Live Happy Now

This week, meet Happy Activist Gabri Blankson, who is using film to illuminate teen mental health. Her award-winning short film MIME, created through the Black Girls Film Camp, explores the emotional impact of pandemic isolation through a fantasy lens, using mimes as metaphors for internal struggles. Drawing from personal experience and inspired by Inside Out, Gabri crafted a visually expressive story that resonates deeply with you...

If you’re looking to lose the stress in your life, this week’s guest has a spoiler alert: The only people without stress are dead. But the good news is, you can learn to turn that stress into a powerful ally for change and growth. This week, host Paula Felps talks with stress physiologist Dr. Rebecca Heiss, whose new book, Springboard: Transform Stress to Work For You, explains how to make the most of it. She offers tips on how to ...

Many people today feel unfocused or overwhelmed, and that’s not just a challenge for our heads; it could be harming our hearts. Join us as host Paula Felps talks with cardiologist and health psychologist Dr. Alan Rozanski, who offers a groundbreaking look at how our mindset influences our heart and overall well-being. He explains how chronic stress, emotional negativity, and mental clutter can physically impact your heart function ...

Are you struggling to find hope these days? You’re not alone. But this week, resiliency expert Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe returns to share what hope can do for you and, importantly, where to find it. With her signature blend of science and soul, Dr. Robyne explains how hope calms the brain, strengthens resilience, and helps us navigate uncertainty. If you’re managing stress, feeling world-weary, or just need a reset, this conversation...

Summer vacations aren't just fun; they’re essential for your mental well-being. In this episode, host Paula Felps and Live Happy CEO Deborah Heisz share how unplugging from daily stress can spark creativity and emotional clarity, and why even a staycation (if done right!) can deliver major mood boosts. Whether you're heading to Hawaii or hanging out in your backyard, this episode is your permission slip to reset, reflect, and recon...

Can you giggle your way to inner peace? In this episode, host Paula Felps sits down with author Tom Rosshirt to explore the joyful — and surprisingly profound — power of silliness. Drawing from his book, Chasing Peace: A Story of Breakdowns, Breakthroughs, and the Spiritual Power of Neuroscience, Tom reveals how embracing our goofy side can be both spiritually liberating and scientifically beneficial. From dancing like no one’s wat...

This summer, recharge your happiness with a tech break! In this episode of Live Happy Now, Paula Felps sits down with digital wellness expert Amy Blankson to explore how an intentional digital detox can bring more joy, focus, and freedom to your day. Whether you're unplugging for five minutes or five days, Amy shares clever strategies to help you reconnect — with yourself and your summer bucket list.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

This week, host Paula Felps chats with Scott Crabtree, chief happiness officer at Happy Brain Science, about the surprising science behind music festivals. In this energizing episode, you’ll discover how live music fires up your brain with feel-good chemicals, why dancing helps bust stress and boost memory, and how festivals foster powerful connections that fight loneliness. Whether you're a seasoned festivalgoer or thinking about ...

This week on Live Happy Now, host Paula Felps sits down with Emely Rumble — licensed clinical social worker, bibliopsychotherapist, and author of Bibliotherapy in the Bronx — to explore the healing power of stories. Emely shares how fiction, poetry, and even children’s books can help us reflect, process emotions, and build empathy in ways traditional self-help books can’t. With summer reading season in full swing, she explains how ...

Dreams aren’t just fleeting images; they’re powerful tools for transformation. This week, host Paula Felps sits down with Bonnie Buckner, PhD, founder of the International Institute for Dreaming and Imagery®, to explore how dreams can unlock creativity, solve life’s toughest challenges, and help us live with greater purpose. As an expert in creative dreamwork, Buckner blends insights from cognitive psychology, neurobiology, and lea...

Summer officially begins on June 20, and that’s the perfect time to bring back Live Happy’s Summer of Fun! We’ve teamed up with organizational psychologist Mike Rucker, PhD, to offer a free eight-week email course based on the principles of his book, The Fun Habit: How the Pursuit of Joy and Wonder Can Change Your Life. In this episode, he explains how this course will help you learn to program your life for fun this summer — and b...

When we talk about becoming strong women, we’re often not talking about something physical. But this week’s guest explains how reclaiming our physical power can also build our inner strength. Anne Marie Chaker is a veteran journalist and professional bodybuilder who discovered the connection between strength training and inner transformation. In her debut book, LIFT: How Women Can Reclaim Their Physical Power and Transform Their Li...

In a time of deep division and unease, overcoming our loneliness and uncertainty is a massive challenge. This week, award-winning author, educator, lawyer, scientist, and meditation teacher Anu Gupta sits down with host Paula Felps to explain how — and where — we can start. His best-selling book, Breaking Bias: Where Stereotypes and Prejudices Come From and the Science-Backed Method to Unravel Them, is a rich toolkit to help each o...

As we wrap up mental health awareness month, it’s a great time to talk with someone who is literally changing how we talk about mental health. This week, host Paula Felps is joined by Dominic Lawson, an accomplished, award-winning podcaster whose new show, Mental Health Rewritten, is tackling stigmatized mental health topics head-on. By taking on issues surrounding addiction and recovery, he is changing the way we talk about such t...

Our brains are incredibly powerful, and the trick is to learn how to make them work for us, not against us. This week, host Paula Felps sits down with Dr. Kyra Bobinet, a physician, public health leader, and behavior change designer whose work focuses on how to build optimal health for a more fulfilling life. Her new book, Unstoppable Brain: The New Neuroscience That Frees Us From Failure, Eases Our Stress, and Creates Lasting Chan...

By now, we’ve all heard how important friendships and connections are for our well-being, but sometimes we’re unsure where to find those connections. This week, host Paula Felps sits down with Dr. Lori Whatley, a clinical psychologist and author who specializes in the effects of digital usage on our relationships. Her new book, Happier Together: How to Find Your People and Make Friends That Last, walks us through how we can create ...

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, which makes it a great time to remind ourselves of some of the best practices to improve our well-being. Join host Paula Felps as she talks with Live Happy CEO and co-founder Deborah Heisz about some of the new research around happiness, why our mental health is at risk these days, and what we can do about it.

 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why our happiness is declining and how the lack ...

We are living in rapidly changing times, and many people feel exhausted by the events that are unfolding. But this week’s guest says that letting go of our attachment to what’s happening could be the best thing for our mental health. Host Paula Felps talks with Dr. Bob Rosen, a bestselling author known for his work on leadership and personal development, about his latest book, Detach: Ditch Your Baggage to Live a More Fulfilling Li...

Scott Crabtree founded the company Happy Brain Science to help others discover well-being rooted in positive psychology. And, as a semi-professional musician, he knows firsthand how we can use music as a tool for boosting our mood and regulating our emotions. During difficult times, music can be particularly helpful, and in this episode, Scott sits down with host Paula Felps to talk about why music is so good for your brain, how it...