10% Happier with Dan Harris

Buddhist advice on the feeling of "I'm not enough," the voice that says "if I don't do it, no one will," and tolerating uncertainty without impatience.

Santacitta Bhikkhuni trained as a nun in England & Asia, primarily in the lineage of Ajahn Chah and has also received teachings in the Shechen lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. She is committed to Gaia as a living being and resides at Aloka Earth Room, currently in San Rafael, California. She recently co-authored the book What Are You Waiting For? A Conversation about Buddhism between Two Old Friends. You can find more of...

Winter is coming. The author of Wintering on weathering the cold, dark seasons, literally and otherwise, with rituals, cold-water swimming, reading in the middle of the night, and a lesson from a hibernating dormouse.

Katherine May is the New York Times bestselling author of Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times. She is an internationally renowned writer, podcaster and speaker whose work touches on nature, spirituality, slow living, and neurodivergence; her podcast is The Clearing. Katherine lives by the sea in Whitstable, UK, with her husband, son, and pets. 

In this episode w...

Plus: surviving cancer twice, what three divorces taught him, and being a Baptist who owns a bourbon company.

Terry Bradshaw is one of America's best-loved sports figures. As quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Hall of Famer led his team to four Super Bowl victories. Since retiring from football, Bradshaw has become a celebrated sportscaster, actor, and entrepreneur. "Pappy" Bradshaw and his wife Tammy live in Texas near daughters Rachel, Lacey, and Erin, and their families. His new book is Looking for Terry: A Memoir.

In this episode we talk about:

We live as if we'll live forever, then die as if we've never lived. A Zen nun and MD on the daily practices that break that pattern.

Sister Dang Nghiem, MD, has a new book called Live Beautifully, Die Beautifully: Field Notes from the Edge of Impermanence.

Sister D was born in 1968 in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, the daughter of a Vietnamese mother and an American soldier. She lost her mother at the age of twelve and immigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen with her brother. Living in various foster...

Plus: how to actually change a habit, how to get distance from negative thoughts, why the spark fades, and whether what doesn't kill you really makes you stronger.

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist at New York University's Stern School of Business and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Anxious Generation.

He is also the author of the recently re-released The Happiness Hypothesis, and of The New York Times bestsellers The Righteous Mind, and The Coddling of the American Mind (with Greg Lukianoff). He has given four TED talks and been named a...

Plan for the worst without spiraling, catch trouble early, and turn bad news into fuel.

Dr. Raj Panjabi, MD is the author of Safer: A Playbook—Turning Fear into Action and Crisis into Community. He served as Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefense at the White House National Security Council (2022-2023) where he co-led the largest vaccination campaign in history against COVID-19 and U.S. responses to other public health crises, including mpox, influenza and Ebola.

A Harvard Medical School physician, Dr. Panjabi is the co-founder and former CEO of Last Mile Health, wh...

Why it's OK to go to bed angry, be awkward, and not like your coworkers. Plus, the three kinds of friends you need and the one-line script that makes hard feedback land.

Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School, where he has been the top-rated professor for seven straight years. His new book is Vibe: The Secrets of Strong Connections in a Lonely World.

Adam's books have sold millions of copies, he's one of TED's most popular speakers, and his podcast Re:Thinking has over 100 million downloads. He's been recognized as the...

Plus: the only two things you really take with you when you leave a job, why following a great boss beats chasing a hot company, and why she thinks "I've missed the boat" on AI is a lie.

Molly Graham is the host of TED's WorkLife podcast, co-founder of the leadership communities Glue Club and the Guild, and writer of Lessons on Substack.

In this episode we talk about:

A tongue-in-cheek jaw release, a 30-second shake-off, and a two-finger trick that tells your body it's safe. Plus: why scrolling feels relaxing but isn't.

Nadia Narain and Katia Narain Phillips are the authors of the international bestsellers Self-Care for The Real World and Rituals for Every Day. Their most recent book, Glimmers: Tiny Moments to Transform Your Life, was published in January 2026.

In this episode we talk about:

Why tensing against pain makes it worse, the difference between acceptance and passivity, and how to plan for the future while staying present—from two of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh's senior students.

Brother Thích Chân Pháp Dung is a Vietnamese American Buddhist monk ordained in 1998 and a Dharma Teacher in the Plum Village tradition, founded by Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh. He currently practices and teaches at Deer Park Monastery in California and is the founder of the Thích Nhất Hạnh School of Interbeing.

Kaira Jewel Lingo is...

The liberation that comes from realizing that you're never going to get everything done.

Oliver Burkeman is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling Four Thousand Weeks, The Antidote, and most recently, Meditations for Mortals. His work has also appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Psychologies and New Philosopher. He has a devoted following for his writing on productivity, mortality, the power of limits, and building a meaningful life in an age of bewilderment. 

This episode originally appeared in April 2024. 

In this episode we talk about:

You don't get to choose what's thrown at you — only how you respond. Karma as a tool for agency, attention sovereignty as a political act, and what to do when you feel completely helpless.

The news is a lot right now. And for most of us, the usual options — doom scroll until midnight, or unplug entirely — don't actually help. Meditation teacher Pascal Auclair joins Dan for a live community conversation on how to stay engaged with what's happening in the world without letting it wreck your nervous system, your relationships, or your sleep.

In this conver...

Which conflict style are you? Plus: avoiding the "trance of nice," walking the high wire, and an uber-hack for getting over irritation.

devon + nico hase serve as guiding teachers of the online dharma community Refuge of Belonging. They teach at the Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock, and other centers, offer online and in-person retreats, and speak with students in one-on-one sessions. They are the co-authors of How Not to Be a Hot Mess and the new This Messy, Gorgeous Love: A Buddhist Guide to Lasting Partnership. 

In this episode we talk about:

Six archetypes: Which one are you? Plus, a simple question to help you distinguish real, current fears from old, outdated ones.

Dr. Galit Atlas is an internationally renowned psychoanalyst and leader in relational psychoanalysis. She teaches at NYU and Columbia University and lectures internationally on sexuality, desire, and emotional inheritance. Her latest book is Come Closer. You can also read her essays on Substack, Wild Analysis with Dr. Galit Atlas.

In this episode we talk about:

What kids can teach you about how to handle anger, being uptight, and rejection, according to the creator of Recess Therapy.

Julian Shapiro-Barnum is a comedian, writer, and interviewer known for Recess Therapy, Celebrity Substitute, and Outside Tonight. He's won seven Webby Awards, was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30, and received a Family Entertainment Award from Variety. His first book is How to Grow Up Without Becoming a Grown-Up.

In this episode we talk about:

The famed exoneree on making life worth living every day, flipping the narrative on the bad things, and the ancient Japanese practice of kintsugi.

Amanda Knox is an exoneree, journalist, comedian, and bestselling author of Waiting to Be Heard and FREE: My Search for Meaning. She hosts the podcast Hard Knox and advocates for criminal justice reform and media ethics.

In this episode we talk about:

Plus: why being your 'best self' isn't about being nice or passive, why regulation starts before things go wrong, and how 'polyregulation' can help you up your game.

Marc Brackett, Ph.D. is the author of Dealing with Feeling: Use Your Emotions to Create the Life You Want and the bestselling Permission to Feel. He is the founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and a professor in the Child Study Center at Yale University. You can watch Marc's podcast interviews here. 

In this episode we talk about:

Plus: Why acceptance isn't the same as resignation, a trick for gaining perspective, and the role faith plays in his life.

Josh Johnson is an Emmy-nominated writer, stand-up comedian, actor, and NAACP award-winner from Louisiana by way of Chicago. He was just named as the newest correspondent on Comedy Central's Emmy & Peabody Award-winning program The Daily Show, where he was previously a writer for the past six years. Johnson is also a former writer and performer on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he made his late-night debut in 2017. In addition, he is Comedy Central's...

A simple daily check-in you can do anywhere, a four-part practice for handling hard emotions, and a new way to relate to negative judgments. Plus, why transcendence is more accessible than you think.

Diana Winston is the Director of UCLA Mindful, with three decades of experience teaching mindfulness for health and well-being. She has authored three books, including The Little Book of Being, and has taught at Spirit Rock Meditation Center for 25 years. A founder of the International Mindfulness Teachers Association, she continues to guide individuals and organizations in cultivating awareness and presence.

In...

A surprisingly uplifting conversation on aging, sickness, and death. Plus: why you get happier as you get older, hard-earned tips for handling tough diagnoses, and how to think about AI in your health care.

Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, is a surgeon, author, and public health innovator. He holds the Fish Chair in Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He is the Samuel O. Thier Professor of the Practice of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Professor of the Practice at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 

Dr. Gawande was Assistant Administrator for Global H...

The legendary comedian says you don't have to be tortured to be an artist, he doesn't need an index card of achievements in his pocket anymore, and even the bad trips have led to good destinations.

Neal Brennan is a three-time Emmy-nominated writer, director, producer, and standup comedian known for his critically acclaimed Netflix specials 3 Mics, Blocks, and Crazy Good and for co-creating Comedy Central's iconic Chappelle's Show. He also hosts the hit Blocks podcast, where he talks with guests about their own personal blocks.

In this episode we talk about:

How to understand your tendencies and identify what's keeping you stuck. Plus: advice on treating resistance as data, reclaiming time affluence, and avoiding "procrasticlearing."

Laurie Santos is the Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon Professor of Psychology at Yale University. In addition to her work on the evolutionary origins of human cognition, Laurie is an expert on the science of happiness and the ways in which our minds lie to us about what makes us happy. Her podcast, The Happiness Lab, is a top-3 Apple podcast which has attracted 150+ million downloads since its launch.

Gretchen Rubin is...

Plus: the benefits of a "reverse bucket list"; clear formulas for happiness, enjoyment, satisfaction, and purpose; and how to engage in the world's problems without being miserable.

Professor and writer Arthur Brooks on his recent book (co-authored with Oprah Winfrey): Build The Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier. Arthur has seen the themes of this book play out in his own life. He started his career as a classical French horn player, then got his PhD in public policy analysis, and went on to run a think tank called the American Enterprise Institute...

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:

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:

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...

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:

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...

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:

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:

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 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:

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.<...

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:

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:

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:

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:

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...

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:

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...