Reading and Conversation: Hopelessly Optimistic

A rather scientific look at the future

Whoever is optimistic today often has to justify themselves - crises seem omnipresent. But for award-winning science journalist Dirk Steffens, this is no reason to predict the end of the world. In his book Hopelessly Optimistic (Penguin 2026), he argues that humanity has more solutions than problems.

During the reading and subsequent conversation, Steffens guides listeners through what we believe, what we know, and what we can do - and makes the case that in difficult times, confidence in the future has no reasonable alternative.