Free newsletter with fact-based optimistic news about technology, science, and human progress with the angry optimist, Mathias Sundin. If you are not a subscriber, become one here.
👨⚖️ Optimistic news from the U.S.
I promise this newsletter won’t start revolving around American politics, you get more than enough of that everywhere else. But since I wrote last week that I believe the United States will survive as a democracy thanks to the Americans themselves, I want to point to the Supreme Court’s decision as an example of that.
As you know, the Court ruled that Trump does not control tariffs, Congress does. The decision was made by a clear 6–3 majority, with two of the justices nominated by Trump among the majority. The Supreme Court is an extremely important check on abuse of power, and the fact that it is now willing to stand up to Trump is an optimistic piece of news.
Book sale
Since I know that quite a few Swedes read this English version of the newsletter, I take the opportunity to let you know that my book is currently on sale. More here.
Mathias Sundin
The Angry Optimist
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⛪ Tobias Wahlqvist: Pessimism is a kind of religion
No culture has ever existed without religion. And neither do we. Robin Dunbar shows that religion is not about God, but about belonging. In our secular age, pessimism has become the creed. Complaining is the ritual. And the optimist? A heretic.
💡 Fact-based optimistic news of the week
♨️ Geothermal power around the clock: Hot well in Utah shows the technology can scale up
Fervo Energy has drilled its hottest well yet at a new geothermal site in Utah, with measured temperatures exceeding 555°F at approximately 11,200 feet deep. Fervo pumps cold water underground, where it is heated by the Earth's natural heat. The water is then brought back to the surface.
🌉 New bridge in Sierra Leone cuts journey from half a day to five minutes
The Gendema Bridge replaces a 50-year-old hand-pulled ferry across the Sewa River. The bridge is part of a larger effort where a total of eight bridges are being built to connect farmers with markets across the country.
🌳 Amazon deforestation continues to decline – lowest level since 2014
Satellite data shows that deforestation in the Amazon between August 2025 and January 2026 dropped to 1,325 square kilometers, the lowest level for the period since 2014. Total deforestation over the past twelve months decreased to 3,770 square kilometers, also the lowest figure since 2014.
🦟 Bacteria in mosquitoes reduced dengue cases by 70 percent in Singapore
In a two-year experiment in Singapore, the number of wild mosquitoes decreased by 77 percent in areas where Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes were released. Residents in treated neighborhoods had approximately 70 percent lower risk of developing symptomatic dengue.
🧮 AI helps mathematicians solve problems that have been unsolved for decades
Since October, AI tools have helped move about 100 of Paul Erdős' mathematical problems into the "solved" category. Large language models function as powerful research assistants that can find and combine existing mathematical results in new ways.
🔋 EnergyNet expands to 280 apartments in Lund
LKF is replacing 280 individual electricity subscriptions with a shared internal grid. Tenants will stop paying grid fees and instead pay only for their actual electricity consumption. The system enables locally produced solar power and stored battery energy to be shared directly between buildings.
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