10% Happier with Dan Harris

Sara Mednick is a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine, and the author of the book The Power of the Downstate . This episode is part of our month-long "Mental Health Reboot" series to mark Mental Health Awareness Month.  This episode is from our archives. In this episode we talk about: The nuances of napping Dr. Mednick's definition of the "downstate" Whether there are...

Creatine, melatonin, peptides, protein powders, green powders, probiotics, multivitamins, and much more: A pharmaceutical scientist breaks down the evidence and busts the myths. Dr. Mahtab Jafari is a Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine, and the Founding Director of the UC Irvine Center for Healthspan Sciences. She is the...

Escaping the productivity trap, silencing the inner nihilist, and finding awe in the most ordinary places. Lili Taylor is an award-winning movie, television, and theater actor. In the birding world, Lili is a board member of the National Audubon Society, the American Birding Association, and the New York City Bird Alliance. In this episode we talk about: Why humans are hardwired to connect with na...

Manoush Zomorodi is an award-winning journalist, bestselling author, and host of NPR's " TED Radio Hour, " where she explores fascinating ideas with the world's greatest thinkers. She is the author of a new book called BODY ELECTRIC: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age and New Science to Reclaim Your Well-Being . You can also subscribe to her newsletter, Manoush Minutes . In this episode we...

A Harvard professor on the nine evidence-based tools for acting decisively when fear and uncertainty are telling you to do nothing. Ranjay Gulati is the Paul R. Lawrence MBA Class of 1942 Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. His pioneering work focuses on unlocking organizational and individual potential—embracing courage, nurturing purpose-driven leaders, driving growt...

Practical advice for handling anxiety, envy, and that feeling that you're a bad person. What happens when a deck of cards controls the conversation? On Wild Card , hosted by Rachel Martin, that's the whole idea — and when Dan sat down as a guest, the cards led somewhere genuinely interesting. In this episode: why Dan keeps going on silent meditation retreats even though loneliness is the hardest p...

Most people hesitate before answering. This episode is about what to do with that hesitation. James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and has written more than 200 novels since 1976. Patrick Leddin , PhD, is the author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller The 5‑Week Leadership Challenge: 35 Action Steps to Become the Leader You Were Meant to Be.   In this episode we talk about...

Plus: How to increase vagal tone, improve heart health, and reduce inflammation. Kevin J. Tracey, MD, is president and CEO of the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at  Northwell Health , a pioneer of vagus nerve research and author of the recent book, The Great Nerve: The New Science of the VagusNerve and How to Harness Its Healing Reflexes. Join Dan and Emmy Award-winning journalist Allis...

Why forcing the breath backfires and how to use the four elements to get out of your head. Breath meditation sounds simple in theory. In practice, many meditators find that the moment they pay attention to their breathing, it starts to feel forced, shallow, or just plain weird. In this live session, Dan and Sebene Selassie dig into why that happens — and what to do about it. They also answer subsc...

Plus: Navigating the "dark night of the soul," the power of saying "no," and how to be more present. Rosa Lewis is a mystic, awakening guide, artist and writer. She is the author of many books, most recently Unlocking the Depths of Being: Wholehearted Presence for a Mystical Reality . The last two meditations on this playlist are related to her book.   Join Dan and Emmy Award-winning journalist Al...

Using your senses to reduce overthinking, turn down the voice in your head, and get out of what these scientists call "the house of habit." Dr. Zindel Segal is Distinguished Professor of Psychology in Mood Disorders at the University of Toronto Scarborough and a cofounder of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy.  Professor Norman Farb, PhD , is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University...

How to do your best work, reframe life's bullshit, and stop making your happiness hostage to outcomes. Maria Semple is the bestselling author of Today Will Be Different, Where'd You Go, Bernadette, and This One Is Mine. Before writing fiction, Maria wrote for TV. Her newest book is called  Go Gentle . In this episode we talk about: Cognitive reframing tools to shift your mindset  Maria's daily Sto...

Plus: maximizing the benefits of sleep, exercise, and meditation. To celebrate the show's 10th anniversary, we're producing episodes that share top 10 lists of practices, strategies and more from our favorite experts. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has listened and supported the show over the years. None of this would be possible without you. Amishi Jha, PhD is the Director of Contemplative...

The way you talk to other people (and yourself) can reduce dysregulation and distraction--and lead to better decisions. Maryellen MacDonald is the Donald P. Hayes Professor (emerit) of Psychology and Language Sciences at the University of Wisconsin−Madison. She is a cognitive scientist with a focus on psycholinguistics, the study of how we comprehend, produce, and learn languages. Her latest book...

What does it actually mean to "trust life" — especially when life is handing you something genuinely hard? In this Meditation Party episode (originally aired in 2024), Dan, Sebene Selassie , and Jeff Warren dig into that question from multiple angles: as a personal mantra, a philosophical stance, and a daily practice. Plus: listener questions on rumination, work-life balance, and the eternal nappi...

Strategies for getting out of your head and thriving in a chaotic world. Prentis Hemphill is a writer, political organizer, therapist and somatic facilitator. They are the author of the national bestseller What It Takes to Heal: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change the World , and host of the acclaimed podcasts Finding Our Way and Becoming the People . Prentis is also the Co-founder of The Embodi...

Practical tools to break "automatic habits" and take back your agency.   Gabor Maté is a retired physician who, after 20 years of family practice and palliative care experience, worked for over a decade in Vancouver's Downtown East Side with patients challenged by drug addiction and mental illness. The bestselling author of five books, including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts , Ga...

Buddhist tools for forgiveness, boredom, worry, and getting out of your head. Meditation teacher Bart van Melik leads a live community Q&A — and the questions that come in are ones most meditators have quietly wrestled with for years. Bart is the guiding teacher at Community Meditation Center in New York, where he leads weekly sessions grounded in Buddhist tradition. In this episode, he takes on f...

Six steps to reclaim your brain, find purpose, and escape the doom loop.   Arthur Brooks is a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard Business School, where he teaches courses on leadership and happiness. Brooks is the author of 15 books, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers, Build the Life You Want , co-authored with Oprah Winfrey, and From Strength to Strength: Finding Suc...

The Dalai Lama's longtime collaborator on achieving fundamental okayness, transforming daily annoyances, and rewiring your brain. Richard J. Davidson , PhD, is a Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is also the Founder & Director of the Center for Healthy Minds and Founder of the non-profit Humin . Cortland Dahl , PhD, is a scientist, author, translator...

What if the most meaningful thing you did for your mental health wasn't something new — but a return to what already brings you joy? Dan recently sat down with journalist and broadcaster Sam Sanders on the Sam Sanders Show to explore exactly that idea. Sam has a concept he calls "modern scriptures": the movies, albums, and TV shows you return to again and again because they ground you, center you,...

Plus, how the bestselling author writes his way out of despair.   John Green is the award-winning, #1 bestselling author of books including Looking for Alaska, The Fault in Our Stars, Turtles All the Way Down, and The Anthropocene Reviewed. With his brother, Hank, John has co-created many online video projects, including Vlogbrothers and the educational channel Crash Course . His most recent book...

Practical strategies for navigating difficult relationships and building new connections.   Shankar Vedantam is host of the Hidden Brain podcast and radio show, where he explores the hidden patterns that drive human behavior. He is the author of the books, The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Wage Wars, Control Markets and Save Our Lives , and Useful Delusions: The Power a...

Let go of your thoughts, stop getting caught in your stories, and try the ancient practice of walking meditation. Walking meditation is one of the most practical and underrated tools in mindfulness — and in this episode, Dan shares a guided practice from his new audiobook, Even You Can Meditate (co-authored with Sebene Selassie ), out now on Audible. The practice is led by Sebene herself. The prem...

Plus, staying sane in a crazy world, giving tough feedback, and how to orient to the dumpster fire of the news. Ajahn Kovilo Bhikkhu and Ajahn Nisabho are North American-born, Theravada monks who founded Clear Mountain Monastery in Seattle, Washington.  In this episode we talk about: How to get stuff off your chest How to live with less shame and regret How to give feedback without pissing people...