I’ve been binge listening to this podcast for several months now. I have PTSD and many of the suggestions in this series have been very helpful for me. Specifically, my gratitude journal helps me to reexamine my day and focus on what went right and what brought me joy. I’ve tried journaling in the past and mostly focused on my PTSD and its causes, which was helpful for sharing with my therapist, but not very helpful directly on my daily PTSD fatigue. From another episode I had planned to write an encouraging letter to myself and almost immediately I recognized that someone else in my inner circle needed this immediately for their current battle. It was literally a double blessing to write all these thoughts to this person and to receive a heartfelt thank you in return. Perhaps encouragement is my real purpose. Keep up the good work Doctor Laurie!!!

I have so many options for podcasts and when there are wall to wall ads, I leave.

Long time listener but I can’t take it anymore. Stop with the ads. Please!!!!

The presenter and content are both excellent. But this podcast gets interrupted by an interminable number of commercials. Get rid of half of them.

This is my favorite podcast of all times and now it is sponsored by Starbucks?? Palestinians are human beings with human rights to live and to live free! Contrary to what the big people in Starbucks think! #boycottstarbucks

Love this podcast. It’s full of well studied and researched information that is easy to listen to. I love that I’ve already been able to implement helpful routines and tips into my day from information I’ve heard on this podcast. Also great guests and book recommendations. Highly recommend!

Why does this keep cutting out??

The length of all the ads combined is longer than the length of time where she’s actually talking. I really want to enjoy this podcast, but the amount of ads is driving me crazy.

Feels like enough episode was so good. The tips the guest gave was helpful. As a recovering perfectionist this helped.

I am a long time listener to this podcast and was disappointed to hear Laurie’s voice on an ad for T-Mobile highlighting Tractor Supply. That company walked back all of its diversity programs in response to the hateful maga regime. Maybe that kind of response makes the far right happy, but certainly not the more vulnerable individuals those initiatives are designed to support and protect. Do better Laurie.

I couldn’t listen to the cadence of the host’s voice. It was so annoying that I couldn’t hear what she was saying. It’s disappointing because I like the topics.

This week‘s episode with Jessica Pan on how to be an extrovert made me feel so connected. I am an introvert by nature and started forcing myself in college to do the like getting up in front of people and delivering a report. And she’s right. You won’t die even if you get embarrassed. I still need my me time to recharge. I married an extreme extrovert who forces me into social situation normally put myself into, but I always feel great after I participated. I’ve also presented to tens of thousands of employees over the last few decades at my company. And I really enjoy the connections. Thank you, Jessica for doing this work and sharing it with us.

All my favorite happiness people in one place! Each of you bring something different and made for a great podcast. It was great to include Elmo too! Please do this again!

lol at pretending to be hopeful. “Hopeful if you agree with me only” is more like it

Is it just me or is the voice and overall tone of this podcast bizarre? I grew up in a similar background and I can’t say I’ve ever heard a podcast covering this content that sounded so chipper and light. It comes across as more peddling their wares rather than investigative journalism. I couldn’t even get past the first 20 minutes.

Dr. Laurie, Throughout this episode my brain kept thinking, “what about mindfulness!?!” Mind wandering seems to be the opposite of mindfulness. Can they be complimentary?

Between the pervasive ads for a home sharing company that's ruining neighborhoods, there's a seed of a concept here. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I think it's the surface-level treatment of the topics and an almost lack of self-insight that makes this hard to listen to. I love and am fascinated by psychology and theories of the human mind. And yet, I don't get that much out of this podcast.

Tried to listen to an episode, but it feels like your listening to a continuous ad with content breaks.

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.