Rebecca Solnit on why things are much better than we think

The American writer discusses the historic US midterm elections, the decline of Trump and how you can find hope by looking to the past.

It’s easy to feel like everything is getting worse.

Politics full of rage and violence, the threats posed by AI, the rise of the manosphere and a climate that keeps on heating up.

But Rebecca Solnit says that’s only the surface of the story.

Take a longer view, even just the sixty-odd years she’s been alive, and you can see how profoundly things have changed for the better.Further informationRebecca's latest book, The Beginning Comes After the End is published by Granta.This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, the Executive Producer was Nicola Harrison.It explores politics, history, US mid terms, Trump, feminism, sexual assault, indigenous land rights, climate, pollution, progressive politics, societal change, future, AI.