What does happiness really mean, and can it be measured?

In this episode, we move from Aristotle’s eudaimonia to brain scans, surveys, big data, and what truly lifts our mood.

It asks why money only helps so much, why social ties matter, and how trust shapes national well-being.

• Pleasure versus purpose happiness: Aristotle and flourishing
• Subjective well-being: life satisfaction, positive and negative emotions
• Surveys measure happiness; beware the memory and peak-end rule
• Experience sampling measures happiness in the moment
• Findings: happiest socialising, exercising, flow; least during commuting, illness
• Money boosts happiness, then flattens at higher incomes
• Social connections increase happiness; loneliness harms, especially during Covid
• Household size and eating alone trends in happiness
• Trust in others, institutions, and wallet return beliefs
• Caring for others versus expecting care from others

Full interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/science-of-happiness

Read the World Happiness Report here: https://www.worldhappiness.report/

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Keywords: Learn English, vocabulary, lessons, idioms, aprende inglés, idiomas, aprender inglês, apprendre l'anglais, imparare l’inglese, ingilizce öğren,英語を習う, تعلم الإنجليزية

Today, we have some news in English from our friends over at SEND7 - Simple English News Daily in 7 minutes.

World News in 7 minutes. Monday 20th October, 2025.

To listen to SEND7 every morning, search in your podcast app for Simple English News Daily, or go to www.send7.org

From The Vault 🔐 — normally a member-only episode, unlocked this month for everyone.

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The Affair of the Poisons was a scandal involving black magic, murder, and deceit at the court of King Louis XIV of France.

It all began with the discovery of a red leather trunk, and would go on to expose the desperation and moral decay behind the glitter of Versailles.

- King Louis XIV and life at the French court
- The role of mistresses in Louis XIV's court
- Marie de Brinvilliers and the hospital poisonings
- The death of Godin de Sainte-Croix reveals a scandal
- La Voisin's role in Parisian witchcraft and poisonings
- The investigation led by Gabriel Nicolas de La Reynie
- The Chambre Ardente tribunal's secretive findings
- Madame de Montespan allegedly plots against the King
- How the scandalous affair was quietly covered up
- The enduring legacy of 17th-century France's dark secrets

👉 Follow along with the interactive transcript, subtitles, and study pack — free, no registration required: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/affair-of-poisons

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🔓 And if you’d like to unlock our entire catalogue (550+ episodes), along with interactive transcripts, instant translations, and study packs, check out membership at https://bit.ly/FromTheVault2025