Between work, family, and our never-ending to-do lists, finding time for fun can feel like a luxury. But what if having fun isn't just a nice bonus in life — what if it's essential to our happiness, our health, and even our ability to make the world a better place?

In this live conversation from the Aspen Ideas Festival, Dr. Laurie is joined by science journalist Catherine Price and psychologist Elizabeth Dunn to explore why we should all be taking fun more seriously.

Experts Mentioned 
Catherine Price, health and science journalist
Elizabeth Dunn, Professor of Social Psychology at the University of British Columbia
Charles Duhigg, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
Bill Nye, science communicator 
Ross Gay, poet, essayist, and Professor of English at Indiana University Bloomington

Resources Mentioned 
How to Break Up With Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life, by Catherine Price (2018)
The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again, by Catherine Price (2021)
Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending, by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton (2013)
Leave the Lights On: How Joyful Decisions Can Save Our Species, by Elizabeth Dunn and Jiaying Zhao (2026)
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1990)
“What does a good day look like?: An interpretable machine learning approach to the American Time Use Survey,” by Dunigan Folk, Mirka Henninger, and Elizabeth Dunn (PNAS Nexus, 2026)
“Valuing time over money predicts happiness after a major life transition: A preregistered longitudinal study of graduating students,” by Ashley Whillans, Lucía Macchia, and Elizabeth Dunn (Scientific Advances, 2019)
“Smartphone use undermines enjoyment of face-to-face social interactions,” by Ryan J. Dwyer, Kostadin Kushlev, and Elizabeth Dunn (Journal of Experimental and Social Psychology, 2018)
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, by Charles Duhigg (2012)
“The holiday happiness curve: a preliminary investigation into mood during a holiday abroad,” by Jeroen Nawijn (International Journal of Tourism Research, 2009)
“Procrastination of Enjoyable Experiences,” by Suzanne Shu and Ayelet Gneezy (Journal of Marketing Research, 2010)
“Happiness and Voting Behavior,” by George Ward (World Happiness Report, 2019)
The Book of Delights: Essays, by Ross Gay (2019)
“Explicit Signals Enhance Social Engagement Between Strangers,” by Ruo-Ning Li, Iris Lok, Säde Stenlund, and Elizabeth Dunn (Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2025)
“How to Feel Alive with Catherine Price,” by Catherine Price (Substack)

Related Episodes
“Laurie Gets a Fun-tervention (Part One)”
“Laurie Gets a Fun-tervention (Part Two: Beach Party)”
“For Whom the Alarm Clock Tolls”

Between work, family, and our never-ending to-do lists, finding time for fun can feel like a luxury. But what if having fun isn't just a nice bonus in life &mdash; what if it's essential to our happiness, our health, and even our ability to make the world a better place?
In this live conversation from the Aspen Ideas Festival, Dr. Laurie is joined by science journalist <a href="https://catherineprice.com/" data-airgap-id="12">Catherine Price</a> and psychologist <a href="https://dunn.psych.ubc.ca/" data-airgap-id="13">Elizabeth Dunn</a> to explore why we should all be taking fun more seriously.
Experts Mentioned&nbsp;
<ul>
<li><a href="https://catherineprice.com/" data-airgap-id="14">Catherine Price</a>, health and science journalist</li>
<li><a href="https://dunn.psych.ubc.ca/" data-airgap-id="15">Elizabeth Dunn</a>, Professor of Social Psychology at the University of British Columbia</li>
<li><a href="https://charlesduhigg.com/" data-airgap-id="16">Charles Duhigg</a>, Pulitzer Prize-winning author</li>
<li><a href="https://www.billnye.com/" data-airgap-id="17">Bill Nye</a>, science communicator&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://www.rossgay.net/" data-airgap-id="18">Ross Gay</a>, poet, essayist, and Professor of English at Indiana University Bloomington</li>
</ul>
Resources Mentioned&nbsp;
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/How-Break-Up-Your-Phone/dp/039958112X" data-airgap-id="19">How to Break Up With Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life</a>, by Catherine Price (2018)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Power-Fun-Feel-Alive-Again/dp/0593241428/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.DJ-9pM67rTGTUgmkBayoMdUzNSP-rG0tW60XVfkMIkTmH0bCVZVTj-9hWoSOOVGfhgLlh9lO0cFxIZrKGSQDQOSp7axRmD0_mnT2CAhkLytPRgBF3k1e2_1ETWG_my5ZN2rNfagaj2TKbCQNKdNZjeoJoAKNu_kG0Il8e0H0ka_ZSkvqP5ZElj7tbpbQGYXLfjJtVelY6QXLTo_tsxeN3xxZqYRmMv37RQmYRgJk2I0.6wy0hTCE95UdzjfVHVBF0KQdv5DoF4EhTZ8JuMup6Hg&amp;qid=1793898774&amp;sr=1-5" data-airgap-id="20">The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again</a>, by Catherine Price (2021)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1451665075?lv=shuf&amp;channelId=500&amp;plpRedirect=mhFallback" data-airgap-id="21">Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending</a>, by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton (2013)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/059385327X?lv=shuf&amp;channelId=500&amp;plpRedirect=mhFallback" data-airgap-id="22">Leave the Lights On: How Joyful Decisions Can Save Our Species</a>, by Elizabeth Dunn and Jiaying Zhao (2026)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0061339202?lv=shuf&amp;channelId=500&amp;plpRedirect=mhFallback" data-airgap-id="23">Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience</a>, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1990)</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/5/3/pgag014/8519258?utm_source=authortollfreelink&amp;utm_campaign=pnasnexus&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;guestAccessKey=#557179833" data-airgap-id="24">What does a good day look like?: An interpretable machine learning approach to the American Time Use Survey</a>,&rdquo; by Dunigan Folk, Mirka Henninger, and Elizabeth Dunn (PNAS Nexus, 2026)</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6750911/#sec16" data-airgap-id="25">Valuing time over money predicts happiness after a major life transition: A preregistered longitudinal study of graduating students</a>,&rdquo; by Ashley Whillans, Luc&iacute;a Macchia, and Elizabeth Dunn (Scientific Advances, 2019)</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103117301737" data-airgap-id="26">Smartphone use undermines enjoyment of face-to-face social interactions</a>,&rdquo; by Ryan J. Dwyer, Kostadin Kushlev, and Elizabeth Dunn (Journal of Experimental and Social Psychology, 2018)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/081298160X?lv=shuf&amp;channelId=500&amp;plpRedirect=mhFallback" data-airgap-id="27">The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business</a>, by Charles Duhigg (2012)</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jtr.756" data-airgap-id="28">The holiday happiness curve: a preliminary investigation into mood during a holiday abroad</a>,&rdquo; by Jeroen Nawijn (International Journal of Tourism Research, 2009)</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/89bb2642-ea1b-3e21-8e30-516beb10a9e0?googleloggedin=true&amp;seq=4#page_scan_tab_contents" data-airgap-id="29">Procrastination of Enjoyable Experiences</a>,&rdquo; by Suzanne Shu and Ayelet Gneezy (Journal of Marketing Research, 2010)</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://www.worldhappiness.report/ed/2019/happiness-and-voting-behavior/" data-airgap-id="30">Happiness and Voting Behavior</a>,&rdquo; by George Ward (World Happiness Report, 2019)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1616207922?lv=shuf&amp;channelId=500&amp;plpRedirect=mhFallback" data-airgap-id="31">The Book of Delights: Essays</a>, by Ross Gay (2019)</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/391680338_Explicit_Signals_Enhance_Social_Engagement_Between_Strangers" data-airgap-id="32">Explicit Signals Enhance Social Engagement Between Strangers</a>,&rdquo; by Ruo-Ning Li, Iris Lok, S&auml;de Stenlund, and Elizabeth Dunn (Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2025)</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://catherineprice.substack.com/" data-airgap-id="33">How to Feel Alive with Catherine Price</a>,&rdquo; by Catherine Price (Substack)</li>
</ul>
Related Episodes
<ul>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/laurie-gets-a-fun-tervention-part-one" data-airgap-id="34">Laurie Gets a Fun-tervention (Part One)</a>&rdquo;</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/laurie-gets-a-fun-tervention-part-two-beach-party" data-airgap-id="35">Laurie Gets a Fun-tervention (Part Two: Beach Party)</a>&rdquo;</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/for-whom-the-alarm-clock-tolls" data-airgap-id="36">For Whom the Alarm Clock Tolls</a>&rdquo;</li>
</ul>

The Happiness Lab is serving up scientifically-backed takes this summer that are so hot, even your SPF 50 won’t protect you.

With the help of behavioral scientists, historians, and cultural critics, Yale psychologist Dr. Laurie Santos challenges some of our biggest assumptions about what it takes to live a good life. Dr. Laurie explores topics like why we should forget about TMI and lean into oversharing, how dumping small talk makes for better conversations, why the kids these days are actually doing just fine, and how men can establish strong bromances. Each episode unpacks a bold, counterintuitive claim — using research, data, and expert insight to question the conventional wisdom around happiness and wellbeing.

The Happiness Lab is serving up scientifically-backed takes this summer that are so hot, even your SPF 50 won&rsquo;t protect you.
With the help of behavioral scientists, historians, and cultural critics, Yale psychologist Dr. Laurie Santos challenges some of our biggest assumptions about what it takes to live a good life. Dr. Laurie explores topics like why we should forget about TMI and lean into oversharing, how dumping small talk makes for better conversations, why the kids these days are actually doing just fine, and how men can establish strong bromances. Each episode unpacks a bold, counterintuitive claim &mdash;&nbsp;using research, data, and expert insight to question the conventional wisdom around happiness and wellbeing.

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

Are You Taking Fun Seriously Enough?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/7b3e50dd-b6e2-4bd6-a9d5-b4fa011f058b/transcript