to Berlin, Germany. It is unlikely that he was in the San Francisco area at all.
The books which Clemens completed, or wrote, after his 1893 encounter with the Enterprise included Pudd’nhead Wilson, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, The Mysterious Stranger, and his own autobiography.