How to Make Small Talk
Making small talk can be hard—especially when you’re not sure whether you’re doing it well. But conversations are a central part of relationship-build...
How to Build a Happy Life
Share:
Listens: 38
About
In our pursuit of a happy life, we build, we structure, and we plan. Often, we follow conventional wisdom and strategize. But what happens when our plans fall through and expectations don’t meet reality—when the things that should make us happy don’t? In season 3 of our How To series, Atlantic happiness correspondent Arthur Brooks and producer Rebecca Rashid seek to navigate the unexpected curves on the path to personal happiness—with data-driven insights and a healthy dose of introspection. This series was produced by Rebecca Rashid and hosted by Arthur Brooks. Editing by A.C. Valdez and Claudine Ebeid. Fact-check by Ena Alvarado. Engineering by Matthew Simonson. If you have any questions, stories, or feedback, please email us at howtopodcast@theatlantic.com.
Introducing: How to Talk to People
On How to Talk to People we explore the barriers to relationship building and why—in a world of endless potential for connection—so many people still ...
Introducing Holy Week
Holy Week: The story of a revolution undone. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, is often recounted as a conclusion to a...
A New Formula for Happiness
We often follow a misguided formula for happiness—pushing us toward material wealth and other worldly successes. But when our expectations set us down...
The Right Choices in Parenting
The mandates of modern parenting can be dizzying. But in the effort to optimize our parenting, we may lose sight of the values we hope to impart to ou...
Subtraction as a Solution
From how we build our cities to how we shop, it can seem as though our natural human tendency is to add. But a culture of accumulation may be exactly ...
How to Spend Time on What You Value
We try to use our time wisely—both at work and in leisure—but we often waste it. We may blame work for stripping us of recreation, but when valuable f...
The Complexities of Human Love
Dating apps show us what we want—a relationship—without always accurately reflecting the experience of it. Our expectation that tech will create anyth...
When Virtues Become Vices
When the behaviors we thought would make us happy don’t, we’re forced to bridge the gap between where we are and where we want to be. But our happines...
How To Season 3: When Expectations Don’t Meet Reality
In our pursuit of a happy life, we build, we structure, and we plan. Often, we follow conventional wisdom and strategize. But what happens when our pl...