The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

Today we're sharing an episode from another Pushkin Industries podcast, Heavyweight [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heavyweight/id1150800298].  Gregor's parents are pushing 90. Gregor wants to move them out of their big Victorian home. But they refuse. So, he's come up with a bold plan. ---------------------------------------- Get ad-free episodes of Heavyweight by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heavyweight/id1150800298] or Pushkin.fm [https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin]. You'll also get an exclusive bonus episode where Jonathan, Stevie, and Kalila remember how the beloved Jackie calls came to be and share a never-before-aired opening that could have started the show in an alternate Heavyweight universe. Thanks for your support—and be sure to check out the other offerings available to Pushkin+ subscribers, including ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, and exclusive binges of other podcasts throughout the year. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heavyweight/id1150800298] Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.com/plus [https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Every choice you make shapes your wellbeing - and the bigger the decision, the greater the impact. So when it comes to life-changing questions like where to live, who to marry, or which career to pursue, how can you tell if you’re making the best decision for your long-term happiness? Economists might argue that you should weigh up every single option carefully - like a gambler in a casino figuring out the odds of winning. But psychologist Barry Schwartz says you can't apply a formula to happiness. In this episode, he shares insights from his new book, Choose Wisely: Rationality, Ethics, and the Art of Decision-Making  [https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300283990/choose-wisely/](co-authored with philosopher Richard Schuldenfrei), offering a more thoughtful and human approach to making life’s hardest choices. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Many of us toil for long hours - and even take work home at the end of the day. That's bad for us in so many ways - but extensive research shows that it just doesn't have to be this way. Many of us could work a four-day week and still get everything done.  Economist Juliet Schor has studied every kind of business - from breweries to ad agencies - and found that thoughtfully reducing work hours benefits employees, improves productivity and increases profits. She explains how you too can enjoy a three-day weekend with insights from her new book Four Days a Week: The Life-Changing Solution for Reducing Employee Stress, Improving Well-Being, and Working Smarter [https://www.harpercollins.com/products/four-days-a-week-juliet-schor?variant=43110374866978].     See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

As a podcast host, I'm often asked, "What's your favorite podcast?" and my answer is always the same: Heavyweight. So you can imagine my excitement when my favorite podcast joined the Pushkin slate! Hosted by Jonathan Goldstein, Heavyweight creates space for difficult conversations and resolving long-standing regrets and unanswered questions. Balancing humor and empathy, Jonathan helps his subjects pinpoint the moment things went wrong and joins them on a quest to make them right. This episode features Gregor, whose parents are pushing 90. Gregor wants to move them out of their big Victorian home—but they refuse. So, he's come up with a bold plan to get them out. It’s a touching story about learning to let go and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. If you do, find more episodes of Heavyweight [https://lnk.to/THLHW] wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

We all behave irrationally. We pay for expensive gym memberships and only go once. We spend windfall cash on things we'd never buy with our salaries. We plan to do nice things in the distant future, but don't actually write them down in our calendars. These things can be bad for our happiness, so why do we do them? Economist Richard Thaler won a Nobel Prize for studying human irrationality - and explains why we all do odd things sometimes and how we can guard against being so irrational. Richard is joined by fellow behavioral economist Alex Imas to explain the updated insights from the classic book The Winner’s Curse: Behavioral Economics Anomalies Then and Now [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Winners-Curse/Richard-H-Thaler/9781982165116]. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.