The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

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You might think you know what it takes to lead a happier life… more money, a better job, or Instagram-worthy vacations. You’re dead wrong. Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos has studied the science of happiness and found that many of us do the exact opposite of what will truly make our lives better. Based on the psychology course she teaches at Yale — the most popular class in the university’s 300-year history — The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos will take you through the latest scientific research and share some surprising and inspiring stories that will change the way you think about happiness.

Most Recent Episode

How to Make a Difference (Happily)

We often assume that we can’t fix the big problems we see in the world around us. And that trying is for suckers - who’ll just end up sad, exhausted…

How to Disagree Better

It feels like our world is deeply polarized. We seem to fundamentally disagree with so many people - and with those disputes comes anger and hatred. Can anything bridge these…

Survival of the Fittest… or the Kindest?

Some people think they need to be ruthless and selfish to thrive and survive in life. The theories of Charles Darwin are often wrongly interpreted to support this view that…

How to Find Hope in a Cynical World

It’s hard to stay hopeful these days. Stanford professor Jamil Zaki has been studying the incredible depth of human kindness for decades, but even he gives in to cynicism when…

Find Hope and Banish Cynicism… Coming Sept 9

It's hard to stay hopeful sometimes. Things can look pretty bleak and divided, especially around election time. But if you're losing hope in your fellow humans, stop and listen to…

“Happiness Is Like A Leaky Tire” from Immigrantly

We're bringing you an episode of Immigrantly, where Laurie joined host Saadia Khan to discuss the psychology of happiness education and the expansive realm of happiness. Is happiness a fleeting…

The Happiness Lessons Helping Win Olympic Medals

America's top athletes need coaches. And those coaches themselves need guidance. It's a hard and stressful job - and one where coaches can easily become burned out and unhappy. And…

The Happiness of the Long Distance Runner

Georgia Bell was a great runner as a child - but in college she fell out of love with the sport. She hung up her running shoes - and they…

How Talking to a Friend Helps (Live at The International Festival of Arts and Ideas)

Making shows about her own happiness challenges was both fun and instructive for Dr Laurie, but it also took guts to be so vulnerable and open. She later spoke to…

A Matter of Life and Death

Dr Laurie HATES thinking about her own death. It's scary, creepy and morbid, right? Wrong. Thinking about our finite lives can makes us better, happier people. The shadow of death…

Why Don’t We Have a 15-hour Work Week?

By 2030 we'll only work 15 hours a week, predicted the legendary economist John Maynard Keynes back in 1930. He thought advances in technology and wealth would let us earn…

Does the You of Today Hate the You of Tomorrow?

We often do things now that will make our lives more difficult or stressful in the future. We spend money, when we should save. We eat junk food, when we…

The Power of Awe… and Where to Find it

Awe reduces stress, helps us forget our minor worries and makes us feel more connected to the people around us. We all need more awe in our lives - but…

How to Tame Stress

Dr. Laurie is stressed, and it's harming her health. Constant worry and stress is bad for our bodies and our minds, but how can we break the cycle and relax?…

How I Stopped Fearing Boredom

Dr Laurie HATES boredom! Since childhood she's found it so painful that she'll do anything to avoid being bored. She'll watch crappy TV. She'll find extra work to do. She'll…

How to Fight Perfectionism

Holding yourself to impossibly high standards is self-defeating and makes for a miserable life. Can Dr Laurie Santos find ways to tackle her constant perfectionism so she can perform better…

Five Tips to be Happier at Work (Dr Laurie at SXSW)

Work is a worry. Are we paid enough? Should we be getting promoted quicker? Is artificial intelligence about to replace us all?  Speaking at SXSW 2024, Dr Laurie Santos argues…

Tame Those Devices: 10 Tips to Achieve Digital Balance

Technology is amazing! We can make video calls, find facts in an instant and watch movies on our phones. We take all this for granted, but have we let our…

How to Grow After Adversity

Karen Guggenheim was devastated by the death of her husband, Ricardo. She was alive, but dead to the world around her. Slowly she put her life back together and found…

Simple Ways to Feel Great Every Day – with Dr Rangan Chatterjee

Medical doctors are waking up to the importance of happiness, partly prompted by the work of people like Rangan Chatterjee. Dr Chatterjee is Professor of Health Education and Communication, the…

How to Make America’s Young People Happier Again

The US is sliding down the world happiness rankings - but it's the unhappiness of young people that's really dragging down the average. What has happened to make Gen Z…

Can Happiness Ward Off Dementia?

Age is the main risk factor for cognitive decline. So with more people around the world living longer, cases of dementia are set to rise. There's currently no cure -…

What Can We Learn From the Happiest Country on Earth?

There are certain nations which always top the rankings in the World Happiness Report. What are they doing right, that other countries are getting wrong? And what can you do…

Pushkin Hosts Celebrate World Happiness Day

The Happiness Lab’s Dr. Laurie Santos brings together other Pushkin hosts to mark the International Day of Happiness. Revisionist History’s Malcolm Gladwell talks about the benefits of the misery of…

The Happiness of Subtraction

We often think adding more things to our lives will make us happier - more trips, more activities, more possessions. Sadly our minds find it hard to comprehend that having…

Why the “Good Enough” Relationship Beats the “Perfect Partner”

Fairy tales and Hollywood rom coms have taught us to expect perfection from a soul mate, but sex and relationships therapist Todd Baratz says we need to be more comfortable…

A Supercommunicator’s Guide to Love and Dating

Some people ask searching questions and then really listen to the replies. These so-called supercommunicators make great romantic partners, so can anyone learn to be more like them?   Journalist Charles…

Can Couples Learn to Argue Better?

No matter how much you love your partner, your relationship will never be totally free from disagreement. And nor should it be, say researchers Dr John Gottman and Dr Julie…

Love Lessons from the “Masters of Relationships”

Some people are just good at building and maintaining healthy partnerships. In their "Love Lab," the married researchers Dr. John Gottman and Dr Julie Schwartz Gottman have seen how certain…

The Sweet Smell of Happiness

Does happiness have a scent? Dr Laurie has been trying to remove the bad smells in her life and bring in more fragrances that enhance her wellbeing. But she's noticed…

How Getting Active Can Make You Happier

Busy scientist Adam Aron had too much on his plate to think deeply about climate change - until he read a scary report about what lay in store for the…

Being Green Doesn’t Mean Sacrificing Fun… or Cutting Out Meat

We often think of fighting climate change as a drain on our happiness - it'll mean sacrificing the things we love, like air travel or eating hamburgers. But researchers Jiaying…

Why our Brains Don’t Fear Climate Change Enough

Humans are great at reacting to mortal danger... but only sometimes. Unfortunately, some risks to our safety and wellbeing don't set off alarm bells in our brains. Climate change falls…

When Stalin Killed the Weekend – A Happiness Lab/Cautionary Tales Crossover

Time off work is vital for your happiness. So what would you do if you couldn't take the same rest day as your family and friends? Would you quit your…

Giving Away Cash Makes You Happy… and Transforms Lives

YOU can boost your happiness and transform the lives of people in one African village with a cash gift by going to givedirectly.org/happiness Giving money to others makes you happier than spending…

Make America Happy Again

We're distrustful, unequal and isolated. That's according to the figures showing a decline in happy community feeling since the 1960s. But can we do anything to regain the healthier communal…

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Cheers was a sitcom hit in the 80s thanks to a theme tune promising that the fictional bar was a place "where everybody knows you name". Venues like pubs -…

Don’t Make Friends Where You Make Your Money?

Work and friendship don't mix, thought Katherine Hu. A recent graduate, she found it harder to form bonds with colleagues than she'd expected. But then she concluded that not having…

Ask for Help… and Spread Happiness

Jia Jiang dreamed of being the next Bill Gates... but an entrepreneur needs the courage and confidence to ask for help. Jia was terrified of rejection - so couldn't fulfil…

The Introvert’s Guide to Extroversion

Jessica Pan hated social gatherings - she cried when her friends threw her a surprise birthday party, and was even too scared to give a speech at her own wedding.…

Text a Friend… Right Now!

When did you last check in on a friend? Maybe the last time you did, their reply was terse or non-existent. Perhaps months or years have passed and you feel…

How to Make Friends and Compliment People

Connecting with people is a sure-fire way to be happier - and you can quickly build relationships with friends and strangers alike just by giving them a sincere compliment. In…

Grover’s Super Solution to Self-Talk

It's not always easy being a podcast host. Dr. Laurie is stressed, making mistakes and blaming herself. When things go wrong, we're often our own harshest critics. So how can…

Big Bird Has Big Feelings

You don't need to be 8 feet tall like Big Bird to have big, big feelings. We all experience emotions of excitement, frustration and sadness that feel overwhelming.  But when…

Dr. Laurie and Sesame Street: Abby Cadabby and the Magic of Gratitude

It's never too early or too late to learn how to be happier. Whether you're aged 3, 23 or 103, we've teamed up with our furry friends from Sesame Street…

Build the Life You Want… Advice from Arthur Brooks and Oprah

Oprah Winfrey and Arthur Brooks want you to be happier - so the TV megastar and the Harvard academic teamed up to write a book setting out the steps you need…

The Unhappy Millionaire ICYMI

Recovering from a car crash that smashed her face, listener Rebecca Kaduru stumbled across an episode of The Happiness Lab in which we interviewed wounded Iraq veteran JR Martinez. His…

‘I woke up in an Ambulance Stuck in Traffic.’ : A Listener’s Story of Recovery

Rebecca Kaduru was driving home... then woke up in an ambulance. She'd been in involved in an accident and her face was smashed. Living in Uganda, she struggled to receive…

Ask Us Anything! Laurie and Gretchen Take Your Questions (Live from Toronto)

What do you do when you enter "survival mode"? How can you become better at forging social connections? Can you be happy in a sad world? Happiness experts Dr Laurie…

With Elmo’s Help… It’s Never Too Early to Learn About Happiness

Not matter if you're aged three or 103, you can learn to be happier using pretty much the same strategies. Sesame Workshop and its furry friends have been teaching "emotional…

Can Spiritual Experiences and Psychedelics Make us Happy? (LIVE from DC)

More than a third of us admit to having had a spiritual experience. We might have been profoundly moved by a sunset or a painting; or felt that we've connected…

Why We’re Mean to Our Future Selves (LIVE from Boston)

Who do we volunteer to run a gruelling half-marathon? Who do we expect to give up sugar, or quit drinking? Who do we demand clears out the garage in the…

The Man Who Invented Happiness Science: Marty Seligman

When Marty Seligman started his long scientific career, psychologists concentrated on studying "misery and suffering" and what made people sad. But Marty wanted to discover what made happy people, well,…

Smell, Taste and Touch: How to Joyfully Awaken Your Senses

Happiness expert Gretchen Rubin was warned that her eyesight was in peril. It shocked her into realising she'd taken all of her five senses for granted - and so she…

Sight and Sound: How to Joyfully Awaken Your Senses

Are you seeing what you look at? Or tuning in to the noises all around you? We take our senses for granted - particularly when it comes to the sights…

Do We Need a New Word for ‘Happiness’? Katie Couric talks to Dr Laurie Santos

Laurie swaps seats in the studio to be interviewed by none other than Katie Couric. In this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Laurie's asked to define happiness; outline…

Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: Sikhism and Daily Habits

Following 9/11, Simran Jeet Singh's Sikh family in Texas was subjected to extreme racist abuse. And yet, Simran's father chose to look on the bright side and offer thanks instead…

Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: Sikhism and How We’re All Connected

Educator and author Simran Jeet Singh is Sikh. Most of his fellow Americans have no idea what Sikhism is - causing some to treat Simran with suspicion and hostility. But…

Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: Yoga of the Mind

We often think of yoga as a physical exercise - but a centuries-old Sanskrit text, The Yoga Sutras, share teachings intended to improve both the body and mind. The author,…

Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: The Trauma of Troy

In Virgil's epic poem, The Aeneid, few Trojans survive the destruction of their city at the hands of their Greek enemies. A prince, Aeneas, leads a band of those fleeing…

Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: The Anger of Achilles

Achilles has anger issues. The great Greek warrior sits out most of the Trojan War because he's angrily sulking. When he finally enters battle, he does so in a fit…

Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: Aristotle and Plato ICYMI

The Greek thinker Socrates was put to death for encouraging his students to question everything - from their own beliefs to the laws and customs of Athenian society. But his…

Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: Socrates and Self-Knowledge

Question everything... that's a key insight from the great Greek philosopher Socrates. We may think we know ourselves and what makes us happy... but that's not always true. Yale professor…

The Happiness of Silence

We're surrounded by noise. That "noise" can be actual sounds - but also other annoyances and distractions that make it hard for us to concentrate or think clearly. And it's…

Stop Looking for the Perfect Job – a “Good Enough Job” is Just Fine

We can put huge amounts of physical and emotional energy into our jobs - even basing our self-worth on our achievements at work and letting ourselves be defined by what…

A Daily Workout to Tackle Nagging Self-Criticism

Lots of us hit the gym in January to get fit - but should we also be exercising our minds in preparation for tough times? A daily "self-talk workout" might…

How to Eat Intuitively in 2023

Everyone has a view about what you should eat and how much. We're so bombarded with fad diets, fasting plans and nutritional advice that we can bounce from one way…

Stop Endlessly Chasing the “Next Big Thing” in 2023

We're often looking into the future... hunting for the "next big thing". That could be an exciting new job or a new relationship. We can get so fixated with these…

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