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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Where To Look For Joy

06.08.2023

How can we feel more moments of joy? We explore the science of joy and how we can cultivate it in our everyday lives, with poet Ross Gay and psychologist Philip Watkins. Episode summary: Are joy and happiness the same ...

The Science of Happiness episodes:

06.08.2023 Where To Look For Joy How can we feel more moments of joy? We explore the science of joy and how we can cultivate it in our everyday lives, with poet Ross Gay and psychologist Philip Watkins. Episode summary: Are joy and happiness the same ...
06.01.2023 Happiness Break: Who Takes Care of You? With Dacher Keltner When we feel cared for, our cortisol levels drop, we feel safe, and we handle stress better. Dacher leads a meditation to help us focus on the people who make us feel supported. How to Do This Practice: Find a ...
05.25.2023 Feeling Overworked? Take a "Fika" Break A short break does more than just fuel our bodies, it strengthens our minds. Our overworked guest tries the Swedish practice of 'Fika' – taking short coffee breaks throughout the work day. Episode summary: In the United States, we’re taught ...
05.18.2023 How To Be in Harmony in Nature — Wherever You Are, With Yuria Celidwen Indigenous scholar Yuria Celidwen guides us in a meditation to strengthen our sense of belonging and connection to the earth. This Happiness Break is part of our special series, Climate, Hope & Science. In it, we explore the intersection of ...
05.11.2023 How To Do Good for the Environment (And Yourself) Walking can increase our sense of connectedness with the earth and motivation to take climate action, which might be an important aspect of your well-being. This is the third and final episode of our special series, Climate, Hope & Science. ...
05.04.2023 Happiness Break: Contemplating our Interdependence with Nature, with Dekila Chungyalpa Take ten minutes to renew your connection to the earth through this guided meditation on our interdependence with the ecosystem. How to Do This Practice: Find a comfortable place to do this practice, relax into your body. Wherever you are, ...
04.27.2023 How to Feel More Hopeful, with Tomás Morín How can we build a sense of hope when the future feels uncertain? Poet Tomás Morín tries a writing practice to make him feel more hopeful and motivated to work toward his goals. This is the second episode of our ...
04.22.2023 The Case for Climate Hope In the first episode in our series Climate, Hope and Science, we explore how embracing uncertainty enables us to move beyond climate anxiety and despair to hope and action, with author and activist Rebecca Solnit. What does it take to ...
04.20.2023 Happiness Break: Sketching Serenity with Chris Murchison Happiness Break: Sketching Serenity with Chris Murchison A guided drawing meditation to help you break out of stale thought patterns and maybe even enter a state of flow. No talent required. How to Do This Practice: Grab a piece of ...
04.13.2023 A New Relationship with Stress Is there such a thing as good stress? Our guest learns to welcome her stress by understanding how it can actually help her, plus tips and tricks to not feel too much of it. Episode summary: Like many of us, ...
04.06.2023 Happiness Break: Visualizing Your Purpose, with Dacher Keltner How to Do This Practice: Find a comfortable place to do this practice. Once you feel ready, relax your shoulders and close your eyes. Focus on your breathing, and take a few slow, deep breaths. Think about the world around ...
03.30.2023 Encore: 24 Hours of Kindness Why should you be nice? Our guest explores how small, daily acts of kindness can produce meaningful life changes. Episode summary: When you’re kind to someone, the positive impact doesn’t stop with them. In fact, the effect of your kind ...
03.23.2023 Happiness Break: Embodying Resilience, with Prentis Hemphill What if you could tap into your inherent resilience at any time? Prentis Hemphill guides a meditation to turn good memories into a state of resilience. How to Do This Resilience Practice: Find a position that is comfortable for you, ...
03.16.2023 One Way to Make Work More Meaningful We all overestimate how much we know. Our guest tries a practice in slowing down to ask more questions, and finds it leads to higher quality connections. Episode summary: What happens when we pause and open up to ideas that ...
03.09.2023 Happiness Break: Pause to Look at the Sky, with Dacher Keltner Take a moment to appreciate the beauty and vastness of the sky. Dacher Keltner guides us through a practice of pausing to turn your gaze to the sky as a pathway to awe, creativity and wonder. Practice: Go someplace where ...
03.02.2023 Why We Need Friends with Shared Interests Episode summary: Having strong relationships is vital to our well-being. We tend to be happier and healthier when we’re involved with community. Today’s guest is the world-famous scientist Temple Grandin. She was born with autism, which led her to be ...
02.23.2023 Happiness Break: Being Present from Head to Toe, with Spring Washam Try this body-scan meditation to ground your mind in the present moment and in your body, guided by Spring Washam. How to do this practice: Find a comfortable seat where you can relax your body. Beginning with the top of ...
02.16.2023 Why We Need Reminders of Connectedness How can we feel more connected to our loved ones, even when they're not around? Our guest tries a practice shown to make us feel less lonely and more socially connected. Episode summary: Mónica Guzmán describes herself as a raging ...
02.09.2023 Happiness Break: A Meditation for When Others are Suffering, with Anushka Fernandopulle Seeing others suffering is painful. Learn to practice both compassion and self-soothing in this guided meditation led by Anushka Fernandopulle. How to Do This Practice: Find somewhere peaceful, sit down and get comfortable. Once you’re ready, gently close your eyes. ...
02.02.2023 How Music Evokes Awe Why do some songs send chills down your spine or give you goosebumps? We explore the science of how music induces awe — and how that affects our well-being. Episode summary: In the last episode of our awe series, Dacher ...
01.26.2023 Happiness Break: Feeling the Awe of Nature from Anywhere, with Dacher Keltner Host Dacher Keltner leads us through an exercise in feeling the serenity and wonder that nature brings us, no matter where we are. How to Do This Practice: Find a spot where you can sit and rest comfortably. Once you’re ...
01.19.2023 Why We Should Look Up at the Sky When did you last take a moment to really look up at the sky? Shifting our gaze upward is linked to more creativity, capacity to focus—and it's a gateway to awe. Episode summary: Natalie didn’t spend much time finding shapes ...
01.12.2023 Happiness Break: Awe for Others, with Dacher Keltner The communities we create are one of the most awe-inspiring parts of our lives. Host Dacher Keltner guides us in a meditation on awe and togetherness in this week’s Happiness Break. How to Do This Practice: Find a comfortable, safe, ...
01.05.2023 How Awe Brings Us Together Feeling awe changes your brain. In our first episode in a series about the science awe, we explore how awe can make you a better friend, partner, and community member. Episode summary: When Mirna Valerio tried out hiking for the ...
12.29.2022 Happiness Break: An Affirmation Practice for the New Year, with Chris Murchison This New Year, affirm the wonderful qualities you already possess with this meditative writing practice called "I Am." How to Do This Practice: Take a moment to sit still and take a few deep breaths, and notice how you’re feeling ...
12.22.2022 How to Make Life More Meaningful Chris Sharma is one of the greatest rock climbers of all time, and he's taking on some of the biggest challenges in life: becoming a parent and starting his own business. Chris tries a practice shown to help us craft ...
12.15.2022 Happiness Break: Finding Presence Through Your Senses, with Dacher Keltner Sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste: all of our five senses provide unique pathways to presence and happiness. We spend a few minutes being mindful of each one. How to Do This Practice: Find a comfortable place where you feel ...
12.08.2022 The Science of Synchronized Movement Moving in sync with someone else — even a total stranger — can change how you feel about them, and how you act, without you realizing it. Episode summary: When was the last time you moved in sync with someone ...
12.01.2022 Happiness Break: Tune Into Your Body, with Radha Agrawal Happiness isn't only in your head — your body is important, too. This week, Radha Agrawal leads us in a short Japanese calisthenics practice called Radio Taiso. Check out Radha Agrawal’s video guide to this practice: https://dose.daybreaker.com/videos/microdose-oxytocin-healthy-spine Today’s Happiness Break ...
11.24.2022 How to Practice Gratitude When You're Not Feeling Thankful One way to feel more thankful for things is to imagine life without them. Our guest tries a practice for seeing the bright side, even when you feel down. Episode summary: We know that gratitude is good for us. But ...
11.17.2022 Happiness Break: 5 Minutes of Gratitude, with Dacher Keltner Not sure how to start practicing gratitude? Psychologist Dacher Keltner guides you through a practice that can help you see the good things in your life that you might otherwise overlook. How to Do This Practice: Sit or lay down ...
11.10.2022 The Emerging Science of ASMR (Encore) There are millions of YouTube videos with people crinkling bubble wrap or whispering about folding laundry. Our guest talks about why autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) makes her, and many others, feel more calm and happy. Episode summary: Melinda still ...
11.03.2022 Happiness Break: Making Space for You, with Alex Elle Consider what you want to make space for in your life in this 6-minute contemplation guided by Alex Elle. How to Do This Practice: Take a few deep breaths. File up your belly on each inhale. Drop your shoulder and ...
10.20.2022 Happiness Break: Restore Through Silence, with Tricia Hersey When was the last time you spent a moment savoring silence? Tricia Hersey, aka The Nap Bishop, guides us through an appreciation of silence and its restorative powers. Scientists have found that spending just two minutes in silence can lower ...
10.13.2022 How to Focus Under Pressure Jeopardy! champion Amy Schneider tries a body scan meditation to sharpen her focus and calm her nerves as she prepares for the Tournament of Champions. Episode summary: Amy Schneider is the most successful woman to ever compete on Jeopardy!. Part ...
10.06.2022 Happiness Break: How to Awaken Joy, with Spring Washam Cultivate more joy in your life with this practice led by meditation teacher and author Spring Washam. How to Do This Practice: Think about an area of your life that brings you joy, it could be anything. Imagine yourself experiencing ...
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, with Dacher Keltner 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, with Alex Elle 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, with Yuria Celidwen 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, with Dacher Keltner 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, with Yuria Celidwen 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, with Dacher Keltner 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, with Dacher Keltner 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 ...

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