10% Happier With Dan Harris

A podcast pioneer on failure, resilience, luck, work/life balance, and the power of questions. Guy Raz has been instrumental in creating some of the most iconic podcasts in the world, including Wondery's How I Built This, Wow in the World and TED Radio Hour. The New York Times has described him as "one of the most popular podcasters in history."  We talk about: The challenge – and gift – of failure Getting comfortable with discomfort and risk The notion of luck  The balance between your relationships and your work  Why scale isn't always the answer  Success vs. happiness  And much more Get the 10% with Dan Harris app here Sign up for Dan's free newsletter here Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok Subscribe to our YouTube Channel To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/10HappierwithDanHarris

How the people, places, and things around you can bring out your best. Plus, why willpower is unreliable, why AA works for so many people, and where to put your phone.  Angela Duckworth is the Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and co-director of the Penn-Wharton Behavior Change for Good Initiative. She is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance and the recently released Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best. In this episode we talk about: Why willpower alone rarely creates lasting behavior change, and why changing your situation is often the better move The Gallup study showing where teens keep their phones predicts their grades How to identify what's actually within your control versus truly fixed Angela's own marriage crisis during the 2008 financial collapse, and what saved it Why "trying harder" can sometimes make a bad situation worse, not better One reason Alcoholics Anonymous works for so man

There's a three-part framework for analyzing, breaking, or building any habit. There's also a simple way to identify which ones might be "keystone habits" for you. And the surprising discovery of the GLP1 "habit window" suggests that some people may be benefiting more from the drugs than others. Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and the author of The Power of Habit, which spent over three years on bestseller lists and has been translated into 40 languages; Supercommunicators, also a bestseller published in 2024; and Smarter Faster Better, a third bestseller. Mr. Duhigg writes for The New Yorker magazine and is a graduate of Yale University and the Harvard Business School. He previously wrote for The New York Times, and is a frequent contributor to CNBC, This American Life, NPR, and Frontline. He was also, for one terrifying day in 1999, a bike messenger in San Francisco. In this episode we talk about: The cue-routine-reward framework that underlies every habit, good or bad The "golden rul

Plus: her complicated relationship with antidepressants, weathering fertility struggles, and aging in public. Sara Bareilles joins Dan to discuss her new album Good Grief, a record she made after losing three close friends — Chad Joseph, Gavin Creel, and poet Andrea Gibson. The conversation covers grief as a transformative force, medication and mental health, fertility struggles and miscarriage, the creative process as spiritual transmission, aging without intervention, and patriotism as grief.  In this episode we talk about: Grief is a shortcut to the truth — it strips away distraction and forces presence "Name it to tame it" — putting feelings into words reduces their power Sara's fear that medication would suppress her artistry turned out to be the opposite: Lexapro felt like "a return to herself" The creative process as clearing a channel rather than owning the output — music arrives, it isn't manufactured "Nothing to fix" — acceptance as a countercultural act in an era of optimization Acceptance isn't r

Will AI take our jobs? Kill us? This episode provides both fact-checking and a psychological survival guide. Cal Newport is a Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, where he is also a founding faculty member of the Center for Digital Ethics and the inaugural Director of the Computer Science, Ethics and Society academic program. He is the New York Times bestselling author of eight books, including, most recently, Slow Productivity, A World Without Email, Digital Minimalism, and Deep Work. Newport is also a long-time contributing writer for the New Yorker and the host of the Deep Questions podcast. Matthew Brensilver, MSW, PhD teaches retreats at the Insight Retreat Center, Spirit Rock Meditation Center and Insight Meditation Society. Before committing to teach meditation full-time, he spent years doing research on addiction pharmacotherapy at the UCLA Center for Behavioral and Addiction Medicine. Each winter and summer, he offers a four-month online Buddhist Psychology Training through Spirit

Insights from the places on the planet where people apparently live the longest and healthiest lives.  Dan Buettner is an explorer, National Geographic Fellow, and journalist. He has written a series of bestselling books, including The Blue Zones of Happiness and The Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Recipes for Living to 100. He is also the host of the Netflix show, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones. In this episode we talk about: The origin story of the Blue Zones The nine common denominators, or Power Nine, to longevity. The surprising information about much maligned foods such as pasta and bread Why trying to pursue good health can actually work against you Why the single most important factor in longevity isn't advertised on instagram  Tips for integrating Blue Zones wisdom into your daily life, including designing a life where you move more naturally And some of the critiques and controversies surrounding his work Get the 10% with Dan Harris app here Sign up for Dan's free newsletter here Follow Dan on so

An investigative journalist on why reincarnation, ghosts, and unexplained phenomena deserve more scrutiny; plus, why our need to believe in something bigger isn't something to be embarrassed about. Miguel Sancho is an Emmy Award–winning television producer and author. He is a veteran of ABC News, where he helped run 20/20, and he is now the executive producer of The Proof Is Out There on the History Channel. His latest book is Evidence of the Extraordinary: Discoveries from the Series The Proof is Out There. In this episode we talk about: How to walk the line between skepticism and credulity Why most UFO footage falls apart under scrutiny The scientific case for Bigfoot Why kids who remember past lives are hard to dismiss How to spot a fraudulent psychic Pascal's "God-shaped hole" What unexplained ancient rock structures reveal about our history Get the 10% with Dan Harris app here Sign up for Dan's free newsletter here Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok Subscribe to our YouTube Channel This episode i

Plus: Why you're a "mystic" even though you don't know it, how to find the "magic" in meditation, and the power of simple apologies (and cleaning the dishes). Susan Piver is a 30 year student of Tibetan Buddhism, New York Times bestselling author, and founder of The Open Heart Project, an online meditation community with close to 20,000 members. Her latest book is Inexplicable Magic: Meditation for Mystics.  In this episode we talk about: Why meditation's real payoff can't be explained The crucial difference between mindfulness and awareness Why you can't think your way into oneness The seven daily habits of a modern "mystic" Why boundaries are essential to a spiritual life Susan's unglamorous trick for building real confidence Why trying to fix yourself backfires The secret to attracting inspiration Get the 10% with Dan Harris app here Sign up for Dan's free newsletter here Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok Subscribe to our YouTube Channel   This episode is sponsored by:  Square: Get up to $200 off

Why the five stages of grief are a myth, a go-to phrase for when everything's falling apart, and three steps for getting through loss. Dr. Lucy Hone is an adjunct fellow at the University of Canterbury and a sought-after professional speaker, a bestselling author, and an award-winning internationally published science educator. She is regularly featured in international media, including in The Guardian, Hidden Brain, and The Washington Post. Dr. Hone is a columnist for Psychology Today. In this episode we talk about: A three-step recipe for getting through any major loss Why the five stages of grief are a myth The surprising research on who supports grievers best (hint: pets) Living losses vs. death losses — and why ranking grief doesn't help What it means to have your "assumptive world" shattered Rebuilding identity after loss: answering "who am I now?" Finding self-compassion through "real, not perfect," not perfectionism Related Episodes: Cody Delistraty Sloane Crosley Sam Sanders Get the 10% with Dan

Writing can reduce overthinking, rumination, and anxiety. Here's what the researcher who pioneered the science suggests. James Pennebaker is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. He is known for his early research on expressive writing and health. More recently, he has pioneered ways to study people's personalities and behaviors through the analysis of their language use. His text analysis program LIWC is used across disciplines. Author of over 300 scientific articles and 8 books, his research has affected our understanding and treatment of mental and physical health of people dealing with upheavals in their lives. This episode first aired in November 2024, and is co-hosted by Dr. Bianca Harris. In this episode we talk about: The specific form of journaling, called expressive writing or therapeutic journaling, that he invented and studied. Other kinds of journaling such as to-do lists and gratitude lists. Why writing things down helps shift our perspective on our stress or tr

How elite athletes use visualization to improve performance, why visualization can turbo-charge physical recovery, and the mental trick that can make your nervous system feel safe. Cassi Vieten, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and director of research at the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination at the University of California, San Diego, where she also directs the Center for Mindfulness. She is the author Imagine That: Transform How You Think, Feel, and Live with the Science of Imagination. In this episode we talk about: Why imagination is the oldest human technology The VISTA method for training your imagination Why manifestation isn't as crazy as it sounds How to talk yourself out of catastrophizing Why conflict is really a clash of two imaginations What glimmers are How to use imagination to dial down physical pain What years of hidden alcoholism taught Cassi about a narrowed imagination Get the 10% with Dan Harris app here Sign up for Dan's free newsletter here Follow Dan on social: I

Ben Rein, PhD is a neuroscientist who studies the biology of social behavior and explains the brain to an audience of over 1.2 million people online. He serves as Chief Science Officer of the Mind Science Foundation, Head of Science Communication at ResearchHub Foundation, and teaches at Stanford University.  In this episode we talk about: Distinguishing between science and online "neurobullshit" Three research-backed ways to protect your brain health and boost social connection, even for introverts Why isolation shows up in the body like a low-grade injury The real difference between loneliness and isolation, and why we rarely recognize either in ourselves The power of pets in reducing stress and inflammation Whether sugar is really more addictive than cocaine (short answer: no, and here's why) Get the 10% with Dan Harris app here Sign up for Dan's free newsletter here Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok Subscribe to our YouTube Channel Additional Resources:  Why Brains Need Friends: The Neuroscienc

Dan doesn't usually sit in the interviewee's chair — but when journalist and author Allison Gilbert invited him to speak at the 92nd Street Y as part of their Connected Lives series, he said yes. What followed was one of the more wide-ranging conversations Dan has had about his own practice, his own anxieties, and why he's become convinced that inner work divorced from relationships is just selfishness dressed up as self-care. The evening also included a guided loving-kindness meditation — metta practice — that Dan led live with the audience. They talked about: Why Dan thinks the meditation world's PR problem has shifted — it's no longer "this is weird hippie stuff," it's "I get it, but I personally can't do it" The upward spiral: how taking care of your mind improves your relationships, which improves your inner weather, which improves your relationships further — and the "toilet vortex" that runs in the opposite direction Free-range mindfulness: why brushing your teeth or standing in a grocery line can rew

How to calm down fast with an 'inventory' practice, how to build 'resources' you can call on anytime, and why 'healing' might be the wrong goal to chase. Plus, living with autoimmune disorder, writing as a practice of embodiment, and why white-knuckling isn't worth it. Johanna Franzel is a teacher, somatic practitioner, educator, and author of the new book Write Yourself Home: A Creative Guide for Living Well in the Body You Have Through Embodied Writing and Movement Practice. She brings both professional expertise and the lived experience of navigating chronic illness for more than two decades. She also writes a Substack called Permission Slips.  In this episode we talk about: Why your nervous system stays on high alert for threats that aren't actually there The three-step "inventory" practice for finding calm in your body, right now Why calling to mind a "resource" can genuinely shift your physiology "Presence without scrutiny": the difference between being with someone (or yourself) and staring them down

Plus: how to build a village, why your attachment style isn't your destiny, and a two-step method for asking for help that actually works. Nedra Glover Tawwab is a licensed therapist and the author of Set Boundaries, Find Peace, an instant New York Times best-seller translated into over 35 languages worldwide. In addition, she has authored seven other books, including Drama Free and, most recently, The Balancing Act. A sought-after relationship expert, she has practiced relationship therapy for almost 20 years. In this episode we talk about: The difference between healthy dependency and full-blown enmeshment Why your attachment style is useful information, not a life sentence Wise compassion versus what Buddhists call "idiot compassion"  Why you can't force someone else to change, but your own change might be contagious The "silent agreements" we make in relationships without ever saying them out loud — and how they quietly build resentment Why over-considering everyone else's needs backfires, and how to

Plus: The "hard yes" list, the intentional pursuit of being bad at things (and how that opens doors you didn't know were closed), being "on intimate terms with catastrophe," and optimism as a daily practice. From How To Be A Better Human. Today we're sharing an episode from another show we love: How to Be a Better Human, hosted by Chris Duffy. In this conversation, Chris talks with actor Yara Shahidi — known for Black-ish and Grown-ish, and now host of The Optimist Project podcast — about what she's learned from building a career and an identity at the same time. Yara explains why she thinks of optimism as a daily practice rather than a fixed personality trait, how a "year of no" eventually led her to build a "hard yes list" of things that reliably bring her joy, and why she's been deliberately pursuing things she's bad at — cartwheels, crochet, the glockenspiel — as a way of staying curious and connected. It's a thoughtful conversation about purpose, identity, and how to keep growing once you've already ac

The legendary dharma teacher on self-acceptance, the two-sentence trick she uses on her own anger, and what actually makes her happy after 90 years of living. Sylvia Boorstein, PhD, LCSW is a co-founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre California and the author of five books on Buddhism, Mindfulness, and particularly That's Funny, You Don't Look Buddhist: On Being a Faithful Jew and a Passionate Buddhist.  In this episode we talk about: Why turning 90 makes the Buddha's teachings on impermanence feel real instead of theoretical The line Sylvia repeats to herself that's become the antidote to ill will and anger Why "there's always a hand to hold" might be the whole point of being alive The four (or three) noble truths, reworked in Sylvia's own words A grocery store treat that turned into an unexpected lesson about where happiness actually comes from What she says to people who are dying, and why it's not a lie And much more Get the 10% with Dan Harris app here Sign up for Dan's free news

An MIT/Harvard negotiation expert on the two types of "no," the FBI hostage negotiator trick you can use with anyone, and the rhetorical move that improves outcomes for women. John Richardson teaches negotiation at MIT's Sloan School of Management, and previously at Harvard Law, and was an associate at the Harvard Negotiation Project. He was coauthor with Roger Fisher and Alan Sharp of Getting It Done and Negotiation Analysis with Howard Raiffa and David Metcalfe. He is also a graduate of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy. His latest book is Never Settle, co-written with Attia Qureshi. In this episode we talk about: Why lying in a negotiation is tactically stupid, not just morally wrong The "give them a sandwich" trick FBI hostage negotiators use, and how to steal it for everyday life The difference between healthy manipulation and the harmful kind A simple word that can pull someone's brain out of fight-or-flight mode mid-argument Why knowing your alternative matters more than knowing your ask When say

Move on from the inner critic and beat perfectionism without lowering your standards. Dr. Ellen Hendriksen is a clinical psychologist who helps people calm their anxiety and be their authentic self. She serves on the faculty at Boston University's Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CARD) and is the author of HOW TO BE ENOUGH: Self-Acceptance for Self-Critics and Perfectionists and HOW TO BE YOURSELF: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety. You can find her on Substack at How to Be Good to Yourself When You're Hard on Yourself. This episode originally aired in 2025.  In this episode we talk about: The relationship between perfectionism and anxiety The definition of perfectionism––and why the word is actually a misnomer Dr. Hendriksen's own struggles with perfectionism, and how they manifested physically The difference between healthy perfectionism and unhealthy perfectionism Changing your relationship with your inner critic  Shifting from rigid rules to flexibility Keeping high standar

Plus: How your envy can be useful, why you're an unreliable narrator of your own life, and why you keep choosing partners who echo the unfinished business of your childhood. Lori Gottlieb is a psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, which has sold over three million copies and has been translated into over 30 languages. In addition to her clinical practice, she writes The New York Times "Ask the Therapist" advice column and is co-host of the popular "Dear Therapists" podcast and the advice podcast Since You Asked.  In this episode we talk about: Why insight alone doesn't change anything, and what "idiot compassion" gets wrong Whether you actually need to like your therapist Why there's no such thing as a hierarchy of pain How to spot a help-rejecting complainer, including in yourself What envy is actually trying to tell you Why a real boundary is a bid for connection, not a cutoff Why we're all unreliable narrators, and how to edit the story you tell about