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An Optimist's Guide to the Planet

Season 1 · 12 episodes · Feb 8, 2024

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    Episode 1

    Dusk or Dawn

    Feb 8, 2024

    In this episode, Nikolaj discovers the difference is hope, a hope he finds in inspiring people, projects and ideas all over the world.

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    Episode 2

    Shelter

    Feb 15, 2024

    Shelter is one of the most essential human needs. Nikolaj finds hope from architects re-imagining how we live for a sustainable future.

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    Episode 3

    Regenerate

    Feb 22, 2024

    Nature has an amazing power to regenerate. How can we harness its innate ability to heal to solve the problems we face?

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    Episode 4

    Nourish

    Feb 29, 2024

    Nikolaj’s journey in this episode focuses on ways to rethink how we grow and cook the food that sustains us.

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    Episode 5

    Move

    Mar 7, 2024

    Nikolaj meets some engineers, mechanics and entrepreneurs who may have solutions on how to move without hitting an environmental dead end.

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    Episode 6

    Transform

    Mar 14, 2024

    Nikolaj’s journey toward hope continues as he searches for innovators transforming and revitalizing our world.

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    Episode 7

    Protect

    Oct 22, 2025

    How can we be optimistic in 2025? As Nikolaj Coster-Waldau begins season two, we’re reminded of the delicate balance between human progress and protecting our planet. (Source: Bloomberg)

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    Episode 8

    Rethink

    Oct 29, 2025

    Waste is a significant contributor to global warming, but turning it into a resource can help curb emissions and shrink humanity’s environmental footprint. (Source: Bloomberg)

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    Episode 9

    Invent

    Nov 5, 2025

    From transforming concrete into a carbon sink to mining nickel from genetically enhanced plants, we meet the bold inventors preserving and adapting to nature’s offerings to help humanity thrive.

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    Episode 10

    Energize

    Nov 6, 2025

    Meeting humanity’s insatiable demand for energy while still curbing greenhouse emissions will require creative solutions both big and small.

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    Episode 11

    Reclaim

    Nov 19, 2025

    We travel the world to see how tradition, technology and human ingenuity can help reclaim the planet’s precious water supply.

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    Episode 12

    Imagine

    Nov 20, 2025

    As we look toward the future and seek to overcome our world’s climate challenges, people with imagination are showing the way