The Science of Happiness

A simple experiment turning a parking space into a parklet reveals how small changes to public spaces can spark connection, belonging, and awe. Summary: What if even the smallest changes to our cities could transform how we feel and connect?

Through poetic reflection, Yrsa Daley-Ward helps us embrace the in-between moments, reminding us that the unknown can be the very terrain where real change begins. Settle into Stillness: Find a quiet space, get comfortable, and take a few slow breaths to arrive in the moment.

What happens in your brain when you read or write a poem? We listen to powerful poetry from you, our listeners, and uncover the neuroscience of why it helps us feel, process, and recover. Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

From a worker-owned restaurant in Oakland to a nonprofit built on shared leadership, we explore how collective work models can help people feel heard, valued, and more invested in their work.

Does your to-do list feel endless? Try this short, guided practice to help you reflect, reconnect, and release the pressure to do it all perfectly. How To Do This Practice: Find a Comfortable Posture: Sit or stand tall with a sense of dignity, grounded, yet relaxed.

Explore the neuroscience behind musical improvisation—and what it reveals about our natural capacity for creativity. Summary: Creativity may be more natural than we think.

Having a curious approach to life can improve our mood, creativity and relationships. Scott Shigeoka leads a visualization exercise to help you approach someone you might disagree with with an open and curious mind.

Finding ways to bend tasks toward your strengths and passions can make you happier, more productive and find more meaning in your life—no matter your job.

Research shows that reflecting on our shared humanity can increase self-compassion and life satisfaction while reducing feelings of isolation. In this practice, Dacher Keltner guides us to look beneath our differences and connect with the qualities that make us human together.

Guest host Geena Davis guides us through the research on love that stretches beyond romance and friendship, showing up in our bonds with objects, nature, grief, and the collective moments that connect us to something larger than ourselves.

Guest host Geena Davis helps us explore how the love we feel —for our partners, friends, family, even our four legged companions—shapes our brains, bodies, and lives.

In a culture that often reduces love to romance, Geena Davis helps us explore the science of love across the lifespan—revealing how our bonds with parents, friends, partners, and communities shape our health, happiness, and survival.

Discover what happens to our well-being when we respond to suffering with compassion, collective action, and why choosing to care can help us hold on to our shared humanity. Summary: In the face of widespread suffering, many of us struggle with how to respond without becoming overwhelmed or numb.

Psychologist and stress expert Elissa Epel leads us in a gentle, science-backed practice to calm our nervous systems and meet uncertainty with greater ease and acceptance. We want to hear from you!

Studies show qigong can strengthen your body and mind, and reduce cortisol levels. We explore this Chinese meditative movement practice that dates back over 4,000 years.

This New Year, affirm the wonderful qualities you already possess with this meditative writing practice with Chris Murchison called "I Am." How To Do This Practice: Settle your body and breath: Find a comfortable seat. Close your eyes or soften your gaze. Take a few slow, deep breaths.

Learn how the stories we tell and hear shape our relationships, values, and sense of belonging. Summary: Storytelling is more than entertainment. It shapes how we think, feel, and relate to others.

También tenemos esta meditación en Español. Transcription:

Take a few minutes to reflect on someone who inspires you, and how you can embody the values you admire in them. You can also listen to this episode in Spanish here: How To Do This Practice: Find a quiet moment and settle your body: Sit or stand somewhere you feel safe and comfortable.

Explore how students are using simple mindful breathing practices to navigate stress, stay grounded, and support their classmates. Summary: Classrooms often are confronted with difficult topics that can leave students overwhelmed and anxious.

Through a gentle ancestral meditation, discover how grounding in your roots can open the door to healing, meaning, and a deeper sense of belonging.

Self-compassion reduces our feelings of shame and self-doubt. We explore a practice to help quiet our inner critic with kindness. Summary: What does your inner critic sound like? Many of us carry echoes of past misunderstandings, pressures, or expectations.

When gratitude feels distant, gently notice what’s here now— creating space for both heaviness and small moments of appreciation. How To Do This Practice: Get Comfortable: Sit upright or lie down. Whatever feels most supportive. Then soften your gaze or close your eyes.

Doing good for others benefits our own minds and bodies, as well. We explore the science of kindness.

Explore a gentle practice for releasing resentment and finding freedom through forgiveness. How To Do This Practice: Prepare Your Space and Body: Find a quiet, safe place to sit and take slow, grounding breaths. Notice any tension in your body and gently release it with each exhale.

Award-winning poet Yrsa Daley-Ward and neuroscientist Susan Magsamen explore how poetry activates unique neural pathways — engaging emotion, memory, and language simultaneously in ways that prose does not.

NASA engineer Lori Arnett tries a month-long dance practice and discovers the science of why movement to music reduces anxiety, increases social bonding, and improves mood more effectively than most interventions.

Palestinian-American poet Naomi Shihab Nye tries a savoring practice — deliberately recalling and reliving positive memories — and discusses how intentional remembering can counteract the negativity bias of human memory.