10% Happier with Dan Harris

A Buddhist doctor/nun on how we're all addicted to something—and how to reduce craving.

Sister Dang Nghiem, MD, ("Sister D") was born in 1968 in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, the daughter of a Vietnamese mother and an American soldier. She lost her mother at the age of twelve and immigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen with her brother. Living in various foster homes, she learned English and went on to earn a medical degree from the University of California – San Francisco. After suffering further tragedy and loss, she quit her practice as a doctor to travel to Plum Village monastery in France founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, where she was ordained a nun in 2000, and given the name Dang Nghiem, which means adornment with nondiscrimination. She is the author of a memoir, Healing: A Woman's Journey from Doctor to Nun (2010), and Mindfulness as Medicine: A Story of Healing and Spirit (2015).

This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series.

We talk about:

• Sister D's Buddhist version of the 12 step program, which is a combination of two canonical buddhist lists: the 4 Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path
• How willpower doesn't fit into the Buddhist path of understanding and working with addiction
• How to change addiction at its root
• Practical applications of mindfulness
• Self-compassion
• The importance of social support
• Her thoughts on our relationships to our phones
• And more

Related Episodes:

• Do Life Better
• This Episode Will Make You Stronger | Sister Dang Nghiem
• The Science Of Manifestation | James Doty

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How to use your innate mindfulness to turn the volume down, or even uproot, your everyday addictions.

Dr. Judson Brewer is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center and professor in Behavioral and Social Sciences and Psychiatry at the Schools of Public Health & Medicine at Brown University. He is the author of several books, including The Craving Mind, Unwinding Anxiety, and The Hunger Habit.

This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series.

We talk about:

• Jud's definition of addiction
• The difference between the scientific view and the Buddhist view on addiction
• The buddhist concept of Dependent origination
• Dopamine and dopamine fasting
• A three gear plan for sticking to your resolutions
• Judson's disenchantment with the term "mindfulness"
• What we need to know about willpower
• The two types of stress – and its impact on our behavior
• What makes us resilient – and why it matters
• How community plays a role in making habit changes
• And finally, a friendly debate on whether there is such a thing as healthy anger?

Related Episodes:

• Do Life Better
• Get Fit Sanely
• The Anti-Diet | Evelyn Tribole
• The Science of Why You Eat When You're Not Hungry–And How to Stop | Judson Brewer
• Modern Life Is Making You Sick, but It Doesn't Have To | Gabor Maté
• Why We're All Suffering from Racial Trauma (Even White People) -- and How to Handle It | Resmaa Menakem
• I Just Went Through A Career Earthquake: This Is What's Next.
• How to Break Your Anxiety Habit | Judson Brewer

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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes

Full Shownotes: https://www.meditatehappier.com/podcast/tph/judson-brewer-898

Additional Resources:

• MindShift Recovery

A podcast pioneer on failure, resilience, luck, work/life balance, and the power of questions.

Guy Raz has been instrumental in creating some of the most iconic podcasts in the world, including Wondery's How I Built This, Wow in the World and TED Radio Hour. The New York Times has described him as "one of the most popular podcasters in history."

This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series.

We talk about:

• The challenge–and gift–of failure
• Getting comfortable with discomfort and risk
• The notion of luck
• The balance between your relationships and your work
• Why scale isn't always the answer
• Success vs. happiness
• And much more

Related Episodes:

• Do Life Better
• Sanely Ambitious
• #321 The Joy of Being Wrong | Adam Grant
• Rethinking Success | Mia Birdsong

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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes

Full Shownotes: https://meditatehappier.com/podcast/tph/guy-raz-896

How to be less stressed and more productive.

Nolitha Tsengiwe, a Dharma teacher and board member at Dharmagiri Retreat Center, in South Africa. She is also a graduate of Insight Meditation Society teacher training.

This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series.

In this episode we talk about:

• How to weave mindfulness into your day without requiring a big formal sit
• How to have healthy conflict in the workplace
• Our attempts to explain the ineffable
• And much more

Related Episodes:

• Do Life Better
• Sanely Ambitious

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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes

Full Shownotes: https://www.meditatehappier.com/podcast/tph/nolitha-895

Additional Resources:

• Listen to Nolitha's talks on DharmaSeed

Burnout is on the rise. Two experts show us how to combat it.

Dr. Kristin Neff is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, conducting the first empirical studies on self-compassion more than twenty years ago.

Christopher Germer is a clinical psychologist and lecturer on psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He also co-developed a highly impactful program called Mindful Self-Compassion, which has been taught to over 100,000 people across the world.

This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series.

We talk about:

• How to know if you are burnt out
• The three main symptoms of burnout, their causes, and their health consequences
• The three components of self-compassion and how they can help
• The inner critic and why we kick our own asses
• How to draw appropriate boundaries with your boss
• The difference between tender and fierce self-compassion
• Tools for dealing with perfectionism without letting go of high standards

Related Episodes:

• Do Life Better
• Sanely Ambitious
• Kryptonite for the Inner Critic | Kristin Neff
• #360 Self-Compassion Ain't Always Soft | Kristin Neff
• #310 The Scientific Case for Self-Compassion | Chris Germer
• For the Burned Out, Fried, and Exhausted | Emily & Amelia Nagoski

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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes

Full Shownotes: https://meditatehappier.com/podcast/tph/neff-germer-894

Additional Resources:

• Self-compassion event with Kristin Neff & Dan Harris
• The Self-Compassion Test
• The Center for Mindful Self Compassion

A candid conversation about money: How much is enough? How to find real security?

Sebene Selassie, an author and meditation teacher. She writes the popular newsletter Ancestors to Elements and her first book is called, You Belong.

Jeff Warren is also an author and meditation teacher. He writes the popular Substack newsletter Home Base and is the coauthor, along with me, of a book called Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics. And he is the co-host of the mind/bod adventure pod.

This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series.

We talk about:

• How much is enough
• The illusion of security
• The importance of being able to talk to your friends about this stuff
• The power of identifying your own money story, in other words, finding the point of origination for your own neuroses on the subject

Related Episodes:

• Do Life Better
• How to Avoid the Toilet Vortex of Anxiety | Sebene Selassie and Jeff Warren
• How to Stay Calm No Matter What's Happening | Sebene Selassie and Jeff Warren
• Meditation Party: The "Sh*t Is Fertilizer" Edition | Sebene Selassie & Jeff Warren
• Meditation Party with Sebene Selassie and Jeff Warren: Psychedelics, ADHD, Waking Up From Distraction, and Singing Without Being Self-Conscious
• Meditation Party: Magic, Mystery, Intuition, Tattoos, and Non-Efforting | Sebene Selassie and Jeff Warren

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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes

Full Shownotes: https://www.meditatehappier.com/podcast/tph/meditation-party-892

Additional Resources:

• Register for Meditation Party at Omega, October 24 - 26, 2025
• Allison Strickland's GoFundMe

A Wharton professor shares practical tips on increasing your financial security, and eradicating the taboo around financial conversations.

Dr. Wendy De La Rosa is an Assistant Professor at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She focuses on behavioral science to improve consumers' financial well-being.

This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series.

We talk about:

• Psychological and technological tools for taking control of your finances
• How to get a handle on small frequent purchases
• The relationship between our environment and our finances
• Financial shame
• How our parents relationship with money impacts us as adults
• The G.I. Joe Fallacy, and the misconception that "knowing is half the battle" when it comes to our financial health
• 10 financial questions to ask your romantic partner
• How to eliminate the taboo of financial conversations
• And much more

Related Episodes:

• Do Life Better
• 543. The Psychology of Money | Morgan Housel
• #402. How To Work Around Your Own Irrationality | Richard Thaler
• #345 How to Change Your Habits | Katy Milkman

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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes

Full Shownotes: https://www.meditatehappier.com/podcast/tph/de-la-rosa-891

The science and dharma of mindful eating. How it can stop over eating—and how to actually make the habit.

Brother Pháp Lưu is an ordained monk in the Plum Village tradition started by Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh. He's worked with scientists at Dartmouth College and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health to develop research on the effect of Plum Village mindfulness practices on children.

This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series.

We talk about:

• The health benefits of mindful eating
• The line between moderation and restriction
• The five contemplations before eating
• The basic steps of mindful eating
• How to ensure mindful eating doesn't feel like a chore or burden
• Fasting and our culture's dysregulated relationship to food
• Mindful consumption in general
• The four nutriments
• And much more

Related Episodes:

• Do Life Better
• Get Fit Sanely
• The Anti-Diet | Evelyn Tribole
• The Science of Why You Eat When You're Not Hungry–And How to Stop | Judson Brewer

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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes

Full Shownotes: https://www.meditatehappier.com/podcast/tph/phap-luu-889

What exercise does to your brain—and how to actually do it regularly.

Wendy Suzuki is a Professor of Neural Science and Psychology at New York University, where she is also the first Asian-American Dean of the College of Arts and Science. She is the author of two books, Good Anxiety and Healthy Brain, Happy Life.

This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series.

We talk about:

• How exercise not only enhances cognitive function but also protects against age-related cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases.
• The difference between cardio and strength training
• Whether it matters if you track your steps
• How to sustain your motivation to exercise
• And practical tips on how to start, restart or increase an exercise habit
• We also talk about the brain benefits of sleep, meditation, and healthy eating (with a detour into ways to counteract the potentially unhealthy obsession with being healthy)
• And finally, we talk about the counterintuitive benefits of anxiety

Related Episodes:

• Do Life Better
• Get Fit Sanely
• Sleep Better
• The Anti-Diet | Evelyn Tribole

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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes

Full Shownotes: https://www.meditatehappier.com/podcast/tph/wendy-suzuki-888

Dan briefly whittles down his top 10 takeaways from the science of behavior change.

In this episode we talk about:

• How our brain's evolution for short-term survival makes long-term goals harder
• Picking the right goals
• Making it easy
• Leveraging fresh starts
• How to make goals a team sport
• The crucial role of mindfulness and self-compassion

This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series.

Related Episodes:

The Science of Making – And Keeping – New Year's Resolutions | Hal Hershfield

How To Change Your Habits | Katy Milkman

Why Your Bad Habits (And Addictions) May Be Getting Worse – And How Mindfulness Can Help | Dr. Jud Brewer

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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes

Full Shownotes: www.meditatehappier.com/podcast/tph/dan-solo-habit-formation

Additional Resources:

• Download the Happier Meditation app today.