We're taking some time off to bring you even more episodes of A Bit of Optimism that you're going to love! In the meantime, we're revisiting some of our favorite episodes, like this one with Harvard professor Robert Waldinger.

We all want to live a happy life. But what does the research say about how to achieve it?

For more than 86 years, researchers at Harvard University have been trying to figure out how humans can live happier lives. In one of the longest-running and most comprehensive studies of human happiness, Harvard tracked 724 teenagers through every stage of their adult lives since 1938. Some of them are still alive today and the findings are clear: lasting happiness isn’t about wealth or fame—it’s about something much deeper.

Robert Waldinger, a professor and psychiatrist, has directed the study for over 20 years. His TED Talk about it went viral with nearly 50 million views, and in 2023, he wrote a book about it - The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness.I asked Robert to share what the study has revealed about happiness over the decades, how its insights have shaped his own life, and the one essential ingredient for a joyful, meaningful existence.

This…is A Bit of Optimism.

To learn more about Robert and his work, check out:

The Harvard Study of Adult Development

robertwaldinger.com

Sometimes in life, we must stop and ask ourselves, “Where am I you going next?” Other times, it’s more fun to do a podcast takeover.

No one has ever interviewed me quite like Cal Fussman. Cal has a gift – he pulls things out of you that you didn’t even know were there. A prolific Writer At Large for Esquire, Cal has interviewed legends like Muhammad Ali and Mikhail Gorbachev, and he’s the host of the podcast Big Questions. So, to mark 15 years since writing Start With Why, I invited Cal to take over my podcast and ask me the questions I don’t usually get asked.

Cal did get me to open up in this conversation, but not in the way you might expect. We talk about where I’ve been, where I’m going, the infinite game, creativity in AI…and why I’ve become so obsessed with friendship lately.

This…is A Bit of Optimism

For more on Cal and his work, check out:

Big Questions with Cal Fussman

Sometimes in life, we choose the wrong path. When we feel like we're living a lie, it's hard to know what to do next.

That’s where Suzy Welch comes in. She’s obsessed with helping people create lives worth living. A professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business, Suzy teaches a popular class called “Becoming You,” where she takes students down a brutal, but liberating, journey to live as their authentic selves.

According to Suzy’s research, purpose is the key to unlocking the real you, but finding that purpose is often trickier than we imagine.I had a blast talking, and debating, with Suzy about what it means to craft a purpose-driven life. In this conversation, she shares with me the difference between passion and aptitude, the reason luck is overrated, and why so many people struggle to know their own values.

To learn more about Suzy and her work, check out:

her book, Becoming You

and The Becoming You Podcast with Suzy Welch