In this ESL lesson plan for adults and teens, students watch and listen to an informative video about the current state of humanity and the world from the view of Steven Pinker, an author and professor. It includes discussion questions, conversation, and vocabulary activities about humanity, the world, the news, and optimism. Students then do some listening/viewing comprehension activities based on the video. The viewing follow-up includes some additional discussion, an activity on adjectives conveying optimistic or positive connotations, and news headlines. There is an additional optimistic news headlines task. There is a quiz & review as well as a lesson reflection included.