The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

Your eating habits could be cutting years off the end of your life. But there's a simple solution - eat like the people who live happily and healthily into their 80s, 90s and beyond. Dan Buettner studies the inhabitants of so-called "Blue Zones" - where people live long lives. Food and eating culture seem to play an important role this longevity.   Dan talks to Dr Laurie about Blue Zones and explains the idea behind his cookbook One Pot Meals: 100 Recipes to Live to 100 [https://danbuettner.com/books/] And to hear more from Dan check out The Dan Buettner Podcast [https://lemonada.lnk.to/TheDanBuettnerPodcast]. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

We all go along with things we don't want to do... or worse, things that make us feel uncomfortable or morally uneasy. We comply for lots of reasons. We don't want to make trouble, or upset our friends, our bosses or people in authority. But Dr Sunita Sah says we should be more ready to defy.   Defy: the Power of No in a World That Demands Yes [https://www.sunitasah.com/defy] is one of Dr Laurie's favorite books of 2025, so she invited Sunita to explain how we can say no more often and what that means for improving our happiness.  (With thanks to the Milgram family for allowing us to use the archive audio in this episode. It's from Stanley Milgram Papers (MS 1406). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library.)  See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Bruce Hood was a mentor of Dr Laurie early in her academic career and now teaches a course on happiness based on her famous Yale class. Hear him discuss his top tips on 10% Happier with Dan Harris.   Find out more about Dan Harris and 10% Happier at https://www.danharris.com [https://www.danharris.com] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

How do you train your mind to be happier? That was the question posed to Dr Laurie by Dr Tal Ben-Shahar at a live webinar for his Happiness Studies Academy.  Tal is a leading expert in positive psychology and co-founded the academy to share his knowledge online with students from around the world. Dr Laurie is just one of the scientists he invited to give lessons and take questions from the audience. If you want to learn more about the Happiness Studies Academy, or are interested in taking one of the certificate, masters or PhD courses - visit Happiness Studies Academy. [https://www.happinessstudies.academy/]   See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

On his podcast, Rich Roll [https://www.richroll.com/] seeks to give his listeners the knowledge to unleash their best selves. He invited Dr Laurie on his show to explain the science-backed "rewirements" she recommends to make us happier. The wide-ranging interview covers lots of topics - but tackles the tricky question of why the human mind often encourages us to do things that are actually bad for our happiness.  The Happiness Lab will be back with a new series after Labor Day, but we'll be bringing you more interviews with Dr Laurie throughout the summer.   See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.