From Hype to Hope: Moving Beyond Noise, Apathy, and the Illusion of Progress

“At some point, we stopped dreaming. Not because we don’t care—but because we’re afraid to hope.”  

In this episode of Sense Making Conversations, Andrea Sampson is joined by futurist and author Nikolas Badminton for a conversation that reclaims something we’ve quietly abandoned: the belief that the future can be better—and that we have a role in building it.  

Together, they unpack the silent weight of apathy, the exhaustion of cynicism, and the seductive illusion that motion equals progress—when in fact, what we need is direction.  

- Why “hope is not a strategy” misses the point—and what we lose when we believe it - How hype cycles have replaced vision—and what it takes to dream responsibly 

- The rise of the Hope Engineer—and how to become one in your life, your work, and your culture  

This is not a feel-good conversation. It’s a courageous one. About what it means to lead in times of collapse, and how we find the strength to begin again.  

If you’ve stopped picturing a future that excites you, this episode will remind you: we don’t wait for hope. We build it. 

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Nikolas Badminton is a world-renowned futurist, strategic foresight expert, and the Chief Futurist at Futurist Think Tank. He has advised over 400 of the world’s most impactful organizations—from NASA to Google to the United Nations—on how to navigate the future through deep foresight, systems thinking, and the power of hope.  

A former data scientist and cultural theorist, Nik is also the author of the bestselling book Facing Our Futures (2023) and the forthcoming The Hope Engineers Playbook, which combines modern hope theory, futures thinking, and practical tools for building agency in uncertain times. His work focuses on empowering individuals and organizations to envision—and build—equitable, resilient futures grounded in possibility and purpose.  

Nik splits his time between Canada and the UK and is a sought-after keynote speaker, thinker, and provocateur on the global stage.   

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Find more information on Nik Badminton: https://futurist.com/ https://nikolasbadminton.com/\