The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

Parents are never perfect - but their mistakes can have a lasting impact on their children. We all carry with us ideas and attitudes planted in us during childhood - and they're not always very helpful for leading a happy life. How can we unlearn some of these things and also prevent ourselves from passing them on if we have kids? Glennon Doyle and Abby Wambach have raised three children together - so have lots of thoughts on this topic. The couple behind the hit podcast We Can Do Hard Things [https://wecandohardthingspodcast.com/] (and a new book We Can Do Hard Things) tell Dr Laurie how they've learned from their upbringings and decided to do a better job with their own family.  ---------------------------------------- Get ad-free episodes to The Happiness Lab by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm [https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin]. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows.  Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin [http://apple.co/pushkin] Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus [https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Too many parents feel “exhausted, burned out, and perpetually behind” according to the former US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy. He says more needs to be done to protect parental mental health.  Vivek talks to Dr Laurie about his experience as a dad and the loneliness, guilt and shame parents can feel as they struggle with the challenges of raising children.  This series on parenting coincides with Dr Laurie's new free online class, The Science of Wellbeing for Parents which is available now at Coursera.org [https://www.coursera.org/]. You can sign up at drlauriesantos.com/parents [http://drlauriesantos.com/parents]. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

In a special episode brought to you by Chase for Business, Dr. Laurie joins Ben Walter—CEO of Chase for Business and host of The Unshakeables podcast—to talk about resilience. Dr. Laurie and Ben explore the story of Benjamin Haugh, founder of All Nation Restoration in Austin, Texas. Benjamin had a difficult start in life, and at a young age found himself stranded in Austin with no money or job. Despite massive adversity, he went on to become a pillar of the Austin community. Through his emergency restoration company, Benjamin is helping people rebuild and recover when disaster strikes—an experience that can teach us so much about being resilient. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

There are many benefits to being an optimist - particularly when things go wrong in our lives. But we aren't all naturally optimistic, so can we learn to adopt the best and most positive behaviours of born optimists? Through treating New Yorkers caught up in the 9/11 attacks, psychiatrist Dr Sue Varma developed a concept she calls "practical optimism". She shares her tips on how we can all be more optimistic in the face of life's challenges.  Read more in Sue's book Practical Optimism: The Art, Science, and Practice of Exceptional Well-Being [https://www.doctorsuevarma.com/book/]   Dr Laurie spoke to Sue Varma MD at the 2025 World Happiness Summit [https://wohasu.com/].  ---------------------------------------- Get ad-free episodes to The Happiness Lab by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm [https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin]. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows.  Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin [http://apple.co/pushkin] Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus [https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Author and vlogger John Green looks around the world and sees a lot of things that suck. But rather than giving in to despair, he's trying to develop a sense of hope. He says the most "punk rock" thing to do is tackle our problems head-on.  John embraces the motto: "Human beings can be good news!" In a live discussion with Dr Laurie, he explains that if we work together we can decrease the suck in the world and increase the awesome.  This live event marked the publication of John's new book Everything is Tuberculosis [https://everythingistb.com] - which argues that TB is a global disease that we can conquer right now if we put in a little bit of combined effort. Happiness Lab listeners have already raised tens of thousands of dollar to fight TB by donating to our appeal at GiveDirectly.org/tb [https://www.givedirectly.org/TB]. ---------------------------------------- Get ad-free episodes to The Happiness Lab by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm [https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin]. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows.  Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin [http://apple.co/pushkin] Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus [https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.