I can deal with the trite over used kumbaya nonsense that is the usual fare . Blah blah mindfuness blah blah blah gratitude...go to any self help section of a bookstore and the samed stale oatmeal served cold and lumpy. next to tomes about how to lose weight. However, the moment someone starts talking about "jesus" I deleted this from podcast play list.. I don't listen to podcasts to have some 3rd rate actor prattle on about religous nonsense. I switched to Neil DeGrasse Tyson at least he deal in facts .Also narrator's voice is highi and squeaky and irritating to listen to.

I love the sharing of what this scholar has learned from her research and teaching supplemented by sharing her own experience. It’s so fun to dip into the psychology research as an outsider without worrying that the research will be distorted or misinterpreted by journalists. Has also really helped me personally to grow and think about what happiness is. What a great course she has developed, and so valuable for her students’ happiness.

Thank you Laurie! For being a voice to what so many of us feel everyday. I have learned so much about human behavior and my own unique quirks from your podcast. Thank you for making the path to happiness..well..happier!

I love this pod & have learned a lot about the human brain !

I have never listened to a podcast with more ads. It is really hard to follow the interview or through line of each episodes because of constant interruptions of repetitive and uninteresting advertising content. Additionally, over time, I feel like this is not providing a scientifically based information. For example, a recent episode cited a study that said people who were cheerful at 18 have better jobs decades later - huh? How on earth could you show a causal relationship between those two factors. Really disappointing overall! Unsubscribe!

I consider myself a happy person. This pod made me unhappy. I found Laurie’s speech condescending; the frequent Yale name drops didn’t help. The pod feels like an extended promotional tour for Laurie, her guests, and, of course, all the ads.

I am absolutely in love with this podcast. As a combat veteran dealing wit ptsd and a tbi I’ve been looking at ways to not only heal my trauma issues but be happier. I also look to share that happiness and methods with others. Thank you for all you do.

Love the podcast but do not love how often they reference our “lying mind.” It perpetuates the idea that we cannot understand or be one with our own minds and need psychologists and scientists to explain it to us - when in reality part of happiness is being at peace with our minds.

I continue to enjoy & learn so much every week from this podcast. Thank you for all your hard work & commitment to happiness. Take care.

lol- smh. Ridiculous!

I began listening to Dr. Santos when I found out I was having children and I wanted to become a happier and better adjusted adult for them. It’s been about 3 years and I’ve enjoyed and learned throughout my time listening however, here lately the only guests on the show are Ivy League graduates, highly paid execs, PhD graduates, and people who, by all accounts, are more well off than the majority of the population (I.e. working class). At one point we were listening to a highly paid marketing executive talk about how their jogging group made them happier. I’m more interested to hear how your methods can help or have helped those of us in the lower to middle class, can we hear from some regular people?

Dr. Laurie‘s podcast is fantastic! I am catching up from years ago. The old episodes are just as valid today. I listen when I go for an occasional walk. I find her presentations so thoughtful and important that the only other things that I do when I do walk is call to see how father or my sisters are doing. This is definitely one you should listen to and really pay attention. I think there are a lot of us that can learn and get value from these ideas as well as putting them into thoughtful practice!

I’ve been listening since 2020. I found it by chance when scrolling through podcasts - I had never really been a podcast listener before and I was trying to start something new while out on my afternoon walks, and little did I know, I had stumbled upon a podcast that would change my life. This podcast such a wonderful listen - perfect for walks or biking… I would go so far as to say that this is my version of meditation. I don’t know how to explain it, but this podcast gives me a huge feeling of calm and it feels cleansing. I feel as though I can just be. It reminds me of PBS, and I mean that as the highest compliment, it is so gentle and informative with fun but calming music sprinkled on top. I always look forward to new episodes, but I also re-listen to old episodes in chronological order at least once a year. Thanks to Laurie for creating this… and it wouldn’t be what it is without her. She has such a charming voice and tone and there’s something special about her and I think that’s why this podcast is so authentic and beautiful.

When I first started listening when the podcast was released, the content was spot on, but now there is too much marketing in the words being said by the “experts”. Too many opinions that are spoken as if it’s the truth. For reference, Just finished the episode about “good enough” relationships

I like the podcast, but the Starbucks ad is tone deaf on several fronts. Working in psych and social work means you have to be aware of social justice and your impact. I expect better from one of my own.

Big time fan and long time listener, this new season about relationships and communication has been AWESOME! it feels practical and positive, thanks Happiness Lab team!

I really want to thank Dr Laurie and the Pushkin team for making these episodes. I get filled with joy just seeing the yellow smiling square appear on my iPhone when a new episode is released. That and I get to learn all this without the price of paying a Yale tuition. Looking forward to many more.

#1 —100% Agree with siouxtrois’s review. Ditto. I love this podcast. And shout out to the Gottman’s & the Gottman Institute. Thank you for doing the research & sharing it with the public by publishing your “Prescription” book & all of your books that give me something to look forward to; that I’m excited to learn from. The Gottman’s groundbreaking research on Love, Mastering Building relationships that help you live seventeen years longer because you feel so happy. Thank You. Also Ads are Life. Ads are capitalistm. It’s like traffic. Ads are like your commute to work. Can’t get to work. Must commute. Can’t live in a capitalistic economy without marketing & ads.

The amount of ads in this podcast compared to any other podcast. Is very saddening.

Laurie, I’m grateful for the ways you’ve brought concepts from positive psychology into the cultural lexicon. But I can’t abide by all the ads. Do you know how disruptive it is to listen to experts on climate change urging us to get involved and have it be interrupted by you hawking new beds, blankets, etc? It distracts so much from the purpose of your podcast and feels very hypocritical.

I really love the podcast overall. That’s why I’m so disappointed in Dr. Laurie’s choice (or maybe Pushkin/Yale’s choice) to cross-post the “bonus” episode from Oprah. Arthur Brook’s perspective on multiple concepts is completely antithetical to the Happiness Lab’s mission. Brooks waves away concerns about unrealistic expectations among young people and talks about how it’s completely normal and expected for students at a prestigious institution like Harvard to have anxiety. Isn’t this the exact kind of thing Dr. Laurie was trying to combat with her original class? There were several other examples of what essentially amounted to Brooks and Oprah praising the “grindset” mentality. And then there was that weird condescending part about how one of the problems with young people today is that they don’t subscribe to any kind of faith tradition. I always love the discussions between Dr. Laurie and other experts and find the conversations to be appropriately nuanced, but this episode was a complete disaster and never should have passed quality control.

The hosts tone of voice is condescending The unproven political narrative about climate is false- when I was in college the cry was global cooling She’s from Yale- so what!

I use to really enjoy this show however I strongly disagree with their political narrative pushing a climate crisis frenzy.

Love the guests and insights, but the ads are frequent and annoying. Much prefer a model that allows me to donate with requests rather than a subscription model.

I love listening to this podcast. It always manages to lift me up and end up learning so many interesting facts. However, I must say the interview with Michael Pollan about psychedelics has been fantastic. This is a subject that interests me and this episode was fantastic. I couldn’t get enough of it. Thank you for touching these subjects. ✨

But seriously I could play a drinking game with the sheer number of times she name drops Yale. Like, we get it, you work at an Ivy?????

I literally cannot stand the Annoying condescending voice tone . No emotion is like so fake and robotic . It might as well be an AI robot speaking . Painful podcast overall

I love the podcast but may stop listening due to all the ads, I have them all memorized if anyone’s interested ;). Ads at the beginning and then after every 10 min of content and the same ads every time. It’s too much

I used to listen to this show frequently and enjoyed it. But the number of ads currently is unbearable and the fact that they interrupt the content 3-4 times per show is unacceptable. I get that they are pushing the people to the ad-free paid site, but there has to be a balance. Probably will stop listening.

Laurie seems like a lovely person, and the topics seem interesting. However, even though I wanted to listen, I simply couldn’t get past Laurie’s speech patterns. She ended every single sentence, without exception, on the exact same pitch, and ALWAYS with a “vocal fry” grating on her vocal cords.

Not a great podcast for those looking for substantial insights into complex topics. Many points are overly simplistic. Far too many ads. I enjoyed the podcast initially but lately is an absolute slog to listen to.

I couldn’t even listen to this whole episode. As a life long introvert I can see that you equate Social Anxiety with introversion. Nothing could be further from the truth. Try educating yourself about the multitude of traits of introverts and extroverts before you decide that introverts need to be transformed into happy little extroverts. I was quite offended by the entire premise of this episode. I agree with the other reviewer that Susan Cain’s book “Quiet” would be a nice starting point for you.

Good show but the ads drop in at the wrong times and take away from content that is deep and makes you get distracted. I understand you need to make money but maybe just place more ads in the beginning and end and not right in the middle.

I hated the introvert episode. You view introverts as a problem to be solved. What if extroverts need to change instead of introverts? What if extroverts need to be more considerate and better listeners and focus on the people in their lives instead of being obsessed with getting everyone to like them? What if extroverts need to learn and adapt to one on one interactions? What if we are introverts because extroverts can be selfish and obnoxious and are ALWAYS telling us to change??

I love the content but the ads for this show are outrageous. Consider streamlining and not interspersing them… put either at the beginning or the end to make this more listenable.

Um - this podcast was obviously written by someone who’s an extrovert and sees being an introvert as something to be “gotten over”. As an introvert, I don’t have problems talking to people, but realize I only have so much energy so I don’t want to waste it on someone I’ll never see again. Nothing is more annoying than being with someone who has to talk with and become friends with everyone they run into. Many extroverts need external validation to get their energy. Introverts can produce their own. Our culture is so extrovert driven that it makes being an introvert a bad thing. I recommend you read the book ‘Quiet’.

I love the content of the podcast itself, but am unsubscribing due to the ridiculous amount of ads - it seems like half the podcast at this point, and way more than any podcast I listen to.

I've loved this podcast and it's pretty helpful, however out of all the podcasts I listen to this one has the most ads. Really weird for a podcast meant to help people especially because the host is a professor at a prestigious college

A lot of ads make the listening experience less enjoyable:((((

Just found this excellent podcast. Sounds nice and professionally produced, it's packed with usuable facts & techniques.

I love this podcast it’s very interesting about our everyday life 🥰

I have listened to only a few episodes but I feel like practicing Dr. Laurie’s strategies and ideas from the podcast will help me and my family be happier and healthier! Season 7 Episode 1 is amazing for all parents who might need help recognizing the things and people in our lives we are grateful for every day!

Man I loved this episode, and even shared it with someone I know before finishing listening to it but I was unfortunately disappointed that the author (Arthur) was decidedly Catholic and fine with the irrationality of it. It's hard for me to take intelligent people seriously when they decide that "faith" in imaginary friends is perfectly reasonable. You're a philosopher

There is lots of good information in this podcast series but she seems willing to take any product that wants to advertise and link it to happiness. She advertises iPhone games that the says she uses to fill her waiting time even during episodes which talk about needing to spend less time looking at our phones. In the latest episode a San Diego advertisement has her talking about how happy a trip to San Diego will make you. It makes it harder to trust the actual podcast if she isn't will to draw lines.

I took the course “The Science of Happiness” on Coursera with Dr Laurie Santos and absolutely loved it. It made me take a perspective outside of myself and my life to see if I am really doing what aligns with my values to make me happy. When I found this podcast I was thrilled, because to me it’s like an extension of the course. I love to hear the different perspectives of the guests and what the science says. Sometimes there are thoughts that go against what I was always taught or always believed and I let myself sit with the discomfort and ask myself why. Then I say what’s the harm in trying to see if maybe it does actually make me happy? I thoroughly enjoy these mental activities and it has helped me reshape and redefine my life.

I don’t really like this and it’s just cringe 😬 I absolutely hate it.

I have been listening to The Happiness Lab and generally really enjoy it. However, when I listened to the episode on yoga, I was surprised that the podcast could not find someone that comes from the South Asian heritage? The teacher on the show was a woman, and of color, so that was better than who mostly gets the stage for this. However, it seemed another space where there may have been room to be inclusive of the heritage, instead, it was another space that erased the link to the people from this heritage. I was also cringing at the pronouncements of all the Sanskrit words—I couldn’t recognize what word they were saying! That also seemed careless as I can’t imagine it would take too much effort. I just expect more thought on these other matters from this podcast.

Listening to this show always gives me a boost. It’s informative and thoughtful, and helps so many people. Thanks for all your hard work Laurie and the team!

I’ve read The Happiness Advantage and so many of the concepts weren’t new, but I loved how Dr. Santos brought it up-to-date. My favorite episodes were the bonus ones about willpower gratitude & mindfulness, also her interview with the guy who invented the ATM and his wife. I find the hosts voice a bit high-pitched/raspy for my taste. However, it’s totally worth listening for the feeling of being a Yale student in podcast world. I upped my rating for the continued content and her voice doesn’t bother me anymore! Laurie Santos AND Gretchen Ruben together! I love it. I like seeing people who do a similar important impactful influential thing connecting!

Just started this podcast today, but I already enjoy it! Definitely will keep listening and following Dr. Laurie Santos!