If you’re a regular listener, you probably know that one of this program’s core values is intelligent optimism. I feel pretty strongly about it — not because I only want to tell shiny, happy, pretty stories, but because I think the least we can do as radio producers is not add to the toxic load of anxiety and dread that most people carry around already. We absorb a lot of negative narratives on a daily basis — they’re hard to avoid, especially if you care about staying informed — and it’s easy to wind up with a bleak or despairing view of the world and our future. But hopelessness, despite what we often think, is not any more rational or realistic than hopefulness.
I was thinking about that again after a conversation for this week's show with science fiction and non-fiction writer Annalee Newitz. Annalee wrote one of my favorite books about archeology, “Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age.” It’s about the rise and fall of four ancient mega-cities, each once the center of a sophisticated civilization. It seemed heartbreakingly relevant after I watched the news coverage of the LA wildfires and heard stories from friends of houses and lives destroyed. I wanted to ask Annalee how those ancient cities weathered fires and floods, ecosystem changes and political turmoil, how despite repeated disasters, they flourished for thousands of years.
Honestly, the answer surprised me: stories. Stories that bound communities together through collective wisdom shared across generations. Stories that gave lessons in resilience encoded in myths and songs. Narratives, Annalee says, are a survival technology. They’re how we keep each other’s hearts and spirits strong, no matter what. It was so encouraging to hear that, after the news this week.
Wishing you courage and resilience on your road ahead,
– Anne