Self-help for smart people. World-class insights and practices from experts in modern science and ancient wisdom. Hosted by veteran journalist and best-selling author, Dan Harris.
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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 of Toronto Mississauga, where he directs the Regulatory and Affective Dynamics laboratory. Together,...
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 Stoic routine The limits of Stoicism What to do when mediating gives you anxiety The danger of "baited bo...
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 Neuroscience and a Professor of Psychology at the University of Miami. She is also the author of th...
Cognitive scientist Maryellen MacDonald reveals the profound, often overlooked benefits of talking in all its forms, from conversations to self-talk and writing. She explains how deliberate verbal engagement can sharpen the mind, regulate emotions, aid memory, and even protect against cognitive decline, urging listeners to harness this everyday activity for personal growth and well-being. The episode also delves into the impact of technology on communication and the importance of fostering dialogue in children and older adults.
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 napping-vs.-meditating debate. "Trust Life" vs. "This Is the Curriculum" — Sebene shares the origin of he...
Prentice Hemphill shares profound insights into embodiment, somatics, and nervous system regulation. The conversation delves into practices like centering and the 'head, heart, gut' intelligence, emphasizing how our bodies communicate vital information. It also explores the critical connection between individual and collective healing, advocating for micro-interdependence and understanding societal pressures on our well-being. Practical advice is offered on setting boundaries and cultivating repair in relationships.
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 , Gabor is an internationally renowned speaker highly sought after for his expertise on addiction, trauma,...
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 four of the most common sticking points in practice: forgiveness, boredom, disconnection from the...
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 Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life . His latest book is The Meaning of Your ...
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, and meditation teacher for the Tergar community. Davidson and Dahl's latest book is Born to Fl...
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, and remind you what matters. Dan shares the pop culture that never fails to lift his spirits — and ...
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 is Everything Is Tuberculosis . In this episode we talk about: John's toolkit for managing thought spi...
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 and Paradox of the Self- Deceiving Brain . In this episode we talk about: How to stop trying to change ...
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 premise is simple: walk slowly and deliberately, pay attention to the sensations of each step, and when ...
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 off too much How to accept feedback without getting pissed off or getting defensive How to stay sane ...
Yale emotional intelligence expert on how to deal with other people's emotions (and your own). Marc Brackett, Ph.D. is the author of Dealing with Feeling: Use Your Emotions to Create the Life You Want and the bestselling Permission to Feel . He is the founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and a professor in the Child Study Center at Yale University. You can watch Marc's podcast interviews here . In this episode we talk about: How to deal with stress, anxiety and anger H...
What Anderson learned from losing everyone he loved, what we owe our parents, and how grief shapes all of us--a conversation from the podcast "IMO." On IMO, siblings Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson aim to bring you candid perspectives on the everyday questions shaping our lives, relationships and the world around us. Each week, they're joined by a guest to tackle real questions from real folks just like you offering practical advice, personal storytelling, and plenty of laughs. In this episode...
Practical Buddhist strategies to focus the mind. Shaila Catherine is a dharma teacher and author of the book titled " Beyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind ." She authored two additional books on the concentration practices called jhana and approaches to insight meditation. She has practiced for more than 45 years, including nine years, cumulatively, of silent retreat. Shaila has been leading meditation retreats for 30 years, and has developed an array of in-depth online cour...
Plus: How to "turn down the volume" on suffering, how to reframe your problems, and the clinical evidence for "stopping and smelling the roses." Eric Garland , PhD, LCSW is Endowed Professor in Health Sciences at the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Center for Addiction Science and Treatment at University of California San Diego (UCSD), and Director of UCSD ONEMIND (Optimized Neuroscience-Enhanced Mindfulness Intervention Design). Dr...
Plus: How to find practices that work for you, what "mindfulness" actually means, and a new audiobook out now. Sebene Selassie has been meditating for decades, survived cancer three times, and still says the practice isn't a magic bullet. That honesty is kind of the point. Today we're sharing a sneak preview of Dan's new audiobook, Even You Can Meditate , co-authored with Sebene. Think of it as a practical rescue plan for anyone who feels too distracted, overwhelmed, or skeptical to start (or re...
The comedian on: connecting instead of separating, feeling whole, and the upside of being an affirmation addict. Pete Holmes is a stand-up comedian, writer, and actor. He created and starred in HBO's Crashing and hosted The Pete Holmes Show on TBS. He has released stand-up specials on HBO, Netflix, and Comedy Central, hosts the popular You Made It Weird podcast, and is the author of Comedy Sex God . This episode is a live conversation recorded in NYC as part of a benefit for the amazing organiza...
The brain benefits of self-disclosure, the costs of staying silent, and how to know what to reveal and when. Leslie John is the James E. Burke Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. Her new book is called Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing . In this episode we talk about: Why self-disclosure can feel risky but is often socially rewarding The psychological and physiological costs of keeping secrets How putting feelings into words can reduce rumination and...
If you struggle with the terrifying reality that everything changes, this conversation is for you. Bart van Melik is a meditation teacher, psychotherapist, and our Teacher of the Month for January. In this live session recorded on Zoom with subscribers to the 10% with Dan Harris app , Bart and Dan explore one of Bart's favorite teachings: "Keep calmly knowing change"—four words that supposedly distill all 84,000 of the Buddha's teachings. We talk about: Why attuning to the flow of things brings ...
Plus, making the mundane sacred, meditating in a cave, and lowering the ego walls. Michael Pollan is the author of ten books, all of which were New York Times bestsellers. His latest book is A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness . In this episode we talk about: How to get over yourself How to reduce rumination How to lower the ego's walls How to elevate mundane tasks The value of what Zen practitioners call "don't know mind" How to reclaim your attention from Big Tech (what Michael calls...
A financial psychology expert on the science of contentment. Morgan Housel is the New York Times Bestselling author of The Psychology of Money and Same As Ever . He's a partner at The Collaborative Fund , serves on the board of directors at Markel and is host of The Morgan Housel Podcast. His new book is The Art of Spending Money: Simple Choices for a Richer Life . In this episode we talk about: What "irrational" spending habits really tell us How to manage money ambition with sanity How to use ...
This episode explores key strategies for high performance and well-being, featuring a deep dive into Dan Harris's journey from a live TV panic attack to embracing mindfulness. Dr. Michael Gervais and Dan discuss practical techniques like self-talk and exposure therapy for anxiety, the importance of "working at your edge" combined with intelligent recovery, and the transformative power of viewing "love" as a broad, essential skill set. They also touch upon navigating political division with curiosity and the shift from individual focus to collective well-being.
In this live Q&A session, Dan Harris tackles practical meditation challenges, including navigating serious emotional pain, understanding that calm isn't the goal, and finding concentration without strain. He also addresses concerns about guided meditations and offers strategies for those with ADHD or restlessness, all while reinforcing the core principle of observing thoughts and feelings without judgment or attachment.
This episode features Devin Berry, a meditation teacher who transformed from a self-described skeptic to a proponent of Metta (loving-kindness) meditation. He explains how Metta, along with compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity (the Brahma Viharas), serves as a powerful antidote to fear and anxiety by cultivating non-separation and allowing for engaged action without hatred. Berry also highlights the crucial role of generosity (Dana) as a foundational practice, illustrating how these ancient teachings can profoundly impact one's life, concentration, and ability to navigate a complex world.
Happiness often feels like an individual pursuit, but this episode with Sonja Lyubomirsky and Harry Reis reveals that the quality of our relationships and our ability to feel loved is the most reliable source of well-being. They introduce five mindsets (sharing, listening to learn, radical curiosity, open-heartedness, and multiplicity) to foster deeper connections and overcome barriers like loneliness. By changing our approach to conversations and embracing reciprocity, we can actively cultivate feeling loved, transforming our relationships and overall happiness.
A conversation with meditation teacher Jay Michaelson about what to do when you're constantly tired, fried, and running on empty. If you feel exhausted seemingly all the time—whether it's a low hum or something louder—you're not alone. In this conversation, Jay Michaelson, our Teacher of the Month for February, talks with executive producer DJ Cashmere about the relentless fatigue so many of us are experiencing, and what actually helps. We talk about: Why your first move should be self-compassio...
