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The Science of Happiness

The Science of Happiness

PRX and Greater Good Science Center

1 Creator

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. Follow us on Instagram @HappinessPod.

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Top 10 The Science of Happiness Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Science of Happiness episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Science of Happiness for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Science of Happiness episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

The Science of Happiness - Step Away from Anxiety

Step Away from Anxiety

The Science of Happiness

Do you have a hard time calming your nerves? Author Raina Telgemeier tries a practice to get out of her head, one step at a time.

Link to Episode Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/d42v3ywd

Do you have a hard time calming your nerves? Author Raina Telgemeier tries a practice to get out of her head, one step at a time.

Link to Episode Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/d42v3ywd

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02/27/20 • 20 min

4 Listeners

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The Science of Happiness - How to Find Your Spark in Life

How to Find Your Spark in Life

The Science of Happiness

Comedian Marilyn Pittman takes stock of what she really wants in life – and makes a plan to get it.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/5n7dya5t

Comedian Marilyn Pittman takes stock of what she really wants in life – and makes a plan to get it.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/5n7dya5t

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03/31/22 • 16 min

4 Listeners

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The Science of Happiness - How to Make Life More Meaningful

How to Make Life More Meaningful

The Science of Happiness

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 our own path and purpose in life.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/pdtkffuv


Episode summary:

Chris Sharma spent his youth traveling the globe and becoming one of the greatest rock climbers of all time. His passion for climbing has filled his life with purpose, but now in middle age, he wants to also focus on other sources of meaning in life that are just as important to him. Chris joins us after trying a practice in life crafting — where you get clear on your values, imagine what your ideal life would look like, and make a plan to get closer to that vision. Later in the show, we hear from Michael Steger, a psychologist and director of the Center for Meaning and Purpose at Colorado State University, about the surprising places in our lives we can find meaning, and the different roads we can take towards living a more meaningful life.

Try the Life Crafting Practice:

  1. Identify your deepest values and passions — what’s most important to you.
  2. Reflect on your ideal future: Write a paragraph envisioning how you’d like your social life or your career path to turn out if you had no constraints.
  3. Write down how you’ll attain those goals. Prioritize them, and write “if, then” plans for how you’ll overcome obstacles you’re likely to encounter.
  4. Make a public commitment. Tell your community about your goals.

Learn more about this practice at Greater Good In Action:

https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/life_crafting


Today’s guests:

Chris Sharma is an elite rock climber known for traveling the world to find the most beautiful and challenging places to rock climb.

His new show The Climb premieres on HBO on January 12. Check out the trailer here: https://tinyurl.com/suz35w8y

Follow Chris on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris_sharma/

Check out his website: http://www.chrissharma.com/


Michael Steger is a professor of psychology at Colorado State University, where he is the director of the Center for Meaning and Purpose.

Learn more about Steger’s work: http://www.michaelfsteger.com/

Follow Steger on Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/yc79d6mb


Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Michael Steger: Why We Search for Meaning: https://tinyurl.com/2s469242

Here’s How to Find Meaning in Your Midlife Crisis: https://tinyurl.com/4kpcnr9c

What Our Photos Say About Us (Podcast): https://tinyurl.com/y56wvj42

Purpose in Life Quiz: https://tinyurl.com/yz4ztenp

Living with a Purpose Changes Everything: https://tinyurl.com/d3ea7afa


More On Meaning and Purpose:

The Atlantic - The Meaning of Life Is Surprisingly Simple: https://tinyurl.com/2yfucadj

Pew - Where Americans Find Meaning in Life: https://tinyurl.com/nek5j6tk

Scientific American - To Feel Meaningful Is To Feel Immortal: https://tinyurl.com/yuhe99m9

NPR - What's Your Purpose? https://tinyurl.com/465aknec

Harvard Business Review: What Is the Purpose of Your Purpose? https://tinyurl.com/43pjrc6j


Tell us a...

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 our own path and purpose in life.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/pdtkffuv


Episode summary:

Chris Sharma spent his youth traveling the globe and becoming one of the greatest rock climbers of all time. His passion for climbing has filled his life with purpose, but now in middle age, he wants to also focus on other sources of meaning in life that are just as important to him. Chris joins us after trying a practice in life crafting — where you get clear on your values, imagine what your ideal life would look like, and make a plan to get closer to that vision. Later in the show, we hear from Michael Steger, a psychologist and director of the Center for Meaning and Purpose at Colorado State University, about the surprising places in our lives we can find meaning, and the different roads we can take towards living a more meaningful life.

Try the Life Crafting Practice:

  1. Identify your deepest values and passions — what’s most important to you.
  2. Reflect on your ideal future: Write a paragraph envisioning how you’d like your social life or your career path to turn out if you had no constraints.
  3. Write down how you’ll attain those goals. Prioritize them, and write “if, then” plans for how you’ll overcome obstacles you’re likely to encounter.
  4. Make a public commitment. Tell your community about your goals.

Learn more about this practice at Greater Good In Action:

https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/life_crafting


Today’s guests:

Chris Sharma is an elite rock climber known for traveling the world to find the most beautiful and challenging places to rock climb.

His new show The Climb premieres on HBO on January 12. Check out the trailer here: https://tinyurl.com/suz35w8y

Follow Chris on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris_sharma/

Check out his website: http://www.chrissharma.com/


Michael Steger is a professor of psychology at Colorado State University, where he is the director of the Center for Meaning and Purpose.

Learn more about Steger’s work: http://www.michaelfsteger.com/

Follow Steger on Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/yc79d6mb


Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Michael Steger: Why We Search for Meaning: https://tinyurl.com/2s469242

Here’s How to Find Meaning in Your Midlife Crisis: https://tinyurl.com/4kpcnr9c

What Our Photos Say About Us (Podcast): https://tinyurl.com/y56wvj42

Purpose in Life Quiz: https://tinyurl.com/yz4ztenp

Living with a Purpose Changes Everything: https://tinyurl.com/d3ea7afa


More On Meaning and Purpose:

The Atlantic - The Meaning of Life Is Surprisingly Simple: https://tinyurl.com/2yfucadj

Pew - Where Americans Find Meaning in Life: https://tinyurl.com/nek5j6tk

Scientific American - To Feel Meaningful Is To Feel Immortal: https://tinyurl.com/yuhe99m9

NPR - What's Your Purpose? https://tinyurl.com/465aknec

Harvard Business Review: What Is the Purpose of Your Purpose? https://tinyurl.com/43pjrc6j


Tell us a...

play

12/22/22 • 18 min

3 Listeners

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The Science of Happiness - Delight in the Unexpected

Delight in the Unexpected

The Science of Happiness

A high-five from a stranger, a hummingbird on a busy city street. Poet Ross Gay shares his own happiness practice: savoring the everyday delights in life.

~ Try one of UC Berkeley's Greater Good in Action happiness practices.

Link to Episode Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3jzdxybs

A high-five from a stranger, a hummingbird on a busy city street. Poet Ross Gay shares his own happiness practice: savoring the everyday delights in life.

~ Try one of UC Berkeley's Greater Good in Action happiness practices.

Link to Episode Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3jzdxybs

play

04/04/19 • 20 min

2 Listeners

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The Science of Happiness - Are You Following Your Inner Compass?

What if you had a magic wand and could better the world in any way? What would you do? We explore a practice shown to help you find your purpose and feel more motivated, resilient and fulfilled in life.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/bp7wv7ft

Episode Summary

What’s your greater purpose in life? It’s a tough question, especially if you’re feeling uncertain about your future. In this episode, our guest explores that very question—and gets handed a magic wand with the power to make the world a better place.

How To Do The Magic Wand Practice

  1. Set aside 15 minutes to reflect and write.
  2. Think about the world you live in – your home, your community, and the world at large.
  3. Imagine you’ve been given a magic wand, and you can change anything you want to change in the world. What would you want to be different? Why? Describe your ideal world in writing.
  4. Now, reflect on what it would take to change the world in this way. Is there anything you can do to help move the world closer to this ideal? If so, explain how; if not, explain why not.

Guest: Selina Bilal is a UC Berkeley undergraduate student who is studying psychology, and a Fellow at Greater Good Science Center, where we produce The Science of Happiness

Expert Guest: Kendall Cotton Bronk is a professor of psychology in the Division of Behavioral & Social Sciences at Claremont University.

Science of Happiness Episodes like this one

Happiness Break Related Episodes

  • A Meditation to Inspire a Sense of Purpose: https://tinyurl.com/54uuvh7z
  • Visualizing Your Purpose, With Dacher: https://tinyurl.com/3jvnv35y

Message us or leave a comment on Instagram @scienceofhappinesspod. E-mail us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness!

Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

What if you had a magic wand and could better the world in any way? What would you do? We explore a practice shown to help you find your purpose and feel more motivated, resilient and fulfilled in life.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/bp7wv7ft

Episode Summary

What’s your greater purpose in life? It’s a tough question, especially if you’re feeling uncertain about your future. In this episode, our guest explores that very question—and gets handed a magic wand with the power to make the world a better place.

How To Do The Magic Wand Practice

  1. Set aside 15 minutes to reflect and write.
  2. Think about the world you live in – your home, your community, and the world at large.
  3. Imagine you’ve been given a magic wand, and you can change anything you want to change in the world. What would you want to be different? Why? Describe your ideal world in writing.
  4. Now, reflect on what it would take to change the world in this way. Is there anything you can do to help move the world closer to this ideal? If so, explain how; if not, explain why not.

Guest: Selina Bilal is a UC Berkeley undergraduate student who is studying psychology, and a Fellow at Greater Good Science Center, where we produce The Science of Happiness

Expert Guest: Kendall Cotton Bronk is a professor of psychology in the Division of Behavioral & Social Sciences at Claremont University.

Science of Happiness Episodes like this one

Happiness Break Related Episodes

  • A Meditation to Inspire a Sense of Purpose: https://tinyurl.com/54uuvh7z
  • Visualizing Your Purpose, With Dacher: https://tinyurl.com/3jvnv35y

Message us or leave a comment on Instagram @scienceofhappinesspod. E-mail us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness!

Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

play

08/29/24 • 19 min

2 Listeners

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The Science of Happiness - Do You Feel Pressed for Time?

Do You Feel Pressed for Time?

The Science of Happiness

What happens when we share our time? Our guest, chef and author Bryant Terry, pauses to be present with the ones who matter most.

Link to Episode Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3n3tftbw

What happens when we share our time? Our guest, chef and author Bryant Terry, pauses to be present with the ones who matter most.

Link to Episode Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3n3tftbw

play

11/11/21 • 15 min

2 Listeners

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The Science of Happiness - These Words Cause Happiness

These Words Cause Happiness

The Science of Happiness

Did you know that you have the power to spark happiness in someone else's brain with just a few simple words? College student Eva Dickerson shares how she spread happiness across her campus, equipped with just her iPhone and some compliments.

Link to Episode Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/yc5vp9es

Did you know that you have the power to spark happiness in someone else's brain with just a few simple words? College student Eva Dickerson shares how she spread happiness across her campus, equipped with just her iPhone and some compliments.

Link to Episode Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/yc5vp9es

play

11/15/18 • 16 min

2 Listeners

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The Science of Happiness - Happiness Break: A Meditation on Pilina: Our Deep Interconnectedness, With Jo Qina'au

Pilina is an indigenous Hawaiian word, or concept, that describes our deep interconnectedness. Harvard Clinical Psychology Fellow Jo Qina'au guides us through a contemplation of our profound interrelationships.

Link to Episode Transcript: https://shorturl.at/npAM9

How to Do This Practice:

Pilina comes from the indigenous Hawaiian language and culture. Pilina means connection, or interconnectedness.

  1. Settle into a comfortable position and observe your breath.
  2. Visualize someone to whom you feel meaningfully connected and acknowledge the feeling of Pilina, or deep interconnectedness, between you two.
  3. Reflect on what it is that connects you, what impact that connection has had on your life, and what it may have had on theirs.
  4. Notice how it feels to acknowledge these things.
  5. Repeat steps 2-4 with as many people as you wish.

Today’s Happiness Break host:

Jo Qina’au is an indigenous Hawaiian meditation teacher and a Clinical Psychology Fellow at Harvard Medical School.

If you enjoyed this Happiness Break, you may also like these Happiness Breaks:

Check out these episodes of The Science of Happiness about connection:

We love hearing from you! Tell us who you feel Pilina with, and what it means to you to reflect on it. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzus

Help us share Happiness Break! Rate us and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzus

We all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.

Pilina is an indigenous Hawaiian word, or concept, that describes our deep interconnectedness. Harvard Clinical Psychology Fellow Jo Qina'au guides us through a contemplation of our profound interrelationships.

Link to Episode Transcript: https://shorturl.at/npAM9

How to Do This Practice:

Pilina comes from the indigenous Hawaiian language and culture. Pilina means connection, or interconnectedness.

  1. Settle into a comfortable position and observe your breath.
  2. Visualize someone to whom you feel meaningfully connected and acknowledge the feeling of Pilina, or deep interconnectedness, between you two.
  3. Reflect on what it is that connects you, what impact that connection has had on your life, and what it may have had on theirs.
  4. Notice how it feels to acknowledge these things.
  5. Repeat steps 2-4 with as many people as you wish.

Today’s Happiness Break host:

Jo Qina’au is an indigenous Hawaiian meditation teacher and a Clinical Psychology Fellow at Harvard Medical School.

If you enjoyed this Happiness Break, you may also like these Happiness Breaks:

Check out these episodes of The Science of Happiness about connection:

We love hearing from you! Tell us who you feel Pilina with, and what it means to you to reflect on it. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzus

Help us share Happiness Break! Rate us and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzus

We all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.

play

05/02/24 • 10 min

2 Listeners

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The Science of Happiness - How Humor Helps us Cope

How Humor Helps us Cope

The Science of Happiness

Hardships in life are a given, but what if we found a way to laugh about it? Our guest shares how he's used humor to cope with the deepest pains in his life.


Episode summary:

When we go through hardships and struggles, finding the humor in them can help us relieve stress and change our perspective. This week on The Science of Happiness, our guest shares how he’s used humor to triumph over hardship in his life. Kerry is a former member of the Bay Area Freedom Collective, a re-entry home where formerly incarcerated people can find community and connections. He started performing comedy based on his personal experiences during the 12 years he spent in and out of the prison. Kerry shares with us how processing his experiences by writing jokes about them changes his perspective on his traumatic past and helps him cope. Later, we hear from psychologist Andrea Samson about how humor can help us face down some difficult situations.


How to Do This Practice:

  1. Every day for one week, spend 10 minutes thinking about the things you found really funny that day.
  2. Write them down in as much detail as possible and describe how each of those things made you feel. It’s important to write it out, as opposed to only doing it in your head.
  3. Write down the reason why these things were funny. You can also answer the question, “Why did this funny event happen?”

Find the full Three Fun Things practice at our Greater Good in Action website: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/three_funny_things


Today’s Science of Happiness Guests:

Kerry is a former member of the Bay Area Freedom Collective, a home by and for formerly incarcerated people, which provides resources and support for their re-entry.

To learn more about Bay Area Freedom House: https://www.collectivefreedom.org/

or: https://www.facebook.com/bayareafreedom/

To financially support the Bay Area Freedom Collective: https://givedirect.org/freedomcollective/


Andrea Samson is director of the chEERSLab at UniDistance Suisse and the University of Fribourg. She studies how humor helps us deal with one difficult situation and emotions

Learn more about Andrea’s research: https://tinyurl.com/3t42rp93


More resources on humor from The Greater Good Science Center:

More resources on humor:

Tell us what you think about using humor as a coping strategy by emailing us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or using ...

Hardships in life are a given, but what if we found a way to laugh about it? Our guest shares how he's used humor to cope with the deepest pains in his life.


Episode summary:

When we go through hardships and struggles, finding the humor in them can help us relieve stress and change our perspective. This week on The Science of Happiness, our guest shares how he’s used humor to triumph over hardship in his life. Kerry is a former member of the Bay Area Freedom Collective, a re-entry home where formerly incarcerated people can find community and connections. He started performing comedy based on his personal experiences during the 12 years he spent in and out of the prison. Kerry shares with us how processing his experiences by writing jokes about them changes his perspective on his traumatic past and helps him cope. Later, we hear from psychologist Andrea Samson about how humor can help us face down some difficult situations.


How to Do This Practice:

  1. Every day for one week, spend 10 minutes thinking about the things you found really funny that day.
  2. Write them down in as much detail as possible and describe how each of those things made you feel. It’s important to write it out, as opposed to only doing it in your head.
  3. Write down the reason why these things were funny. You can also answer the question, “Why did this funny event happen?”

Find the full Three Fun Things practice at our Greater Good in Action website: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/three_funny_things


Today’s Science of Happiness Guests:

Kerry is a former member of the Bay Area Freedom Collective, a home by and for formerly incarcerated people, which provides resources and support for their re-entry.

To learn more about Bay Area Freedom House: https://www.collectivefreedom.org/

or: https://www.facebook.com/bayareafreedom/

To financially support the Bay Area Freedom Collective: https://givedirect.org/freedomcollective/


Andrea Samson is director of the chEERSLab at UniDistance Suisse and the University of Fribourg. She studies how humor helps us deal with one difficult situation and emotions

Learn more about Andrea’s research: https://tinyurl.com/3t42rp93


More resources on humor from The Greater Good Science Center:

More resources on humor:

Tell us what you think about using humor as a coping strategy by emailing us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or using ...

play

10/27/22 • 15 min

2 Listeners

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The Science of Happiness - Find That Inner Calm

Find That Inner Calm

The Science of Happiness

International megastar Daniel Wu tries a practice that brings him calm amidst the chaos.

Link to Episode Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/bdfcws4a

International megastar Daniel Wu tries a practice that brings him calm amidst the chaos.

Link to Episode Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/bdfcws4a

play

11/22/18 • 17 min

2 Listeners

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FAQ

How many episodes does The Science of Happiness have?

The Science of Happiness currently has 261 episodes available.

What topics does The Science of Happiness cover?

The podcast is about Podcasts, Social Sciences and Science.

What is the most popular episode on The Science of Happiness?

The episode title 'Step Away from Anxiety' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Science of Happiness?

The average episode length on The Science of Happiness is 16 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Science of Happiness released?

Episodes of The Science of Happiness are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of The Science of Happiness?

The first episode of The Science of Happiness was released on Jan 23, 2018.

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