Something You Should Know

What does it really mean to be happy? Even the happiest people aren’t happy all the time. Maybe happiness isn’t a constant emotion at all — maybe it’s a philosophy. A way of living. A sense of meaning shaped by what you do and who you do it for.

Stephanie Harrison has spent years studying what truly makes people happy — and she believes many of us have been chasing the wrong version. She is the creator of the “New Happy” philosophy, a powerful rethinking of happiness that has reached millions through art, a newsletter, a podcast, and programs around the world. Her work has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, and Harvard Business Review.

You can learn more at https://www.thenewhappy.com.

She is also author of New Happy: Getting Happiness Right in a World That’s Got It Wrong (https://amzn.to/3WxgOlR).

This conversation will challenge how you define happiness — and offer a refreshing, practical way to pursue a deeper, more lasting kind of joy.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

QUINCE: Refresh your wardrobe with Quince! Go to ⁠⁠⁠https://Quince.dom/sysk ⁠⁠⁠for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!

HIMS: For simple, online access to personalized and affordable care for Hair Loss, ED, Weight Loss, and more, visit ⁠⁠⁠https://Hims.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠⁠ for your free online visit! 

SHOPIFY: Sign up for your $1 per month trail and start selling today at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://Shopify.com/sysk⁠⁠⁠⁠

DELL: Dell Tech Days are here. Enjoy huge deals on PCs like the Dell 14 Plus with Intel® Core™ Ultra processors. Visit ⁠⁠⁠https://Dell.com/deals⁠⁠⁠

PLANET VISIONARIES: We love the Planet Visionaries podcast, so listen on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you're listening to this podcast! In partnership with The Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes a great idea doesn’t come from thinking harder — but from shifting your body. Research suggests that posture can influence how creatively and flexibly you think, meaning the position you’re in during a brainstorming session could actually affect whether you have that “Eureka!” moment. Listen to how that works as we open this episode. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27992759

It feels like everyone has allergies these days. But do they really? And what exactly qualifies as an allergy in the first place? Dr. Zachary Rubin, a double board-certified pediatrician and allergist/immunologist in the Chicago area and author of All About Allergies: Everything You Need to Know About Asthma, Food Allergies, Hay Fever, and More (https://amzn.to/401KdW5) explains why allergies appear to be on the rise, why many people think they have allergies but don’t, and what’s really happening inside your immune system when a true allergic reaction occurs.

Have you ever agreed to something you didn’t want to do, apologized when it wasn’t your fault, or stayed silent when you knew you should speak up? These patterns can feel automatic — almost out of your control. Kati Morton, licensed marriage and family therapist and author of Why Do I Keep Doing This?: Unlearn the Habits Keeping You Stuck and Unhappy (https://amzn.to/3ZDmcV3) explains why these self-sabotaging behaviors form, why they repeat, and how to finally interrupt them.

One of the main reasons people exercise is to lose weight. It seems logical: burn more calories, lose more fat. But the science tells a more complicated story. Exercise is incredibly important for health — but when it comes to shedding pounds, its impact may be far smaller than most people believe. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3925973/

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

QUINCE: Refresh your wardrobe with Quince! Go to ⁠⁠⁠https://Quince.dom/sysk ⁠⁠⁠for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!

HIMS: For simple, online access to personalized and affordable care for Hair Loss, ED, Weight Loss, and more, visit ⁠⁠⁠https://Hims.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠⁠ for your free online visit! 

SHOPIFY: Sign up for your $1 per month trail and start selling today at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://Shopify.com/sysk⁠⁠⁠⁠

DELL: Dell Tech Days are here. Enjoy huge deals on PCs like the Dell 14 Plus with Intel® Core™ Ultra processors. Visit ⁠⁠⁠https://Dell.com/deals⁠⁠⁠

PLANET VISIONARIES: We love the Planet Visionaries podcast, so listen on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you're listening to this podcast! In partnership with The Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fresh flowers brighten any room — but they fade fast. You’ve probably heard all kinds of tricks to keep them alive longer: flower food packets, aspirin, sugar, even pennies in the vase. But there is one surprisingly simple additive that appears to work better than most, and it’s probably already in your kitchen. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-12981249/

No matter how thrilling something feels at first — a new relationship, a promotion, a new gadget — the excitement fades. It has to. The brain is wired for habituation, meaning we quickly get used to what once thrilled us. But that doesn’t mean the spark is gone for good. Tali Sharot, professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London and MIT, founder of the Affective Brain Lab and co-author of Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There (https://amzn.to/49F5vLD), explains how you can “resparkle” your life and reclaim appreciation for what you’ve started to take for granted.

We all know someone who is simply magnetic in conversation. They make you feel heard. They make you feel interesting. They ask the right questions and seem to instinctively connect. Charles Duhigg calls these people “super communicators.” He is the bestselling author of Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection (https://amzn.to/3wmhwHv), and he explains that this isn’t charisma — it’s a skill set anyone can learn, and mastering it can transform your personal and professional relationships.

The next time you’re stuck on a problem, try changing your body position. Research suggests that something as simple as whether you’re lying down or sitting upright can influence how creatively you think and how easily ideas flow. https://phys.org/news/2005-05-creative-lying.html

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

QUINCE: Refresh your wardrobe with Quince! Go to ⁠⁠https://Quince.dom/sysk ⁠⁠for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!

HIMS: For simple, online access to personalized and affordable care for Hair Loss, ED, Weight Loss, and more, visit ⁠⁠https://Hims.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠ for your free online visit! 

SHOPIFY: Sign up for your $1 per month trail and start selling today at ⁠⁠⁠https://Shopify.com/sysk⁠⁠⁠

DELL: Dell Tech Days are here. Enjoy huge deals on PCs like the Dell 14 Plus with Intel® Core™ Ultra processors. Visit ⁠⁠https://Dell.com/deals⁠⁠

PLANET VISIONARIES: We love the Planet Visionaries podcast, so listen on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you're listening to this podcast! In partnership with The Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When men get sick with a cold or the flu, do they actually suffer more than women — or just complain louder? Some fascinating research suggests there may be real biological differences in immune response between the sexes, which could explain the infamous “man cold.” I break down what scientists have discovered and what it really means. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29229663/

Picky eating feels normal today — separate meals for kids at the dinner table is often the norm. But it wasn’t always this way. For most of history, children ate what adults ate or they didn’t eat at all. Helen Zoe Veit, award-winning historian, associate professor at Michigan State University, and author of Picky: How American Children Became the Fussiest Eaters in History (https://amzn.to/3OolXKY) explains how and why picky eating became so common, the serious problems it creates — and why it doesn’t have to be that way.

Will artificial intelligence make us intellectually lazy — or is it about to unleash a new wave of human potential? Zack Kass, one of OpenAI’s first 100 employees and author of The Next Renaissance: AI and the Expansion of Human Potential (https://amzn.to/3MoYM2I) argues that tools like ChatGPT are only scratching the surface. He explains why AI may not replace human thinking but amplify it — if we use it wisely.

People form powerful judgments about you within seconds of seeing your online profile photo. Are you trustworthy? Competent? Approachable? Research shows the ideal expression isn’t a huge grin or a stone-cold stare but something more nuanced — and getting it right can influence how others perceive you professionally and socially. https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerdooley/2025/04/02/should-you-smile-in-your-profile-photo-heres-what-research-shows/

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

QUINCE: Refresh your wardrobe with Quince! Go to ⁠⁠https://Quince.dom/sysk ⁠⁠for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!

HIMS: For simple, online access to personalized and affordable care for Hair Loss, ED, Weight Loss, and more, visit ⁠⁠https://Hims.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠ for your free online visit! 

SHOPIFY: Sign up for your $1 per month trail and start selling today at ⁠⁠⁠https://Shopify.com/sysk⁠⁠⁠

DELL: Dell Tech Days are here. Enjoy huge deals on PCs like the Dell 14 Plus with Intel® Core™ Ultra processors. Visit ⁠⁠https://Dell.com/deals⁠⁠

PLANET VISIONARIES: We love the Planet Visionaries podcast, so listen on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you're listening to this podcast! In partnership with The Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thirty-six percent of Americans — including 61% of young
adults and 51% of mothers with young children — say they experience “serious
loneliness.” Nearly everyone has felt that ache at some point: the quiet sense
of isolation, of being unseen or disconnected, even when surrounded by people.
Humans are not wired for isolation. We are built for connection.

Yet modern life — with its screens, busyness, and fragmented
communities — often pulls us further apart. Psychiatrist Dr. Edward Hallowell
joins me to explain why loneliness is far more than a bad feeling. It impacts
physical health, mental health, motivation, even lifespan. He shares why
connection is essential to thriving — and practical ways to rebuild it in a
world that makes isolation easy. Dr. Hallowell is the author of ⁠Connect
(https://amzn.to/3GxgwQw),⁠ and he also has a
bestselling book on ADHD called ⁠ADHD
2.0 (https://amzn.to/3AVKgVI).
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices