About Lisanne

I’m a writer, essayist, blogger, and the founder of The Hotpot — an editorial project that features five stimulating things to learn about climate solutions each week. Hand-picked articles with lasting value from the best journalists and experts in the field. For past publications browse through this archive of articles.

I’m also the publisher of the Decoded. On April 1, 2022, the very first edition of The Decoded went out to just a handful of early subscribers. In the monthly newsletter, I write my personal essays to resonate with readers on a deeper, emotional level. Today, it has grown to become a newsletter enjoyed by readers in over 15 countries around the world. It remains, however, a one-woman labor of love, written, created, and cared for by me.

Lisanneswart.com was born in the winter of 2020, as a destination to share my favorite books with more people than only my friends and family. By now the bookshelf includes 25 thought-provoking mostly nonfiction book recommendations, which are brought to you to discover and to spark a meaningful conversation.

Along the way, this blog has become my diary. My personal journey into what matters in the world and why. On this platform, you’ll find me writing and speaking about the people I meet, the books I’m reading, and what I’m learning. This platform aims to bring people together, showcase my work, and keep you tuned. I hope you join the conversation.

I grew up watching women from all across the country sharing their personal stories at The Oprah Winfrey Show. I also spent a good amount of time watching CNN with Christiana Amanpour asking direct questions to controversial world leaders. I loved author James Baldwin always speaking truth to power, and Louis Theroux from the BBC during Weird Weekends. I’ve been greatly inspired by them and many others, but especially by the way television can be used as a medium to transform lives.

It’s very refreshing and inspiring that an extremely powerful medium like that can be used in such a way that it can touch lives, inform us about something we didn’t know yet, or remind us that we might be more connected to one another than we might think sometimes. I believe great stories are powerful, and can inspire people to think and act differently.

Since the beginning of this online publication I’ve been dedicated to maintain this place advertisement-free – making it a platform solely focused on quality stories and readers’ support. The relationship between a writer and reader should, in my opinion, be personal and real. Ads intervene in that dialogue and disturb – as you will, the authenticity it needs and deserves. 

Therefore, I like this platform in general, to be a destination for people to share stories and ideas that matter. I’m a passionate voice for my community, and as the world keeps getting faster, there’s actually a shortage of thoughtful, timeless stories and ideas that are worth sharing an hour or even a week later. While the web can be a crowded place of anonymity, clicks, self-exposure and sometimes bullying, it can also be a destination of unity, real conversations and bringing people together.