John Kampfner | Braver New World: the countries daring to do what others won’t

Award-winning broadcaster and journalist John Kampfner has had a front-row seat at some of the most seismic turning points in modern history, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the collapse of communism in Moscow. Now, at a time when it can feel as though the world is falling apart, he sets out in search of something rarer than outrage: solutions.

In Braver New World: The Countries Daring to Do Things Others Won’t, Kampfner reports from ten nations confronting shared challenges with courage and imagination. He visits Japan’s intergenerational care homes, Vienna’s century-old housing projects, and Taiwan’s health system, which achieves remarkable satisfaction at a fraction of the cost of the NHS. From Moroccan solar power in the Sahara to Finnish classrooms preparing children for an uncertain future, he shows that progress is possible, and already happening.

These aren’t utopias. But what unites them is a refusal to accept that difficult problems are unsolvable. Revisit John’s event at our Spring 2026 Festival for an urgent, invigorating discussion and a bracing reminder that we should never despair, because the answers are out there if we’re brave enough to look.