What Science Says About Living Your Happiest Life

·37 min·3 clips

Strong social connections can give you 10 extra years of life, according to a massive study of 300,000 people.

In this re-released episode of Food, We Need To Talk, hosts Yuna Jada and Dr. Eddie Phillips interview Professor Dacher Keltner, Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley, Faculty Director of the Greater Good Science Center, and host of The Science of Happiness podcast. Keltner begins by defining happiness as a combination of feeling good about one's life at an evaluative level and experiencing a healthy repertoire of positive emotions in daily micro-moments -- noting that despite 99 competing scientific measures of happiness, the core concept is consistent. He describes what he calls the modern paradox: material conditions have improved dramatically over the past 70 years -- longer lives, more comfort, greater access to art and food -- yet Americans are measurably less happy than they were in the 1950s. Keltner identifies several culprits: the illusion of materialism (the belief that buying things will create happiness), screen time (which diminishes happiness), overwork (Americans work significantly harder today than 40 years ago), and reduced time with friends and in nature. He traces different cultural conceptions of happiness from ancient Greek ideas of fate smiling upon you, to East Asian frameworks rooted in social duty, to Western individualistic ideals -- arguing that modern secular culture has stripped away the social containers like religion that historically structured happiness practices. Keltner describes the empirically validated happiness practices he assigns to his students, which include acts of kindness, gratitude exercises, mindfulness, and intentional social connection. The episode includes discussion of humor as a scientifically supported contributor to well-being -- validating the hosts' own comedic approach to a health podcast. Throughout, Keltner is warm and accessible, translating academic research into practical frameworks that listeners can apply immediately.

As heard by us

A happiness conversation that favors meaning over measurable things.

This holiday replay keeps its focus on a familiar tension: money and objects are easy to pursue, but they do not amount to a good life. The discussion opens into the values young people absorb, the habit of tying success to wealth, and why the science of happiness belongs in the…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

For when happiness advice needs less hype and more science.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Food, We Need To Talk