The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

Updated: 14 Jul 2025 • 227 episodes
www.pushkin.fm

You might think you know what it takes to lead a happier life… more money, a better job, or Instagram-worthy vacations. You’re dead wrong. Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos has studied the science of happiness and found that many of us do the exact opposite of what will truly make our lives better. Based on the psychology course she teaches at Yale -- the most popular class in the university’s 300-year history -- Laurie will take you through the latest scientific research and share some surprising and inspiring stories that will change the way you think about happiness.

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How do you put your life back together after your home and your neighborhood's been destroyed in a wildfire? By tossing beanbags at a hole? That's what Michelle Hastie Thompson did.  Michelle ("Cornhole Meesh") loves the backyard game of cornholing - and uses it to help her relax, share time with her loved ones, and me

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Joshua Roman has been playing the cello everyday since he was three - but then on a concert tour he caught Covid. The illness wouldn't go away and sapped his ability to play the music he loves at the level he was used to. How can things like music help us feel better during tough times? And what can tough times teach u

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Lili Taylor loves her acting career - but the emotional intensity of her work and the constant travel can take its toll. But Lili has found a way to relax and unwind - watching birds.  As Lili explains in her new book Turning to Birds: The Power and Beauty of Noticing - if we stop to listen to birdsong or pause to watc

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You might think etiquette is outdated. Who really needs a dinner with nice napkins and four different forks? Etiquette expert William Hanson disagrees. By observing good manners we show others we respect and care about them - deepening our bonds.  William (author of Just Good Manners and host of the podcast Help I Sext

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We all have our own ways of coping - especially when things get tough. So for the next few shows we're going to talking to people with interesting coping strategies. And we start with Elias Weiss Friedman, aka The Dogist. Throughout his life, Elias has found comfort in dogs. And when he got fired from his job, dogs cam

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We’re bringing you an episode of A Slight Change of Plans hosted by Dr. Maya Shankar -  the behavioral scientist who also happens to be a former student of Dr Laurie. Maya sits down with bestselling author and popular podcast host Mel Robbins to talk about letting go of perfectionism and people pleasing, and how to cop

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