10% Happier with Dan Harris

A smarter way to think about disease prevention.

Dr. Tara Narula is a board-certified cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan and Chief Medical Correspondent for ABC News. Her new book is The Healing Power of Resilience: A New Prescription for Health and Well-Being.

In this episode we talk about:

• What resilience really is, why most of us already have it, and how it can be strengthened
• The overlooked link between mental health, physical health, and recovery from illness
• Why mindset and acceptance matter as much as medical treatment when facing health challenges
• How resilience applies to major life changes, trauma, and chronic disease.
• Practical psychological tools for working with anxiety, fear, and repetitive thought patterns
• Why flexible thinking matters
• How to adapt when life doesn't go according to plan
• How beliefs, mindset, and the mind–body connection shape stress, healing, and resilience
• Why movement, sleep, and facing fear are essential ingredients in building real resilience
• How reframing identity can help people move forward after illness, trauma, or loss
• Why connection, love, and small acts of kindness are powerful and underused medicine
• How hope, faith, and purpose shape resilience, healing, and long-term health

Related Episodes:

• Dan's top 10 takeaways from the science of behavior change: How To Actually Keep Your New Year's Resolutions | Dan Solo Episode

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A conversation with Jay Michaelson, our Teacher of the Month for February, about his path to meditation, navigating multiple identities, and why he calls himself a "cynical, sarcastic bitch."

Jay Michaelson is a meditation teacher, journalist, rabbi, and author. In this conversation with executive producer DJ Cashmere, Jay gets candid about his unconventional path into meditation—driven initially by greed for mystical experiences rather than a desire to reduce suffering—and how his practice has evolved over 25 years.

We talk about:

• Why Jay identifies as a "greed type" in Buddhist psychology (and what that means)

• How to balance worldly activism with contemplative practice without getting "hollowed out"

• The concept of creating a "permission structure" to live the life you actually want

• That moment of spaciousness between stimulus and response (and how it saved Jay when he got heckled during LGBTQ activism)

• Whether meditation can help save humanity—and why Jay is both cynical and hopeful about this

• How neurotic Jay still is after 25 years of practice (spoiler: he's less reactive, but still neurotic)

• "Micro-moments" of awareness—five-second practices for people who can't go on long retreats

Jay's guided meditations and live sangha sessions are available throughout February in the 10% Happier app. You can also find him at jaymichaelson.substack.com, where he writes Both/And, a newsletter about the intersection of spirituality, meditation, and politics.

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A conversation with celebrated author George Saunders about his new novel, Vigil, and what fiction can teach us about empathy, self-awareness, and mortality.

George Saunders is the bestselling, award-winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo, Tenth of December, and many other books. His new novel, Vigil, tells the story of a woman who died in 1976 and has spent the decades since comforting the dying—until she encounters a former oil executive responsible for early climate change denial.

In this conversation, Dan and George talk about:

• Why George keeps writing about ghosts and the afterlife (hint: it's not just about mortality dread)

• The lavish empathy at the heart of Vigil—and whether we should extend that empathy even to people doing civilizational damage

• What George calls "warm metacognition"—the practice of dropping back out of your thought loops to examine what kind of goggles you're wearing

• How fiction can turn your mind into a "reconsideration machine" (and why that matters in real life)

• The difference between kindness and niceness

• George's relationship with death anxiety, which he's had since childhood and which has only intensified with age

• What George has learned about listening from teaching and hosting his Substack, Story Club

• Why the older he gets, the more important it is to stretch himself creatively

• His advice for dealing with stuckness (in writing and in life): curiosity over self-accusation

George's new novel Vigil is out January 27th from Random House. Check out his Substack, Story Club, where he discusses classic short stories with an incredibly thoughtful community.

Related Episodes:

• George Saunders on "Holy Befuddlement" and How to Be Less of a "Turd"

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Practical techniques for dealing with all of life's curveballs.

Maya Shankar is a cognitive scientist and creator of the podcast A Slight Change of Plans, previously named "Best Show of the Year" by Apple. She served as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Obama White House and was also appointed as the first Behavioral Science Advisor to the United Nations. She is the author of The Other Side of Change: Who We Become When Life Makes Other Plans.

In this episode we talk about:

• The two major life events that caused her to study the topic of change
• How to build a more expansive sense of self
• Practical tools for navigating change
• Cognitive biases such as "the end of history illusion"
• The utility of distraction and denial
• Tools for getting unstuck from rumination
• And much more

Related Episodes:

• The Science of Handling Uncertainty | Maya Shankar

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How to have fewer regrets (and utilize the ones you already have).

Daniel Pink is the author of seven bestselling nonfiction books on a range of topics, from human motivation to the science of timing to a graphic novel career guide. His books include the New York Times bestsellers The Power of Regret, A Whole New Mind, and When—as well as the #1 New York Times bestsellers Drive and To Sell is Human.

In this episode we talk about:

• The myth of the "no regrets" philosophy
• What a regret actually is
• The very real benefits of regret
• The four core regrets people tend to have
• Tools for dealing with regrets
• The importance of talking or writing about your regrets
• How to create a "failure resume"
• The Regret Optimization Framework
• The crucial role of self-compassion and self-distancing
• And much more

Related Episodes:

• 'When' Can Make a Big Difference

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Additional Resources:

• Daniel's books

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A conversation with self-described "worry warrior" Bart van Melik about working skillfully with everyday anxiety.

Bart is a guiding teacher at the Community Meditation Center in New York and our Teacher of the Month for January. In this conversation with executive producer DJ Cashmere, he gets refreshingly honest about his own tendency to worry — and shares a bunch of practical tools for when your mind won't stop spinning through worst-case scenarios.

We talk about:

• Why mindful breathing sometimes doesn't work (and what to do instead)

• The practice phrase "this wants to be seen right now"

• How to work with your aversion to worrying (which can be worse than the worry itself)

• Why talking about your fears with other people is so crucial

• The question "what is this?" as a low-barrier entry point to awareness

• How the Buddha's teaching on clinging shows up in anxious thinking

• Why community and sangha aren't optional extras

If you want more from Bart, check out the 10% with Dan Harris app where he's got meditations and live sessions throughout January.

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Secrets to self-preservation in an age of burnout.

Tim Ferris is the author of five #1 New York Times bestsellers, including The 4-Hour Workweek and Tools of Titans. He's also the host of The Tim Ferriss Show podcast. Most recently, he has collaborated with Exploding Kittens to create COYOTE, a fast and hilarious card game.

In this episode we talk about:

• Tim's Antidotes to isolation
• Past-year reviews
• The perils of self-optimization
• His meditation practice
• Escaping rumitive loops
• The role of Accelerated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
• The ketogenic diet
• Talking to chatbots about your health
• And much more

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Additional Resources:

• The New Frontiers of Mental Health — Brain Stimulation, Rapid-Acting Tools for Depression, and More
• All Things Ketones, How to Boost Cognition, Sardine Fasting, Diet Rules, & More — Dr. Dom D'Agostino
• TED: Why you should define your fears instead of your goals
• Tim Ferriss, Host of 'The Tim Ferriss Show,' Author

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Thanks to our sponsors:

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A road map for taking the pressure off.

Claudia Hammond is an award-winning writer and broadcaster. She is Visiting Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Sussex and is the presenter of BBC Radio 4's All in the Mind. Her latest book is Overwhelmed: Ways to Take the Pressure Off.

In this episode we talk about:

• How to define "overwhelm" – and modern causes for its existence
• Why the search for perfection is futile
• Claudia's three-part recipe for handling overwhelm
• Antidotes for the comparing mind
• What we should all know about procrastination
• How to not let the news overwhelm you
• What we learn from regret – and how to stop beating up on your past self
• A key technique for worrying less
• The case for nostalgia
• How to get into a "flow state"

Related Episodes:

• If You Want To Be More Productive, You Need More Rest. Here's How To Get It. | Claudia Hammond

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Additional Resources:

• The Art of Rest: How to Find Respite in the Modern Age
• The Keys to Kindness
• Time Warped: Unlocking the Mysteries of Time Perception
• Mind over Money: The Psychology of Money and How to Use It Better
• Emotional Rollercoaster: A Journey Through the Science of Feelings
• Claudia's BBC Podcasts

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What does success look like? A neuroscientist wants you to question your cognitive scripts.

Anne-Laure Le Cunff conducts research into the neuroscience of learning and curiosity at King's College London, and also runs Ness Labs. She is the author of Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World.

In this episode we talk about:

• Her critique on our cultural obsession with "finding your purpose"
• The value of knowing your "cognitive scripts"
• Practical tools to live a more purposeful, curious, and fulfilled life
• Her mini-protocol for experimentation (based on the scientific method)
• Mindful productivity — and how it builds on moving us into an experimental mindset
• Whether procrastination is actually the enemy? And tools to work with it.
• The upside of making space for your imperfections
• Tips for navigating uncertainty
• Why you want to avoid having too many experiments at the same time
• The main difference between a habit and an experiment
• How to learn alongside with other people — and why this matters
• Collective "flow" states
• Tips for community building
• And this question: is legacy important?

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A short, gentle body scan meditation from Bart van Melik, our Teacher of the Month for January.

This isn't about fixing anything or achieving some special state. It's about finding one small place in your body that feels okay—not great, just okay—and seeing what happens when you meet that experience with a little bit of kindness.

Bart is a meditation teacher and psychotherapist who has trained in Insight Meditation and Buddhist psychology. He's worked extensively in clinical settings with people dealing with stress, anxiety, and harsh self-talk. He's the guiding teacher for the Community Meditation Center in New York City.

Check out more meditations from Bart throughout January in the 10% with Dan Harris app.

Related episodes: Buddhist Strategies for Protecting Yourself from Everyday Chaos | Bart van Melik

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