Episodes
Feb. 10, 2026
In Sickness and In Health: Exploring America’s Caregiving Crisis with Dr. Laura Mauldin, PhD
Sixty percent of American adults live with a chronic illness. Consequently, upwards of 53 million adults have assumed uncompensated caregiving roles—frequently alongside existing professional and personal obligations. As thes...
Feb. 3, 2026
Real Talk: How to Keep Your Relationship Thriving with Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C
Healthy relationships are not accidental; they are built on the foundational belief that we carry a personal responsibility to be our best selves. To keep a relationship thriving, we must develop the emotional vocabulary to p...
Jan. 27, 2026
From Trauma to Triumph: How Post-Traumatic Growth Restores Happiness and Resilience After Life’s Adversity with MC McDonald, PhD
Adversity and grief are universal aspects of life. Most of us will encounter a form of trauma that triggers a survival response, anchoring the mind in past pain. However, this physiological loop does not have to be a life sen...
Jan. 20, 2026
From People-Pleasing to Purpose-Driven: Breaking Love Addiction Patterns to Build Authentic Leadership and Self-Worth with Britt Frank, LCSW
Through purpose-driven, self-honoring choices, we can reclaim our autonomy and replace old love addiction patterns with the self-love we truly crave and deserve. Empowering ourselves with the gift of a solid foundation, we bu...
Jan. 13, 2026
Intelligent Communication Skills: How to Listen Better with Haru Yamada, PhD
Listening is a profound gift that honors both the speaker and the observer. By understanding our individual communication style, we offer others validation and sharpen our communication skills. This commitment to intelligent ...
Jan. 6, 2026
Nihilism vs. Existentialism: Is Life Meaningless or Full of Purpose? with Mark Fabian PhD
Cultivating happiness requires an active investment, yet some believe true personal growth only follows a "dark night of the soul." By navigating the tension between nihilism and existentialism, we transform an existential cr...
Dec. 30, 2025
Joy and Hopefulness in Difficult Times: Positive Political Action from The Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College
When we agree to practice joy through community, connection, and belonging in its own powerful way, it is an act of defiance to what's going on around us. We must ask ourselves, particularly in these difficult times, what we ...
Dec. 23, 2025
Loving the World in Dark Times: Fearless Thinking from the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College
Current research indicates that despite unprecedented levels of global connectivity, societies are experiencing an unparalleled state of metaphysical loneliness. This condition is a potent catalyst for political instability, ...
Dec. 16, 2025
Building Secure Attachment: Healing Emotional Baggage for Healthier Relationships with Jessica Baum, LMHC
Connection to others is our emotional lifeblood. The quality of our earliest connection determines how safe we feel in our bodies and how safe and secure we feel in the world. Healing emotional baggage is a crucial first step...
Dec. 9, 2025
The Tao of Chill: Finding Inner Peace Without Woo-Woo with Diane Dreher, PhD
To explore the exercise of finding calm without religion, Harvesting Happiness Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with bestselling author and award-winning professor, Dr. Diane Dreher. Diane presents statistics detailing...
Dec. 3, 2025
Happiness Factor: Keys to Unlocking a Satisfying Life with Paul Ollinger
Achievable contentment isn't found by relentlessly chasing some massive, shimmering happiness jackpot; it's a series of practical keys you turn every day. A proven factor in unlocking a satisfying life is to prioritize experi...
Nov. 25, 2025
Healing Loneliness: Learn to Love Yourself with Dr. Margaret Paul, PhD
Feeling alone in a crowded room is a hallmark of today's loneliness epidemic, proving that company alone isn't the answer. Healing loneliness starts by looking inward rather than outward. By cultivating self-love, you nurture...
Nov. 12, 2025
Communication Fix: Relationship Skills for Better Conversations and a Happy Life with Patricia Timerman Barbosa da Silva, PhD
Cultural differences profoundly impact our ability to communicate in relationships, often leading to misunderstandings when interpreting nonverbal cues, directness of speech, or emotional expression. To have better conversati...
Nov. 5, 2025
The Altruistic Brain: Architecture of Connection and Community Amid Chaos with Nicole Karlis
Research studies reveal there are neurological, emotional, and physical rewards to acts of altruism. We experience awe, most often, when we witness acts of human kindness, no matter how small. Volunteering offers a powerful a...
Oct. 29, 2025
Well-Being and Post-COVID Recovery: Exploring U.S. Consumer Pessimism Amid Economic Growth with Carol Graham, PhD
Well-being science reveals that, despite signs of economic growth during the post-COVID recovery, a widespread "vibecession" phenomenon of U.S. consumer pessimism persists. This challenges the traditional economic assumption ...
Oct. 22, 2025
Public Perception: The Psychology Behind Public Acceptance of Misinformation & Political Rumors with Adam Berinsky, PhD
Misinformation is aggressively injected into the information ecosystem, and it is readily consumed and adopted by those who are too busy to fully pay attention, leveraging cognitive bias in a distracted society. This media ma...
Oct. 15, 2025
How Memory Works: The Science of Information Processing and Recall with Gillian Murphy, PhD
Many people liken recalling memories to accessing mental filing cabinets, but our memories are actually more disjointed. Memory science defines how memory works as a dynamic form of complex information processing, which relie...
Oct. 8, 2025
Reawakening Sexuality After Trauma: Healing, Recovery, and Sober Sex for Survivors with Stephanie Covington, PhD, LCSW, and Vanessa Carlisle, PhD, MFA
In the journey toward healing, survivors often find that intentional practices like sober sex foster a deeper emotional and physical intimacy, essential for their trauma recovery. This emphasis on connection stands in stark c...
Oct. 1, 2025
Joy and Hopefulness in Difficult Times: Positive Political Action from The Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College
When we agree to practice joy through community, connection, and belonging in its own powerful way, it is an act of defiance to what's going on around us. We must ask ourselves, particularly in these difficult times, what we ...
Sept. 24, 2025
Loving the World in Dark Times: Fearless Thinking from the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College
Current research indicates that despite unprecedented levels of global connectivity, societies are experiencing an unparalleled state of metaphysical loneliness. This condition is a potent catalyst for political instability, ...
Sept. 17, 2025
Wise Enough to Be Happy with Brendan Barca
Tired of feeling tossed around by your thoughts and emotions? By embracing the impermanence of all things, including anxious thoughts, and accepting that suffering is a part of life, difficult emotions can be navigated with w...
Sept. 10, 2025
Blueprint for Joy: Planning Happiness and Fulfillment with Mark Fabian, PhD
Humans are perpetual seekers, as contentment is not part of our evolutionary design. We can move toward happiness by actively planning for fulfillment, leading us toward purposeful and satiated lives. By creating a blueprint ...
Sept. 3, 2025
On the Spectrum of Humanity: Thriving in a Neurodivergent World with Sol Smith
A diverse world is a happy world. It may seem that neurodivergent people are more common now, but the increase in diagnoses is attributed to awareness and diagnostic tools, not a rise in the population. Neurodivergence is a d...