The Science of Happiness

By PRX and Greater Good Science Center

Social Sciences

What's The Science of Happiness about?

Learn research-tested strategies for a happier, more meaningful life, drawing on the science of compassion, gratitude, mindfulness, and awe. Hosted by award-winning psychologist Dacher Keltner. Co-produced by PRX and UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center.

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Why Listen to the Other Side?

09.29.2022

These days, it's hard to imagine befriending people with different politics than your own. But these two men did it using a tried and true practice. Episode summary: When a graphic work of art depicting two men having sex was ...

The Science of Happiness episodes:

09.29.2022 Why Listen to the Other Side? These days, it's hard to imagine befriending people with different politics than your own. But these two men did it using a tried and true practice. Episode summary: When a graphic work of art depicting two men having sex was ...
09.22.2022 Happiness Break: Six Minutes to Connect with Your Body Dedicating a little time to tune into your body fortifies you to better handle the stresses of daily life. How to Do This Practice: Find a quiet place where you feel safe and comfortable.You can be standing, sitting, or lying ...
09.15.2022 Nine Steps to Forgiveness How do you forgive someone while still holding them accountable? What if that person is yourself? This week, our guest tries a practice in forgiving herself and someone else. Episode summary: Anoosha Syed appreciates her name now, but as a ...
09.08.2022 Happiness Break: A Note to Self on Forgiveness Letting go of our regrets can motivate us to improve and help us grow. Alex Elle, a certified breathwork and writing coach, guides us through a meditation to forgive and accept ourselves. How to Do This Practice: Take a deep ...
09.01.2022 When Rumination Is a Good Thing When's the last time you made a good memory — intentionally? Our guest tries a practice in cultivating positive experiences and taking time to savor them. Episode summary: Life doesn't always hand us good times, but we can benefit as ...
08.25.2022 Happiness Break: A Meditation to Connect to Your Roots When was the last time you thought about your ancestors? This guided meditation by indigenous scholar Yuria Celidwen will help you connect to your heritage and reap the potent benefits of remembering your roots. How to Do This Practice: Bring ...
08.18.2022 Riding The Waves of Anxiety Comedian Aparna Nancherla has always struggled with anxiety — can a new technique help her cope? Episode summary: Comedian Aparna Nancherla has always struggled with anxiety. Starting a new task at work, writing her book, talking to a baby — ...
08.11.2022 Happiness Break: Walk Your Way to Calm (Guided Meditation) A few slow, mindful paces can lower your cortisol and make you more at ease. Psychologist Dacher Keltner guides you through this Walking Meditation. How to Do This Practice: Find a relatively peaceful space that allows you to walk back ...
08.04.2022 36 Questions to Spark Intimacy What if you could fall in love, or forge deep connections in just 45 minutes? Our guests try out 36 questions with their partners to see if they can strengthen their connection. Episode summary: There are 36 questions that have ...
07.28.2022 Happiness Break: How to Ground Yourself Connect to yourself and the land you stand on in under 10 minutes with this grounding practice led by Indigenous scholar Dr. Yuria Celidwen. How to Do This Practice: If possible, go outside and find some natural ground, like grass ...
07.21.2022 How to Feel Less Lonely and More Connected When we feel more connected, we're kinder and care more for others. After 21 years of being incarcerated, our guest Simon Liu, of Bay Area Freedom House Collective, tries a practice that helps him remember the profound connections he's made ...
07.14.2022 Happiness Break: Experience Nature Wherever You Are Just a few moments of tuning into nature can make you feel more inspired, connected, and less lonely. Let us guide you through a five-minute noticing nature practice — you don't even have to leave the city. How to Do ...
07.07.2022 How to Make Better Decisions (Encore) Can practicing mindfulness make us wiser? Judge Jeremy Fogel explores how being present in the moment helps him keep a clear mind and stay connected to his true values. Episode summary: What do you think it takes to become wiser, ...
06.30.2022 Happiness Break: 36 Questions to Feel Connected Having close bonds with others is one of the most important things to our happiness. Host Dacher Keltner walks you through a practice you can do with someone else to create new bonds or strengthen old ones. Plus, hear some ...
06.23.2022 How to Say "Sorry" Like You Mean It Apologies are key to successful relationships. But are you doing them right? Episode summary: We all have moments when we say or do something we later regret. Then the time comes to make an apology. But a halfhearted “I’m sorry” ...
06.16.2022 Happiness Break: How To Be Your Best Self Visualize your best possible self and tap into your inherent enough-ness with this guided meditation by Justin Michael Williams. How to Do This Practice: Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and visualize your ideal future self, the person ...
06.09.2022 The Questions to Ask Yourself in an Argument Our guest explores how reminding yourself that you don't know everything can have a profound impact on your relationships, and our society. Episode summary: Jinho “Piper” Ferreira is a playwright, a rapper, and a former deputy sheriff. His band Flipsyde ...
06.02.2022 Happiness Break: How to Be Your Own Best Friend Take 10 minutes to be guided through a practice meaningful self-care: A self-compassion break with Kristin Neff. How to Do This Practice: Think of a situation in your life that is difficult and is causing you stress. For this practice, ...
05.26.2022 Catch Yourself in a Dream Have you ever known you're dreaming while you're asleep? Our guests try practices to help induce lucid dreams, and we hear what they can teach us about consciousness. Episode summary: How do you know you’re awake? Are you sure? Practicing ...
05.19.2022 Happiness Break: A 10-Minute Guided Practice We guide you through a reflection of three things you're grateful for today. This practice is shown to boost happiness, connection, and motivation while reducing stress. Happiness Break is a new series by The Science of Happiness. How to Do ...
05.12.2022 The Science of a Good Night's Sleep Do you struggle with sleep? This week Drew Ackerman of Sleep with Me podcast tries tips for a good night's sleep, and we explore why it's so important to our well-being. Episode summary: A good night’s sleep can be hard ...
04.28.2022 Feel Better About Asking For Help Episode summary: Emanuel Hahn has never been great at asking for help. He didn’t live with his parents after age 12, and consequently, he says he learned to only rely on himself. But now that he’s launching his first book ...
04.14.2022 Are You Tired of Being Afraid? Fear is a normal part of our lives — but there are ways we can safely challenge and conquer it. Our guest tries a research-backed way to tackle a fear she's had since elementary school. **Vote for The Science of ...
03.31.2022 How to Find Your Spark in Life Comedian Marilyn Pittman takes stock of what she really wants in life – and makes a plan to get it.
03.17.2022 Are Your Expectations Too High? High expectations can lead to disappointment, but expecting the worst doesn't feel great, either. This week we explore how to find the balance.
03.03.2022 How to Turn Grief into Strength Part of life is experiencing pain and loss. And sometimes, finding meaning in it. We explore a writing practice shown to help us come out stronger after difficult times.
02.17.2022 Why You Should Snap Pictures of Nature A NYT restaurant critic puts down her pen and grabs her camera to capture the beauty of the outdoors.
02.03.2022 When It's Time to Face Your Fears What happens when we feel compassion for the things that scare us? Shabazz Larkin shares what it's like to face some of his deepest fears.
01.06.2022 The Case for Believing in Yourself What does your best possible self look like? Our guest tries a practice in optimism by imagining her brightest future.
12.23.2021 How Gratitude Renews Us Feeling burned out? Our guest, a nurse, explores how cultivating gratitude helps people in high stress jobs.
12.09.2021 What Our Photos Say About Us Can taking a few photos really make you happier? Afghan rocker Sulyman Qardash tries a practice to find meaning through snapping photos of daily life.
11.25.2021 Why We Give Thanks Thank you. Gracias. Merci. Every language has a word for gratitude. But why do we feel it? How can we experience more of it? We revisit some of our favorite episodes about the science of gratitude.
11.11.2021 Do You Feel Pressed for Time? What happens when we share our time? Our guest, chef and author Bryant Terry, pauses to be present with the ones who matter most.
10.28.2021 Why You Should Make Small Goals Comedian Paula Poundstone tries to take on a messy and daunting task, one small step at a time.
10.14.2021 Do You Want to Slow Down? Anna Sale, host of Death, Sex, and Money, practices awe as an antidote to her anxiety.
09.30.2021 Can You Mend a Broken Bond? They were childhood best friends until one came out as queer. Now, two college students reconnect and try to see the world through one another's eyes.
09.16.2021 100 Good Things For our 100th episode, host Dacher Keltner sits in the guest chair and tries one of the most popular happiness practices.
09.02.2021 What Happens When We Play When was the last time you went down a slide? Our guest tries a practice to bring more play into his life and explores what that means as a Black man in the U.S.
08.19.2021 How to Not Take People for Granted What would life be like without the people you care most about? Our guest tries a practice to help appreciate loved ones.
08.05.2021 How to Tune Out the Noise Our guest uses her breath to find calm in some of Los Angeles' noisiest neighborhoods.
07.22.2021 Don't be Afraid of Your Anger What happens when we suppress our anger? And what if we tried to work with it instead? Our guest tries a practice to harness her inner fierceness to care for herself.
07.08.2021 How to Enjoy Life More with Michael Pollan Michael Pollan tries to get more out of life by temporarily giving up one of his pleasure.
06.24.2021 How to Craft Your Life When the world around you changes, so can your goals. This week's guest tries a practice to tap into a new sense of purpose.
06.10.2021 Noticing Nature in the City
05.27.2021 What Humans Can Learn From Trees Trees don't just compete with one another for resources, they also cooperate. Scientist and author Suzanne Simard explains the surprising science of trees.
05.13.2021 Finding Strength through Gratitude A doctor who serves communities in dire need shares how gratitude helps him find light in the darkness.
04.29.2021 Why Love Needs Laughter Focusing on funny things can reduce stress, anxiety, and make us feel more connected to others. Our guests, who were high school sweethearts, learn how humor can also strengthen relationships.
04.15.2021 How Music Can Bridge Cultures Have you ever been moved by music sung in a language you don't understand? We speak with Gambian musician Sona Jobarteh about how music can connect us across cultures.
04.01.2021 How Music Soothes Us What is it about certain melodies that can relax our nerves and rock us to sleep? We explore the science of calming music with pianist Rosey Chan.
03.18.2021 David Byrne on How Music Connects Us Music helped former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne come out of his shell. Hear Byrne's story and learn how music creates social bonds in part one of our series, The Science of Music and Happiness.

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