re:publica 26: Maren Urner – Radikal hoffnungsvoll: Denn unser Hirn gibt niemals auf

Radically hopeful: Because our brains never give up. Looking online feels like a race against time: conflicts, wars, and catastrophes. The destruction of ecosystems on one end of the spectrum, the dismantling of democratic structures on the other. Driven by the tech bros' fight for power and influence. They rely primarily on one formula: instilling fear in all of us. This allows them to increasingly unhinderedly indulge their power fantasies and ideology of long-termism. Because they know that persistent fear makes us helpless and passive. But fear has an expiration date: The human body isn't designed for constant anxiety. Chronic fear not only silences us and amplifies populist voices, but also makes us ill. Thus, despite all the technological advances and our constant presence on social media, we are lonelier, more depressed, and more anxious than ever before. So now what? Now humanity's wonder weapon must take center stage. Hope, which has been and always will be the beginning of every social revolution and every advance. Hope, which has no expiration date. Hope, which is harmless opium for the brain. Hope. It is not passively waiting for (technological) salvation, but actively imagining and shaping a present that is not yet, but can be and will be. Hope itself is the hope to end the race of destruction and begin a new one. The race for a future worth living. Everything we need for this is within us: always, free of charge, and without health risks. This program session is supported by the Mercator Foundation. Hope itself is the hope to end the race of destruction and begin a new one. Everything we need for this is within us: always, free of charge, and without health risks. This program session is supported by the Mercator Foundation. Speaker: Maren Urner – https://re-publica.com/user/25708 Further information: https://re-publica.com/de/session/rad... All videos from #rp26:    • re:publica 2026: Never gonna give you up!   Mastodon: https://berlin.social/@republica Threads: https://www.threads.net/@re_publica Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/re-publica.com Instagram:   / re_publica   Facebook:   / republica   LinkedIn:   / re-publica   re:publica 26 – Never Gonna Give You up! https://re-publica.com #PoliticsUndSociety May 20, 2026 Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)