Ep. 527: What a Favorite Book Reveals, Photo Selection Tips & Family Secrets Explored

We discuss how paying attention to the books, movies, or TV shows someone loves can provide profound insights into their character and inner life. Our happiness hack shares surprising research that shows we're actually terrible at choosing our own most flattering photos; strangers select better ima…

Little Happier: When Your Life Feels Like “Groundhog Day”: Movies That Capture Concepts

Sometimes, the title of a movie manages to become shorthand for entire life situations—think "The Matrix," "Gaslight," and “The Devil Wears Prada.” Also, this collection illustrates my deep appreciation for the pleasure of examples.  Resources & links related to this episode: More Happier episode …

More Happier: Friendship Roundtable: How to Make, Keep & Deepen Friendships

First in a new discussion series on happiness: Friendship Roundtable. Joining me is a longtime friend, Laurie Santos, and a new friend, Reshma Saujani. We talk about how our friendships have changed over time, how to handle conflict, and how to make new friends in adulthood. Yale professor Laurie S…

Ep. 526: The Rule of More, a Fun Way to Clear Family Clutter & More Secrets of Adulthood

We explore the powerful “Rule of More” that we can make our lives happier—or less happy. We share an easy yet highly effective hack for prompting the entire family to help clear clutter. Plus we share listeners’ excellent Secrets of Adulthood. Resources & Links Related to this episode: Pre-order y…

Little Happier: The Villagers and the Crocodile: When We Assume That We’re Not Next

In my version of a traditional teaching story, a village is terrorized by a crocodile. This story explores the dangers of dismissing threats to others while hoping that we’ll be spared.  Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling b…

More Happier: We Talk Money: Finances, Love, Conflict, Debt, and Self-Knowledge

In a conversation with the brilliant and hilarious Ramit Sethi, we talk about “money for couples.” We discuss issues such as the four money types, how to handle conflict within a relationship, when to start talking about money when dating, red flags, and more. Resources & Links Related to this epi…

Ep. 525: Should I Get a Dog? Plus Using Podcasts to Get Tasks Done & Listener Insights

We explore the big question of whether to get a dog, sharing results from our listener poll, research on how pets boost happiness, and hilarious "worst-case scenarios.” We share a hack for getting tasks done more quickly and pleasantly. Plus we feature a rich collection of listener insights on rest…

Little Happier: A Truth About Human Nature, Illustrated by a Change in Basketball Rules

Through my "Operation Knicks Knowledge" experiment, I've discovered that basketball rules evolve constantly—and one particular change reveals a profound truth about human nature. We manage what we monitor, and we encourage what we reward. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Visit Gretchen's w…

More Happier: Revisiting Everyone’s Favorite Moment: The Gift of the Ped Egg

In honor of our tenth anniversary, we revisit a fan-favorite episode: The one where Elizabeth talks about giving a Ped Egg to her mother-in-law. Many listeners cited this segment as one of the all-time funniest discussions on the show. We also discuss Gretchen’s travel hack, the “Bowl of Requiremen…

Ep. 524 Use a Messy Closet, a 3-Hour Rule for Difficult People & Renowned Judy Blume on Reading

We explore a helpful approach for handling important tasks that can’t be dealt with at present, by stashing them in the metaphorical "messy closet" without guilt. Our happiness hack offers expert advice for managing social situations with difficult people. We also feature a special interview with l…