10% Happier with Dan Harris

Vulnerability: The Key to Courage | Brené Brown

21 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Vulnerability is not something I ever personally considered to be a valuable skill to cultivate. That is, until I met today's guest, Brené Brown-- wh...

Kryptonite for the Inner Critic | Kristin Neff

16 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I don't know about you, but there have been many times during this wrenching year where I have made my pain even worse by adding on layers and layers ...

Manure for Enlightenment | Fleet Maull

14 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The notion of transmuting the difficult stuff in your life into something positive has become a cliche. Turning lemon into lemonades, making your mess...

The Science of Emotional Intelligence | Daniel Goleman

09 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How much would your relationships improve if you could up your emotional intelligence game? That phrase -- emotional intelligence -- entered the lexic...

A Meditator in the Arena | Sam Harris

07 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Sam Harris (no relation to me, by the way -- although I wouldn't mind it) has had a formative impact on my contemplative development. He was one of th...

Secrets from the Happiness Lab | Laurie Santos

02 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

2020 has already sucked extremely hard, but we may now be entering even more difficult months ahead, as winter sets in. So we asked Professor Laurie S...

What You Can Learn from the Buddha's Wife and Aunt | Pamela Weiss

30 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The women around the Buddha dropped a ton of useful wisdom, but I suspect you haven't heard much about that. Why? Why have these women been largely wr...

Depression and Anxiety: Your Old Enemies, Your Best Friends| Zindel Segal

25 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Winter is coming. Not to get all Game of Thrones on you, but... while there are some optimistic signs on the horizon in the form of vaccines, it looks...

The Words of the Buddha | Bhikkhu Bodhi

23 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When I first got interested in meditation, all the talk of the Buddha that I encountered in the various books I was reading and lectures I was attendi...

A Holiday Survival Guide for Difficult Conversations | Bill Doherty

18 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What to do if you find yourself marooned at your Thanksgiving meal, facing a voluble uncle who is spewing political ideas you find abominable? Our gue...

Six Words to Get You Through a Bad Day | Bonnie Duran

16 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It feels like the right time to drop a deep Dharma episode. And this one has a twist. Bonnie Duran is a professor in the Schools of Social Work and Pu...

Relationship Advice from a "Mega Monk" | Haemin Sunim

11 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

My guest today does a fantastic job of speaking in a not-at-all-annoying way about the inarguably important yet potentially very cheesy concept of sel...

How (and Why) to Hack Your Empathy | Jamil Zaki

09 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Kindness and empathy are loaded propositions right now. When you hear those words, you might think: Eh, those are soft skills that won't help me get a...

Dealing with Uncertainty, Anxiety, and Anger | Special Post-Election Edition | Lama Rod Owens

04 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the wee hours of election night, we consult Lama Rod Owens on uncertainty, anxiety, rage, and self-care. Join Dan and Rev. angel Kyodo williams tod...

How to Use Social Media without Losing Your Mind | Randy Fernando

02 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Given that social media has been blamed for rising levels of anxiety, depression, loneliness, and political polarization, is it possible to use this t...

How To Be Grateful When Everything Sucks | DaRa Williams

28 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the face of the seemingly unremitting horrors of 2020, is it possible -- or wise -- to generate gratitude? My guest today argues: yes. DaRa William...

Vitamin E: How To Cultivate Equanimity Amidst Political Chaos | Election Sanity Series | Roshi Joan Halifax

26 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

#294: Vitamin E: How To Cultivate Equanimity Amidst Political Chaos | Election Sanity Series | Roshi Joan Halifax It's part four in our Election Sanit...

A Star, Utterly Unguarded | Brett Eldredge

21 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We've backed away from celebrity interviews on the show of late, because we got a lot of feedback from listeners saying they had trouble relating to s...

The Opposite of Schadenfreude | Election Sanity Series | Tuere Sala

19 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There's an old expression: "Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little bit." I love that saying, because it speaks to how hard it can be to take ple...

Three Mindfulness Strategies from Joseph Goldstein

14 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There will be no talk of election or pandemic on this episode. This is a straight-up, meat-and-potatoes meditation talk from the one and only Joseph G...

The Immense Power of Giving a Crap | Election Sanity Series | Rev. angel Kyodo williams

12 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Do you remember that band, The Shins? They had a popular song that appeared on the soundtrack for that Zach Braff movie Garden State. Anyway, they als...

Fun Is a Trainable Skill (And It Doesn't Involve Your Phone) | Catherine Price

07 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

At a time like this, fun may seem frivolous. But our guest today is going to argue — convincingly, in my opinion — that fun is absolutely essentia...

What's Love Got To Do With It? | Election Sanity Series | JoAnna Hardy

05 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In an election season characterized by misinformation, mistrust, and now a positive covid test from the President-- we've been plunged headlong into a...

Can You Change Your Relationship With Fear? | Dr. Abigail Marsh

30 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There's no shortage of fear these days -- the virus, the climate, racial injustice, political tumult… I could go on. But can you change the way you...

Feeding the Mind | Dr. Mark Hyman

28 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today we're going to get a deep take on the old cliche, "You are what you eat." Usually that expression speaks to the impact of food on our bodies, bu...

What's the Point of Joy Right Now? | James Baraz

23 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In my opinion, purveyors of joy can come off as oily and unctuous, even in the best of times. Like walking impersonations of Rainbow Brite. But in har...

How To Handle A Narcissist (Including, Maybe...Yourself) | Keith Campbell

21 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"Narcissist" is a word that gets thrown quite a bit, including by me -- often, semi-facetiously, about myself. But until this conversation, I didn't a...

The Buddha's Foundational Listicle | Phillip Moffitt

16 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Way before Buzzfeed, the Buddha was creating listicles: The Seven Factors of Enlightenment, The Three Jewels, The Eight Worldly Winds... I could go on...

The "Lifequake" Survival Guide | Bruce Feiler

14 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We have another themed week for you, with two episodes about how to navigate major life changes-- clearly a resonant theme, given the various dumpster...

What a Buddhist Monk Learned from Nearly Being Assasinated | Bhante Buddharakkhita

09 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When you first encounter Bhante Buddharakkhita, the wise and affable Abbot of the Ugandan Buddhist Center, you might be tempted to think: this guy's b...

One Man's Planetary Quest for Happiness | Ravi Patel

07 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How do you strike work/life balance when you feel overwhelming pressure to provide for your family? How do you balance gender roles in a modern marria...

How To Stay Politically Engaged Without Losing Your Mind | Sharon Salzberg

02 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the heat of an election that is both incredibly nasty and hugely consequential, it might be tempting to try to shut out all the feelings of anger, ...

How To Stay Centered When You're Skiing Off a Cliff | Angel Collinson

31 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Angel Collinson is a badass in every sense of the word. She's one of the world's best extreme skiers, a meditator, and a climate activist. In this con...

This Conversation Actually Explains Oneness With The Universe | Sebene Selassie

26 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I grew up with that famous Groucho Marx joke, "I wouldn't want to belong to a club that would have me as a member." It always resonated with me. As my...

Are We All Traumatized? | Dr. Pat Ogden

24 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's a human urge to return to normalcy after a cataclysmic event. But if we rush back to normalcy without taking a beat, without metabolizing what we...

Improving Your Relationships, Buddhist Style | Martine Batchelor

19 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is a mix of the technical, the practical, and the delightful. We're talking about a meditation technique that can impact relationships, y...

The Case for Optimism | Dr. Jonathan Salk

17 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The virus has exploited so many weaknesses of our culture. But having exposed the weaknesses, such as inequities and reckless individualism, could the...

A Master Class in Resilience | George Mumford

12 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today we have a master class in resilience. My guest is George Mumford, who has overcome some towering difficulties in his own life, including an addi...

The Secrets of Gritty People | Angela Duckworth

10 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week on the show, we're exploring the interrelated themes of grit and resilience -- both massively resonant and relevant issues in the era of Cov...

The Antidote to Burnout | Leah Weiss

05 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

At a time when work has become more challenging than ever, we're going to explore one myth and one revelation. The myth -- which many of us, myself in...

You Don't Exist. But You Actually Do. Wait, What? | Guy Armstrong

03 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we take a simple, useful, and down-to-earth stroll through one of the most confounding -- but liberating -- concepts in Buddhism. On ...

The Sex Episode | Devon and Craig Hase

29 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Buddhists don't tend to shy away from talking about body parts -- but usually it's more along the lines of meditating on things like spittle, defecati...

How to Get Sleep in Anxious Times | Dr. Donn Posner

27 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I don't know about you guys, but my sleep has suffered quite badly during the last few months. Today's guest really got me thinking about this issue i...

How Do You Optimize Your Performance When Everything Sucks? | Pete Carroll & Michael Gervais

22 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How do you optimize your performance when life is utterly disrupted by a pandemic? Are optimism and confidence trainable skills? Can we get over our f...

The Case for "Doing Nothing" in a Time of Crisis | Sebene Selassie & Jeff Warren

20 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

At a time of multiple, mutually-reinforcing dumpster fires, meditation can seem counterintuitive. Instinctively, many of us might prefer to rush to th...

The Upside of Desire | Cara Lai

15 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In Buddhism/meditation circles, desire or wanting is often considered a no-no. But is this line of thinking sometimes taken too far — or simply misu...

The Brain Science of Enlightenment | Rick Hanson

13 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today we're going to nerd out about what enlightenment (or, if that word is triggering, let's just call it "high doses of meditation") can do to your ...

The Buddha's Four-Part Strategy for "Ultimate Happiness" | Sally Armstrong

08 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"Mindfulness" has become a buzz phrase. There are books on mindful parenting, mindful lawyering, even mindful sex. But what does the word even mean? A...

Why We're All Suffering from Racial Trauma (Even White People) -- and How to Handle It | Resmaa Menakem

06 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's easy to think of racism as a virus that lives in your head. But my guest today makes a compelling case that it also lives, in very profound and o...

Can Faith Be Useful - Even for Atheists? | Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel

01 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Faith is a loaded word in some circles, but in this episode, Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel makes her case for it - in ways that might surprise you. We also...

The Science of Happiness | Emiliana Simon-Thomas

29 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, at this fraught moment in history, we're bringing on a leading scientist to help us tackle one of the most pernicious misconceptions ...

How You Can Help Transform America's Racial Karma | Dr. Larry Ward

24 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What can you, as an individual, do to help break the cycles of rage, pain, fear, and violence that continue to grip America - and many other parts of ...

Why Your Bad Habits (and Addictions) May Be Getting Worse - and How Mindfulness Can Help | Dr. Jud Brewer

22 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Do you find yourself overeating during this stressful time? Maybe drinking or smoking more than you would like? What about shopping or gambling? And h...

The Dharma of Harriet Tubman | Spring Washam

17 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I had always known Harriet Tubman as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, repeatedly risking her own life to lead slaves out of the South. But in ...

White People, Drop the Shame and Get Curious | Shelly Graf

15 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we go there. All the way there. All those horrifying little thoughts that white people might have - eg: Have you ever felt superior t...

The View of American Turmoil from the Other Side of the World | Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

10 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We have spent the past few episodes talking with black and white Americans about race. But for this episode I wanted to get the view from outside. So ...

White People Talking About Whiteness | Eleanor Hancock

08 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Many, if not most, white people don't think of themselves as racialized. Race, we might tell ourselves, is an issue for people who have different skin...

An Uncomfortable (But Meaningful) Conversation About Race | Lama Rod Owens

03 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Many of us come to meditation for comfort. But, especially for white people, right now is a time to embrace our discomfort. Lama Rod Owens encourages ...

You Can't Meditate This Away (Race, Rage, and the Responsibilities of Meditators)

01 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There is fury in America's streets - and we, as meditators, have the opportunity to use our practice to do the hard work of seeing things clearly (inc...

The Dalai Lama's Advice for Right Now

27 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How do we handle pandemic-induced anxiety or grief? What does a spiritual guru do to relax while on lockdown? We put those questions - and more - to H...

Holding it Together When Things Fall Apart | Pema Chodron

25 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Pema Chodron has seemingly been trying to prepare us for this pandemic for years, through a series of popular books, with titles such as When Things F...

Don't Let This Crisis Go To Waste | Roshi Joan Halifax

20 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Roshi Joan Halifax is definitely not arguing the pandemic is a good thing, but she also believes we shouldn't let this crisis go to waste. It's a wake...

How to Be a Good and Sane Citizen in Ugly Times | Ezra Klein

18 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Rest assured, this is not an episode where we're going to argue about politics. Instead, it's about how to maintain our happiness, calm, sanity, gener...

Weird Dreams, Family Relationships, and Collective Trauma | Dr. Mark Epstein

13 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Why are so many of us having such weird dreams these days? How do we successfully interact with family members while on lockdown? Are we all experienc...

Losing Your Patience? Here's How to Get it Back

11 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This pandemic is a colossal test of our patience - from dealing with family to interminably long wait times on calls with the unemployment office to j...

The Other Side of the Pandemic | Rev. angel Kyodo williams

06 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What will we be like when this thing is finally over? Will we be even more fearful and divided? Or is there a realistically rosier scenario? This is j...

Small Ways to Improve Your Everyday Life Right Now | Gretchen Rubin

04 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I call Gretchen Rubin the "Swiss Army Knife for Happiness." Present her with a problem, and she will flood you with practical, customized solutions. I...

Can You Be OK With Uncertainty? | Jack Kornfield

29 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode, a bad news / good news situation. Let's start with the bad news: human beings are not wired for uncertainty. It short circuits our sy...

A Buddhist Approach to Money Worries | Ethan Nichtern

27 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

No matter what your economic situation is, you have likely experienced some money worries during this pandemic. I know I have- and I say that as someo...

Crisis Advice from "Meditation MacGyver" | Jeff Warren

22 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jeff Warren is someone for whom I have a special affection. We chronicled our friendship in a book we co authored, called Meditation for Fidgety Skept...

Why We're All Grieving - and How To Deal With It | David Kessler

20 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Most, if not all, of us are experiencing a cocktail of challenging emotions these days - whether in the background or in the foreground of our psyche....

How to Go Easy on Yourself in a Pandemic | Dr. Kristin Neff

15 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's easy to add insult to injury in this pandemic by beating ourselves up. Why are we not exercising more? Eating less? Or boosting our productivity?...

You Don't Have to be Alone to be Lonely | Former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy

13 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week gives a bracingly candid account of loneliness - one made all the more remarkable by the fact that he is a former surgeon general....

Is It Still OK to Be Happy? | Sylvia Boorstein

08 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Even in the middle of a pandemic, it's still OK to experience delight. That's per legendary meditation teacher, Sylvia Boostein. In fact, she says, mo...

Love in the Time of COVID | Esther Perel

06 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The coronavirus outbreak may pose one of the greatest challenges to romantic relationships in modern memory. For those of us living in close quarters ...

Joseph Goldstein | Meditating In A Pandemic

01 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A statement of the blazingly obvious: we are living in stressful times. A statement of the slightly less obvious: meditation, while not a panacea, can...

How to Engage Corona-Deniers (and Other Ethical Dilemmas)

27 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

So many of us have people in our lives who we feel are not taking this pandemic seriously enough. How do we handle them? Yell, lecture, call them out ...

Sharon Salzberg Makes Me Feel Better

25 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

If, given the deeply suboptimal circumstances in which we find ourselves right now, you are cycling through anxiety, depression, anger, and apathy, I ...

How to Actually Get Work Done at Home | Rasmus Hougaard & Jacqueline Carter

20 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We are in the middle of a giant, global experiment in remote work. Even in the best of times, working from home is tricky. You're surrounded by distra...

Parenting in a Pandemic | Susan Kaiser Greenland

18 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're in the middle of one of the greatest tests for parents in modern memory. Tens of millions of us, cooped up in our homes with our kids, as a cons...

Work Less, Get More Done | Alex Soojung Kim-Pang

11 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Many of us can feel burnt out, tired or stretched too thin. It can be hard to balance everything on our plates, especially in work environments that r...

Buddhism Without Beliefs | Stephen Batchelor

04 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Stephen Batchelor is a Buddhist teacher who takes an unconventional approach to the practice. He was more of a scholar, studying logic and philosophy ...

The Medieval Executioner in Your Head | Valerie Brown

26 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Valerie Brown grew up in poverty in Brooklyn, New York. When she was a teenager, her mother passed away and her father left her to fend for herself. V...

Race is Not Tangential to Meditation | Rhonda V. Magee

19 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Rhonda V. Magee is a Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco and an internationally-recognized thought and practice leader focused on inte...

The Dharma of Instagram | Yung Pueblo

12 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Yung Pueblo (Diego Perez) grew up in poverty after his family immigrated from Ecuador to Boston, Massachusetts. He fell into heavy drugs in his colleg...

Happiness Takes Work | Sonja Lyubomirsky

05 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Sonja Lyubomirsky has been studying human happiness for 30 years. As a professor at the University of California Riverside, her research has centered ...

Tara Brach: Making it RAIN

29 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Being open to the feelings of anxiety and fear can be terrifying, but Tara Brach, a clinical psychologist and founder of the Insight Meditation Commun...

Jon Kabat-Zinn | Meditation as a Love Affair

22 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jon Kabat-Zinn has been a key player bringing mindfulness meditation to the mainstream. In 1979, he introduced the now world-renowned Mindfulness-Base...

How to Become a Regular Meditator (and More) | Alexis Santos

15 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

While in medical school in the mid-90's, Alexis Santos found himself in the midst of a spiritual crisis. At one of the top medical schools in the coun...

All Your Sleep Questions, Answered | Dr. Matthew Walker

08 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Matthew Walker is a sleep scientist with a PhD in neurophysiology. His research investigates the impact of sleep on human health and diseases like...

The Anti-Diet | Evelyn Tribole

01 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Award-winning registered dietitian Evelyn Tribole inspires people to rethink their relationship with food and enjoy eating. In today's diet culture, p...

Making and Breaking Habits, Sanely | Kelly McGonigal

26 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

For as long as she can remember, Kelly McGonigal has felt motivated to understand the causes of pain and suffering and find ways to relieve them. This...

The Profound Upsides of Mortality | Nikki Mirghafori, PhD

18 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Nikki Mirghafori has been an Artificial Intelligence scientist for nearly three decades. She never intended to become a Buddhist teacher, but after es...

The World's a Mess, But Don't Freak Out | Norman Fischer

11 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Norman Fischer is a poet, writer, and Zen priest who has dedicated his life to studying, practicing and teaching Zen Buddhism. After graduating from t...

How to Thrive Under Stress | Elizabeth Stanley, PhD

04 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Elizabeth Stanley has a long history of stress and trauma. In this episode she talks about the adversities she has suffered, which include a near deat...

What's Your Motivation? Thubten Chodron

27 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Thubten Chodron was born in Chicago and grew up near Los Angeles. She felt her life's calling was to help others, so she became a teacher, landing her...

The Case for Devotion, Kittisaro and Thanissara

20 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Kittisaro graduated from Princeton as a Rhodes Scholar and went on to Oxford before going to Thailand to ordain with Ajahn Chah in 1976. He was a monk...

Mating in Captivity, Esther Perel

13 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author Esther Perel is recognized as one of today's most insightful and original voices on modern relat...

The Likeability Trap, Alicia Menendez

06 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is Alicia Menendez, an award-winning journalist, who finds herself in a common position for many women: caring way too much about ...

How to Make it in Hollywood (and everywhere else), Brian Grazer

30 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Brian Grazer is a Hollywood giant! He's made more than 100 films including Splash, Apollo 13 and the best-picture-winning A Beautiful Mind. He tells D...