Happy You Asked: The Podcast That Explores Joy, One Awkward Conversation at a Time

41. Eranda Jayawickreme: Suffering May Indeed Make You a Better Person...If You Wait

Eranda Jayawickreme is Harold W. Tribble Professor of Psychology and Senior Research Fellow at the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University. His research focuses on post-traumatic growth, character, and well-being. He has been featured on NPR’s Hidden Brain, in the New York Times, BBC, the Guardian, the Washington Post, Scientific American, and Slate.

40. Selin A. Malkoc: You Can't Schedule Your Happiness

With me in this episode is Dr. Selin A. Malkoc, who is the FCOB Distinguished Professor of Marketing and Psychology at The Ohio State University. She has spent her career asking a deceptively simple question: why are we so bad at making choices that maximizes our productivity, happiness and well-being? Dr. Malkoc has long been fascinated by how differently people across cultures think about time — and how those differences shape the choices we make and the lives we end up living.

39. Mackenzie McGehee: The Magic Is Already in You

Mackenzie McGehee is the founder of Dear Humanity, I Love You (dearhumanityily.com), a mission-driven apparel brand built around the idea that small, visible reminders of love and connection can ripple outward in meaningful ways. Both her work as a personal coach and her brand share the same core philosophy: that people often need a gentle nudge back to what they already know about themselves.

38. Lara Aknin: Giving Makes Us Happier Than Getting

With me in this episode is Dr. Lara Aknin, who is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology at Simon Fraser University. She is also an editor of the World Happiness Report, a former Fellow with the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, and recent Chair of The Lancet’s COVID-19 Mental Health Task Force. She talks with me about research that shows giving substantially increases our happiness, and what that could mean for us on a day-to-day basis.

37. Emiliana Simon-Thomas: The Fireworks of a Compassionate Brain

Joining me in this episode is Dr. Emiliana Simon-Thomas. She is the Science Director of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley and a neuroscientist who studies compassion, gratitude, and awe. She co-teaches The Science of Happiness, one of the most popular online classes in the world with over 850,000 students. She also runs the Big Joy Project and has presented on the science of happiness to the Dalai Lama.