In this Very Special Episode, we share dozens of ideas from listeners—and ourselves—about how to add an element of whimsy to everyday life, without needing to spend much time, energy, or money.  

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Order your copy of Secrets of Adulthood
• My article: Why Whimsy Is Having a Moment
• Elizabeth's newsletter: Happier in Hollywood
• Gretchen's book Happier at Home
• Bookshop.org
• Join other readers in person at an in-store event! For a list, head to happiercast.com/read25day

Get in touch: [email protected]

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Yorker magazine covers capture something both true and elusive about the city, by distilling New York in single images, so that the place feels simultaneously familiar and out of reach.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In honor of our upcoming Read 25 Day, we are excited to share an audiobook preview of bestselling novel "The Ministry of Time" from Lemonada's own "Your Next Listen" podcast. 

More about the book: This genre-bending time-travel sci-fi slash romance slash mystery slash spy thriller was a breakout hit for debut author Kaliane Bradley. It’s been recommended by everyone from Barack Obama to Cosmopolitan magazine – so what’s all the fuss about? Jump into this excerpt, and we are willing to bet you’ll be hooked right away on this funny, sexy, twisty story. 

Resources & links related to this episode:

• The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Amazon, Bookshop) 

Get in touch: [email protected]

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We discuss why we shouldn't downplay things that are actually important to us (such as saying “I don’t care about my birthday” if you do care). We also review some fun new travel terms, such as "townsizing" and "JOMO travel," and we address the problem of waiting until we're ready to make big decisions. Plus, we tackle a listener's question about dealing with a spouse who makes hurtful comments disguised as jokes.

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Order your copy of Secrets of Adulthood
• The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman (Amazon, Bookshop)
• After Hours with Jamie Rubin podcast
• The latest travel lingo
• A Little Happier: The Power of Telling the Truth: What Nebraska's and Oslo's Tourists Know
• Happier in Hollywood Substack
• Secrets of Adulthood Substack 
• Design Your Summer Worksheet
• Elizabeth is reading: Year Zero: A History of 1945 by Ian Baruma (Amazon, Bookshop)
• Gretchen is reading: All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert (Amazon, Bookshop)

Get in touch: [email protected]

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A double anniversary (of a wedding and of a life-saving medical cure) inspired this toast—with allusion to Gertrude Stein, Wendell Berry, and “The Office.”

Resources & links related to this episode:

• The most purely happy day of my life

Get in touch: [email protected]

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We bring you a conversation with my friend Zibby Owens on her podcast Totally Booked. Taped in front of a life studio audience, we discuss my new book, Secrets of Adulthood, the beauty of frameworks, and why you should label your next email "confidential."

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Zibby Owens 
• Totally Booked 

Get in touch: [email protected]

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk about why it can be helpful to set a tripwire for making a decision or moving forward. We also discuss a Secret of Adulthood that’s very relevant to the practice of keeping a storage unit (even one that’s not really needed), and a know-yourself-better question related to the use of gadgets and gizmos.

Resources & links related to this episode:

• The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells (Amazon, Bookshop)
• Order your copy of Secrets of Adulthood
• I'm partnering with Bookshop.org for Read 25 Day!
• Pledge to Read 25 on June 25th and head to happiercast.com/read25day
• Snuffle mats
• Download The Happier app
• Elizabeth is reading: Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America by Bridget Read (Amazon, Bookshop)
• Gretchen is reading: A Chance Meeting: Intertwined Lives of American Writers and Authors by Rachel Cohen (Amazon, Bookshop)

Luxury shouldn't be out of reach. Go to cozyearth.com/HAPPIER for up to 40% off Cozy Earth’s best-selling temperature-regulating sheets, apparel, and more.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Becoming a parent can be one of the most transformative, and instructive, experiences of our lives. These four “Secrets of Adulthood” examine some of the most important lessons parenthood can teach us.

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Open-door stage
• Secrets of Adulthood
• A version of this piece was originally published on the CNBC site.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

James Taylor and a new puppy are making us happier. We also explore the question of whether it’s common these days to have perhaps unrealistically high expectations from the people and organizations in our lives, from marriage to work to friendship. Plus we discuss an intriguing question: Do you love to "provision,” to stock up on essential items?

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Insight Timer
• Take the Gift-Giving Quiz

Get in touch: [email protected]

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We discuss the idea of the  “familect” and why it might be fun to create a  dictionary for our own familect. We also talk about a hack that makes it easier to use a smartphone, and we share dozens of listeners’ thought-provoking  “Secrets of Adulthood.”

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Order your copy of Secrets of Adulthood
• Join Secrets of Adulthood on SubStack
• Look Back with Love by Dodie Smith (Amazon)
• Elizabeth is reading: All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert (Amazon, Bookshop)
• Gretchen is reading: Modern Friendship by Anna Goldfarb (Amazon, Bookshop)

Get in touch: [email protected]

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.