Are we paralyzing ourselves with bad news? In this TBLI Radical Truth Podcast, host Robert Rubinstein is joined by Angus Hervey, political economist and founder of Fix The News (formerly Future Crunch).

Angus reveals the "radical truth" about the media's obsession with "doom and gloom" and why it's a barrier to real-world action. We explore the data-driven case for Intelligent Optimism—an evidence-based approach highlighting massive, overlooked wins in clean energy, global health, and poverty reduction. If you want to understand how "hope as a verb" can drive sustainable finance and ESG integration, this is the conversation you need.

What You'll Learn:

• Why Your Brain is Wired for Bad News - The evolutionary psychology behind our negativity bias and how to hack it to enable action instead of paralysis in the face of climate crisis and social challenges
• Fix The News: Data on Global Progress - The most compelling data points on global progress in 2026, from renewable energy deployment to poverty reduction to disease elimination that media ignores
• From Paralysis to Action - How Intelligent Optimism fuels sustainable investment and ESG integration by shifting from doom-scrolling despair to evidence-based problem-solving and action
• Changing the Story - Why the stories we tell ourselves about the future determine outcomes, and how narrative framing influences capital allocation, policy decisions, and individual behavior
• Hope as a Verb - Moving beyond passive optimism to active, evidence-informed engagement that drives measurable impact in sustainable finance and climate action
• The Media's Failure - Why mainstream media's focus on catastrophe and conflict creates learned helplessness and prevents the optimism needed for transformative action

Key Timestamps:

• 11:20 – Why the human brain is wired for bad news (and how to hack it)
• 23:45 – Fix The News: Compelling data on global progress in 2026
• 35:10 – From Paralysis to Action: How Intelligent Optimism fuels sustainable investment
• 48:30 – Changing the Story: Why our narratives determine our future

Why This Matters:

Doom-scrolling isn't just bad for mental health—it's paralyzing climate action and sustainable finance. When media feeds us only catastrophe, we lose the capacity to imagine solutions and the motivation to act. Yet the data tells a different story: renewable energy is accelerating exponentially, global poverty is plummeting, disease elimination is accelerating.

Angus Hervey's Fix The News curates evidence-based optimism—not denying challenges, but refusing to ignore progress. This matters for investors and ESG professionals because capital flows toward perceived opportunity, not hopeless despair. Intelligent Optimism isn't naïve cheerleading; it's recognizing what's working, scaling solutions, and maintaining the psychological resilience needed for long-term transformation.

For anyone working in impact investing, climate finance, or sustainable development who feels overwhelmed by negative news, this conversation offers a powerful reframe: hope as evidence-based action.

About Angus Hervey:Political economist and founder of Fix The News (formerly Future Crunch). Expert in Intelligent Optimism, global development trends, and science communication. Curator of evidence-based progress stories challenging media negativity bias.

About TBLI Radical Truth Podcast:TBLI Radical Truth Podcast challenges conventional narratives, exploring evidence-based optimism and solutions driving sustainable finance.

Part of TBLI Group—the world's leading ESG and impact investing network for 25 years.

Learn more: https://www.tbligroup.comFix The News: https://fixthenews.com

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