10% Happier with Dan Harris

A conversation with a Cornell professor who is attempting to rebrand the concept of defiance.

Dr. Sunita Sah started her career as a physician but then switched over to organizational psychology. At Cornell, she conducts research on influence, authority, compliance, and defiance. She is the author of Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes.

In this episode we talk about:

We’re in the midst of an exciting evolution of the overall 10% Happier project. In our quest to make this podcast more actionable – to help you operationalize all the game-changing ideas you encounter on this pod – we’re now offering guided meditations to accompany each full episode of the show, available to paid subscribers at DanHarris.com. For the month of August, those meditations will come from Kaira Jewel Lingo, ...

A conversation with singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles and psychologist Dacher Keltner, recorded at the New York Times Well Festival, moderated by Dan. All three of them have dealt with anxiety and continue to work with it, and they discuss the ways they look for joy and sustainable wellness. 

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Reclaim your power from the news, booze, shopping, or denial.

Ayya Anandabodhi is the spiritual director of Pārāyana Vihāra, a monastic residence in Port Townsend, WA. She was raised in Wales, in the UK, and first encountered Buddhism in her early teens and began training as a nun at age 24. You can listen to some of her Dharma talks, here. 

In this episode we talk about:

A happiness expert explains how to alter your ego, reduce self-consciousness, and boost “okayness”. 

Bruce Hood has been a Professor of Developmental Psychology in Society at Bristol University since 1999, and for the past 5 years he has been concentrating on how to make students happier. He undertook his Ph.D. in neuroscience at Cambridge followed by appointments at University College London, MIT and a ...

Dan welcomed his friend, the actor, neuroscientist and podcaster Mayim Bialik, and her co-host Jonathan Cohen to Substack with a live conversation. They talked about anxiety – one of many things they have in common – along with faith, imagination, manifestation (not in the way you might think), and what’s the best time of day to meditate.

Find Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts, and t...

We’re bringing you some of our favorite gems from the archives, as chosen by our staff. This week, we’re hearing from death doula Alua Arthur, as chosen by our managing producer Lauren Smith. Arthur helps people with all the non-medical aspects of dying – emotional, spiritual, and practical – and she has a simple question that she says simplifies decision-making and stress.

Full Episode: 

H...

Plus other intriguing questions answered such as: should you change your personality? What exactly is a personality anyway?

Olga Khazan is a staff writer for The Atlantic. Her new book is called Me, But Better. 

In this episode we talk about:

• The definition of personality 
• The so-called big 5 aspects of personality and...

The attitude that can help you survive the Trump era.

Gregory Boyle is an American Jesuit priest and the founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation, and reentry program in the world. He is the acclaimed author of Tattoos on the Heart, Barking to the Choir, The Whole Language, and most recently, Cherished Belonging.

In this e...

A lot of us have questions about our meditation practice, but we may not have anybody to ask. Am I doing it right? Which kind of meditation should I be doing? How do I choose? Today, our Teacher of the Month Dawn Mauricio breaks down some of those questions with some actionable suggestions you can take into your next meditation session.

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We’re bringing you some of our favorite gems from the archives, as chosen by our staff. This week, we’re hearing from Buddhist scholar and teacher Bhikkhu Bodhi, as chosen by Tara Anderson, one of our podcast producers. We’re getting a little meta today, as Dan and his guest talk about paying attention to what your own mind is doing.

Full Episode: 

The Mental States That Steal Your Calm | Bh...

The happiness recipe from ancient Buddhist psychology.

Beth Upton has been teaching meditation since 2014. Before that she spent ten years as a Buddhist nun, five of them in Burma under the guidance of Pa Auk Sayadaw. She currently leads the Sanditthika Meditation Community.

In this episode we talk about:

• The Buddhist Abhidhamma, which Beth calls “particl...

Harness the power of suggestion for well-being, pain management, and mental health.

Dr. Amir Raz is a world-renowned expert on the science of suggestion with recent positions as Canada Research Chair, Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and Neurosurgery, and Psychology at McGill University, and as Founding Director of The Institute for Interdisciplinary Brain and Behavioral Sciences at Chapman University....

All this month, we’re sharing custom guided meditations from our teacher of the month, Dawn Mauricio, exclusively available at DanHarris.com. Like any good drug dealer, the first taste is free – so today, we’re giving you a sample of what you can expect for the rest of the month. This meditation can be helpful when you’re spiraling and need to interrupt the momentum of chaos. 

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We’re bringing you some of our favorite gems from the archives, as chosen by our staff. This week, we’re hearing from comedian and actor Bill Hader, as chosen by our digital media manager, Hayden Broom. Hader was part of our “Non-Negotiables” series, and he told Dan, with some disappointment, that “the hippies were right.”

Full Episode: 

Bill Hader on Anxiety, Imposter Syndrome, and Leaning ...

Six practical steps to harness the full power of your mind.

Our guest today is James R. Doty, a neurosurgeon who has just written a whole book about the science of manifestation – although, as you’ll hear him admit, there’s very little ‘magic’ involved in his process. 

James R. Doty, M.D. is a Stanford neurosurgeon, neuroscientist, compassion researcher, inventor, entrepreneur, author and phil...

On maintaining sanity in insane times.

Ezra Klein is an opinion columnist and host of the award-winning Ezra Klein Show podcast at The New York Times. His latest book is Abundance, co-authored with Derek Thompson. He is also the author of Why We’re Polarized, an instant New York Times bestseller, named one of Barack Obama’s top books of 2022. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

In this episode we...

Plus: How to build a meditation practice you keep coming back to.

We’re in the midst of an exciting evolution of the overall 10% Happier project. In our quest to make this podcast more actionable – to help you operationalize all the game-changing ideas you encounter on this pod – we’re now offering guided meditations to accompany each full episode of the show, available to paid subscribers at DanHarris.com...

A scream-queen (and Dan’s old friend) talks control, insecurity, friendship, and parenthood.

Allison Williams is an actress, producer, and singer best known for her breakout role on HBO’s award winning TV series GIRLS, the blockbuster film GET OUT, the science fiction horror film M3GAN, and now its sequel, M3GAN 2.0. 

In this episode we talk about:

• Self...