On the 139th episode of
What is a Good Life?, I’m delighted to welcome
Simon Höher—a public designer, researcher, and strategist based in Berlin. Simon works at the intersection of systems, futures, and justice, partnering with public institutions, startups, and cultural organisations to rethink how we design, govern, and live together. He is Systems Change Lead at Dark Matter Labs and currently supports the European Commission’s Net Zero Cities Mission.
In this conversation, we explore big questions about life, governance, and personal evolution: the nature of change, how today’s decisions shape future generations, and the role of resilience and trust in navigating uncertainty. We also look at ways to move beyond the problem–solution dichotomy.
04:30 What to do about the state of the world?
08:00 Evolution and transitions
12:00 Shifting from private to public interest
14:30 How do we gauge impact?
19:40 Questioning are we part of the problem
23:50 The impact of trust & hope on resilience
32:45 Trusting yourself through change
37:00 We are incredibly adaptive creatures
39:30 The significance of openness
42:30 The problem-solution dichotomy
50:00 Minimal intervention
54:00 Summary and what is a good life for Simon?
What is What is a Good Life??
A project to help you realise you are enough, by noticing and inhabiting life more fully.
What Is a Good Life? is a long-form conversation project exploring how people actually live, feel, and make meaning of their lives. Over the past four years, I’ve sat with more than 300 people — artists, parents, executives, wanderers, therapists, and strangers and invited them into a simple but profound inquiry, "What is a good life for you?"
The conversations explore presence, paradox, uncertainty, and the moments that shape a life - love and loss, trust and fear, clarity and not knowing. It’s an invitations to slow down, to listen deeply, and to bring you into conversation with your own life. There are new episodes every Tuesday.