Possible | Art that inspires optimism

Is there a movie, song or book that fills you with optimism for the future??

On Possible, this is one of the questions that we ask every guest.?

Read on for what our guests answered—from Trevor Noah to Sam Altman, and from Janette Sadik-Khan to Ariel Ekblaw—in Season 1.

Trevor Noah said that the book The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar fills him with optimism for the future.??

“It’s the story of a man who has everything in life, wants to get more of everything in life, and on that journey discovers that he was trying to fill a bucket full of holes, essentially, which was himself… It’s a beautiful story about what people can be and what we shouldn’t forget we’re actually trying to do.”?

For more from Trevor, here’s his episode:

Dr. Kimberly Budil said that the book Apollo by Charles Murray and Catherine Bly Cox fills her with optimism for the future.?

“And it’s not about the astronauts; it’s about the program to build the technology to take astronauts to the moon…What people are capable of when you put these challenges in front of them, what we have done as a nation…we can do anything if we really put our mind to it.”

For more from Dr. Budil, here’s her episode:

Saul Griffith referenced Cat Stevens and Joni Mitchell as artists who fill him with optimism for the future. Specifically, with their ability to inspire movements:?

“I think there’s an opportunity for the movie and the soundtrack for this revolution and we just haven’t quite got it yet. And I’m really looking forward to seeing that. I think we know we are winning when it’s penetrated popular culture to the point that we have anthems of climate success.”

For more from Saul, here’s his episode:

Ben Nelson of Minerva Project said that the movie Life of Brian fills him with optimism for the future.?

“What I love about Life of Brian is here’s a movie—it was made 50 years ago—and every scene in that movie was relevant then, it’s relevant today, and it was relevant 2,000 years ago. And why does that feel—most people look at that and despair, right? We’re dealing with the same thing! It fills me with optimism because, overall, humanity does progress. And we progress with all of our insanity, and all of our flaws as humans, and we do get better.”

For more from Ben, here’s his episode:

Janette Sadik-Khan of Bloomberg Associates said that Kim Stanley Robinson’s Ministry for the Future fills her with optimism for the future.?

“He’s a visionary, speculative fiction writer who imagines Earth’s near future contending with climate change and the human response, and how we would try to think our way out of this climate calamity…And it’s not just a story; it’s also a strategy. I think that’s a really cool part of it.”

For more from Janette, here’s her episode:

Bryan Stevenson of The Equal Justice Initiative said that Stevie Wonder’s album Songs in the Key of Life fills him with optimism for the future.?

“It was really cutting-edge in terms of his use of technology and synthesizers and electronic sounds. But it was also rooted in this lyric that both described the harm of our past, but the hope of our future. And, you know, when you encounter a piece of art like that, that’s now, like, almost 50 years old, and it still has that power and that kind of promise; it really inspires you.”

For more from Bryan, here’s his episode:

Jaime Teevan of 微软 said that the TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation fills her with optimism for the future.?

“Star Trek actually has all sorts of interesting human/computer interaction affordances that they are bringing… To really be rewatching it and be like, “Oh, and we could do better than that, even!”

For more from Jaime, here’s her episode:

Sam Altman shared that David Deutsch’s The Beginning of Infinity fills him with optimism for the future.?

“The Beginning of Infinity… Hard to be more optimistic for me than that book.”

For more from Sam, here’s his episode with Greg Brockman :

Greg Brockman shared that the movie Her fills him with optimism for the future.?

“I mean, look, I thought that Her, the movie, was very interesting. It’s very hard to find positive depictions of AI in Hollywood. And I think Her is as good as it gets from the Hollywood perspective, but I think we can do better. I think that we are really going to be able to do something that’s just an amazing world.”

For more from Greg, here’s his episode with Sam Altman:

Ariel Ekblaw said that Willie Nelson’s “Blue Skies” fills her with optimism for the future.?

“I love listening to that song. I think it’s a little bit melancholy and a little bit hopeful—and this notion of blue skies waiting.”

For more from Ariel, here’s her episode:

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