Happiness. That elusive little gremlin we’re all chasing while doom-scrolling at 2am, stress-eating directly from the bag, and muttering under our breath in traffic. If only there were some way to bottle it up and deliver it straight to your ears during your commute. Yes, in a world where everything is actively on fire, a small army of hosts, scientists, therapists, and suspiciously cheerful people have dedicated their shows to helping you feel better about all of it.
So put your headphones in, take a deep breath, and let’s find out which podcasts are most qualified to tell you that, actually, you could be a lot happier if you just tried a little harder.
Better Life Lab
Work has gotten so overwhelming that economists now rank it among the top causes of death, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Better Life Lab draws on behavioral and social science to explore how we can live healthier, fuller lives and understand what truly shapes the human experience. A co-production from New America and Slate.
The Gratitude Diaries
Through personal stories and solid research, Janice Kaplan uncovers how gratitude can reshape everything, rom your relationships and finances to your health and brain chemistry. Tune in to Gratitude Diaries every weekday for grounded, practical ways to bring more thankfulness into your daily life.
10% Happier with Dan Harris
Hosted by veteran journalist and bestselling author Dan Harris, Ten Percent Happier delivers world-class insights and practical tools drawn from modern science and ancient wisdom, self-help, for people who are skeptical of self-help.
The Minimalists
Emmy-nominated Netflix stars and New York Times–bestselling authors Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, known as The Minimalists, join cohost T.K. Coleman to help millions of listeners discover how owning and doing less can lead to a more meaningful life.
The Happiness Podcast with Chris Erthel
Breathwork, business, and the daily habits behind a genuinely happy life, that’s what this podcast is all about. Happiness isn’t accidental; it’s a skill, and each episode breaks down exactly how to build it.
Inherently Happy
Hosted by Happy Lord Geoffrey, this podcast offers bite-sized reflections on balance, personal growth, and the quiet sense of the divine that lives within everyday life.
The New Happy
In just five minutes a day, The New Happy Podcast gives you science-backed tools to live a happier life. Stephanie Harrison, founder of The New Happy and happiness researcher, guides you through small but powerful shifts that can change how you feel, and how you show up in the world.
The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos
Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos has spent years studying the science of happiness, and found that most of us are going about it all wrong. Drawing on her record-breaking Yale psychology course, The Happiness Lab challenges everything you think you know about what makes life better, backed by the latest research and the stories to prove it.
The Science of Happiness
Hosted by award-winning psychologist Dacher Keltner, The Science of Happiness explores research-backed ways to build a more fulfilling life through the study of compassion, gratitude, mindfulness, and awe.
The Mindset Mentor
With over 3 million followers, Rob Dial has built a reputation for cutting through the noise and helping people get out of their own way. The Mindset Mentor blends psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral science into practical tools for anyone ready to understand themselves better, and build a life to match.
Feeling Good Podcast
Hosted by Dr. David D. Burns, author of Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, this podcast explores powerful techniques for overcoming depression and anxiety while building greater self-esteem and joy, valuable for both mental health professionals and everyday listeners alike.
On Being with Krista Tippett
Hosted by Krista Tippett, On Being offers wisdom, spiritual inquiry, science, social healing, and poetry for anyone navigating the complexity of modern life. With a 20-year archive of conversations featuring luminaries like Mary Oliver, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Desmond Tutu, each episode opens a new window onto the depth and immensity of what it means to be human.
The One You Feed
The One You Feed brings together conversations with leading thinkers, including James Clear, Susan Cain, and Tara Brach, to help listeners build resilience, develop self-compassion, and live with greater purpose. The show offers not perfection, but direction: the insights and small, consistent actions that add up to a genuinely meaningful life.
Happier with Gretchen Rubin
Bestselling author Gretchen Rubin teams up with her sister and self-described “guinea pig,” LA-based TV writer and producer Elizabeth Craft, for Happier with Gretchen Rubin, a lively, practical podcast about building better habits and finding more happiness in everyday life.
Adventures in Happiness with Jessica Ortner
Hosted by New York Times bestselling author Jessica Ortner, this podcast explores practical strategies for feeling your best, even amid life’s inevitable messiness. Rather than chasing perfection, Jessica guides listeners toward finding genuine joy within all of life’s beautiful complexity.
Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson
Forrest Hanson and his father, clinical psychologist Dr. Rick Hanson, are joined by world-class experts to explore the practical science of lasting well-being. Being Well draws on psychology, research, and contemplative practice to help listeners build inner strength, work through life’s challenges, and thrive.
The HoneyDew with Ryan Sickler
Hosted by comedian Ryan Sickler and inspired by his own difficult upbringing, The HoneyDew is a storytelling podcast that finds humor in life’s darkest and most challenging moments.
Live Happy Now
Produced by the editors of Live Happy magazine, Live Happy Now delivers science-backed insights on wellness, gratitude, and mindfulness through conversations with top happiness researchers and thought leaders, including Shawn Achor, Gretchen Rubin, Deepak Chopra, Kristin Neff, and many more.
The Kindness Podcast
Named by Oprah Magazine as one of the “16 Best Happiness Podcasts,” The Kindness Podcast helps listeners lighten life’s burdens through practical tips, imaginative thinking, and vivid storytelling that reveals the kindness already present in the world around them.
Tara Brach
Internationally recognized meditation teacher and bestselling author Tara Brach, Ph.D. offers a weekly guided meditation and talk that weave together Western psychology and Eastern spiritual practice. Her podcast explores how mindfulness and self-compassion can ease emotional suffering, deepen spiritual growth, and contribute to a more healed and compassionate world.
Good Life Project
Hosted by Jonathan Fields, Good Life Project explores what it truly means to live well, through candid conversations with leading voices like Brené Brown, Matthew McConaughey, Mel Robbins, Adam Grant, Elizabeth Gilbert, and hundreds more.
Happiness in Progress
Hosted by an Emmy Award-winning journalist, Happiness in Progress features conversations with inspiring guests and delivers a fresh dose of motivation each episode to help listeners improve their lives and discover their own version of happiness.
Action for Happiness
Hosted by Dr. Mark Williamson, Action for Happiness features inspiring conversations with leading experts, exploring fresh ideas for building a happier and more compassionate world.
Do you know of another happiness podcast that you think should be on this list? Let me know
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