Scientist and journalist Sumit Paul-Choudhury examines the meaning, history, and psychological benefits of optimism.

With news about wars, poverty, and environmental disasters always just a notification away, being told to 'look on the bright side' can feel unhelpful.

Optimism feels irrational when we have little control over the world around us, but it can give us the strength to keep moving forward.

Sumit Paul-Choudhury is a physicist, financial journalist, and former editor-in-chief of New Scientist magazine. After losing his wife to an aggressive ovarian cancer, he started looking into the roots of his own relentless optimism.

In his 2025 book, The Bright Side, Sumit Paul-Choudhury explores the philosophical, psychological, and historical arguments for seeing the world as a good place where good things happen.