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Can Optimism Be Learned? (Like Right Now?) : Short Wave Optimism is often thought as a disposition, something you're born with or without. So can it be learned? On today's show, Maddie talks with Alix Spiegel, co-host of NPR's Invisibilia, about "learned optimism." We'll look at what it is, the research behind it, and how it might come in handy in certain circumstances, like maybe a global pandemic?

Short Wave

Can Optimism Be Learned? (Like Right Now?)

Can Optimism Be Learned? (Like Right Now?)

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Healthcare workers cheer as first responders march down hospital row in Toronto, Canada, in a salute to healthcare workers. Cole Burston/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Cole Burston/AFP via Getty Images

Healthcare workers cheer as first responders march down hospital row in Toronto, Canada, in a salute to healthcare workers.

Cole Burston/AFP via Getty Images

Optimism is often thought as a disposition, something you're born with or without. So can it be learned? On today's show, Maddie talks with Alix Spiegel, co-host of NPR's Invisibilia, about "learned optimism." We'll look at what it is, the research behind it, and how it might come in handy in certain circumstances, like maybe a global pandemic?

Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.