One of the simple, but great, quests of life is the pursuit of happiness. Psychologists, philosophers, religious leaders, and great thinkers alike have all speculated on what commonly constitutes happiness.  Yale professor of psychology Laurie Santos takes her place among these thinkers with her podcast The Happiness Lab, which focuses on how to improve mental health through scientific principles.

Podcasts provide an alternative background noise to music or eerie silence and can also bring an element of community to the listener. There are podcasts that cover any and every topic, from true crime, to sports, to philosophy, to relationship advice. My personal favorite however is self improvement.  I find it difficult to listen to digressions on topics I know little about,  especially if I have no connection to the speaker. So listening to something that offers advice or appears to have a tangible benefit to me is preferred.

The podcast The Happiness Lab fits all of my criteria. I find the podcast is a refreshing break from most psychology discussions that revolve around disorders. Hosted by Dr. Laurie Santos, a Yale Professor of Psychology, listeners enter each episode assured of the credibility of the material discussed. Each episode also has a different guest who is with an expert in the topic of discussion or someone with intriguing insight. Season Three, Episode One featured Rob Lowe as he and the hosts discussed nostalgia. As an 80s star, he talked about how he isn’t nostalgic for his peak era of stardom and together they explained why we typically think of things as better than they actually were. There is also a subset of podcast episodes that focus on ancient philosophical ideas called “Happiness Lessons of the Ancients,” and a bonus coronavirus miniseries. However, the episodes generally range from about 40 minutes to over an hour—which can be difficult to finish if I’m not able to listen to it all at once—and a solid 15 minutes of the podcast consists of endorsement readings from Dr. Santos.

The Happiness Lab podcast is very easy to listen to for its relatability, lightheartedness, and intriguing guests. I recommend this podcast for people who are interest in mental health or self improvement and would like to listen to to some uplifting background noise.  

photo credit: image via https://www.happinesslab.fm/