10% Happier with Dan Harris – Details, episodes & analysis

What it is, how beginners can get a taste, the dangers of striving, and whether tech can make it easier.

Dr. Matthew D. Sacchet, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Meditation Research Program at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General). Since 2012, he has authored more than 120 publications, presented more than 150 times at international, national, regional and local conferences and speaker series, and been cited more than 8,000 times.

In this episode we talk about:

• What Matthew's learning about advanced states of meditation, and what they do to the brain
• What relevance advanced meditation might have for the rest of us
• How we might get a taste of these states ourselves
• Whether technology might ultimately help some of us advance more quickly
• The psychological risks of practicing deep end meditation

Related Episodes:

• Dr. Richie Davidson, Daniel Goleman – Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain and Body
• Nirvana | Joseph Goldstein
• A Meditator in the Arena | Sam Harris
• Willoughby Britton, Jared Lindahl -- Does Meditation Have a Dark Side

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Additional Resources:

• Meditation Research Program at Harvard
• Matthew Sacchet on X (Twitter)
• Matthew Sacchet’s LinkedIn

Featuring a meditation teacher, author, professor, and dedicated experimenter with these molecules.

Jay Michaelson is a journalist, meditation teacher, rabbi, and professor of religious studies whose work for the last several years has been focused on psychedelics, meditation, and spirituality.

Jay is a field scholar at Emory University’s Center for Psychedelics and Spirituality, and a fellow at Harvard Law School’s project on Psychedelic Use, Law, and Spiritual Experience. He is currently a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, teaching courses on psychedelics, law, and religion.

In this episode we talk about:

• Everything you should know about psychedelics if you’re wondering whether to give them a try
• What the research shows thus far
• The differences among various compounds
• The overlap between meditation and psychedelics
• The difference between spirituality and healing
• The dizzying question of whether these medicines have a separate consciousness 
• And more

Related Episodes:

• Psychedelics and Meditation | Michael Pollan - by DB - Dan Harris
• What to do About Eco-Anxiety | Jay Michaelson

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Additional Resources:

• Both/And with Jay Michaelson
• A special guided meditation from Jay to accompany this episode 
• Two free upcoming events:
• Emory Science on Spiritual Health Conference (free, online) 
• Harvard Symposium on Psychedelics in Monotheistic Traditions (which Jay co-chairing)

A Buddhist doctor/nun on how we’re all addicted to something—and how to reduce craving.

Sister Dang Nghiem, MD, (“Sister D”) was born in 1968 in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, the daughter of a Vietnamese mother and an American soldier. She lost her mother at the age of twelve and immigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen with her brother. Living in various foster homes, she learned English and went on to earn a medical degree from the University of California – San Francisco. After suffering further tragedy and loss, she quit her practice as a doctor to travel to Plum Village monastery in France founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, where she was ordained a nun in 2000, and given the name Dang Nghiem, which means adornment with nondiscrimination. She is the author of a memoir, Healing: A Woman’s Journey from Doctor to Nun (2010), and Mindfulness as Medicine: A Story of Healing and Spirit (2015).

This episode is part of our monthlong Do Life Better series. 

We talk about:

• Sister D’s Buddhist version of the 12 step program, which is a combination of two canonical buddhist lists: the 4 Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path
• How willpower doesn’t fit into the Buddhist path of understanding and working with addiction 
• How to change addiction at its root
• Practical applications of mindfulness
• Self-compassion
• The importance of social support
• Her thoughts on our relationships to our phones 
• And more

Related Episodes:

• Do Life Better
• This Episode Will Make You Stronger | Sister Dang Nghiem
• The Science Of Manifestation | James Doty

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New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.

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How to pursue fitness without succumbing to the “subtle aggression of self-improvement.”

The kickoff episode for the latest installment of an occasional series we do here on the show, called Get Fit Sanely (listen to past – and future – episodes here). 

In this candid conversation, managing producer DJ Cashmere talks with Dan about how they manage their mindsets on these issues, and how the interviews we’re doing on the subject have and have not impacted them. We’ll also preview the guests for this fresh round of Get Fit Sanely, where we cover longevity, Ozempic (and related weight loss drugs), the latest science on exercise, and the Buddhist case for laziness.

The cost of getting lean infographic. 

Related Episodes:

• Get Fit Sanely Playlist
• The Science of Self-Compassion | Serena Chen
• The Anti-Diet | Evelyn Tribole
• 3 Buddhist Strategies for When the News is Overwhelming | Kaira Jewel Lingo

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Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/dj-cashmere-778

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.

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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. 

In this episode we talk about:

• How the brain’s default mode network is essential to our survival but also can keep us stuck in rumination and overthinking 
• Segal and Farb’s simple practice of “sense foraging” and why they say it can help break patterns and thoughts that aren’t serving us 
• The differences and the similarities between sense foraging and mindfulness 

Related Episodes:

Depression and Anxiety: Your Old Enemies, Your Best Friends | Zindel Segal

Gretchen Rubin on: How To Use Your Five Senses To Reduce Anxiety, Increase Creativity, and Improve Your Relationships

Why You Can’t Pay Attention - And How to Think Deeply Again | Johann Hari

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Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/segal-farb

Additional Resources:

• Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.

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The radical shift in perspective that can come when we change our question from “what’s wrong with you” to “what happened to you?”

Dr. Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D. is the Principal of the Neurosequential Network and a Professor (Adjunct) at the School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria Australia. 

Over the last thirty years, Dr. Perry has been an active teacher, clinician and researcher in children’s mental health and the neurosciences holding a variety of academic positions. His work on the impact of abuse, neglect and trauma on the developing brain has impacted clinical practice, programs and policy across the world. Dr. Perry is the author, with Maia Szalavitz, of The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog, a bestselling book based on his work with maltreated children and Born For Love: Why Empathy is Essential and Endangered. Dr. Perry's most recent book, What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing (2021), co-authored with Oprah Winfrey, has been translated into 26 languages and has been on the New York Times Bestseller list for over 100 weeks after becoming #1 on the list in April of 2021.

Related Episodes:

• The Art and Science of the World's Gooiest Cliche | Barbara Fredrickson
• How to Live with the Worst Things That Ever Happened to You | Stephanie Foo
• An Ace Therapist Gives Dan A Run For His Money | Dr. Jacob Ham
• Deep Genealogy | Spring Washam
• Deep, Provocative Success Strategies From the “Yoda of Silicon Valley” | Jerry Colonna

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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes

Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/drbruceperry

Additional Resources:

Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.

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Radical advice on rethinking success, individualism, and the American dream.

Mia Birdsong is a pathfinder, culture change visionary, and futurist. She is the founding Executive Director of Next River, a think tank and culture change lab for interconnected freedom. In her book How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community, Mia maps swaths of community life and points us toward the promise of our collective vitality. 

In this episode we talk about:

• How to build community
• What it looks like in her own life
• Mutuality vs reciprocity 
• How to work with resentment and rejection 
• The etymological connection between friendship and freedom 
• The transformative power of asking for help
• And why she thinks the idea of bootstrapping—or going it alone—is a kind of self-hatred

Related Episodes:

• How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make and Keep Friends | Dr. Marisa G. Franco
• The Many Benefits of a “Paradox Mindset” | Dolly Chugh. Ten Percent Happier
• Escape From Zombieland | Koshin Paley Ellison — Ten Percent Happier 
• An Uncomfortable (But Meaningful) Conversation About Race | Lama Rod Owens

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Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/mia-birdsong

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers

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The surprisingly common experience of near death experiences and what science still can't explain about them.

Sebastian Junger is the #1 New York Times Bestselling author of The Perfect Storm, Fire, A Death in Belmont, War and Tribe, and In My Time of Dying. As an award-winning journalist, a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a special correspondent at ABC News, he has covered major international news stories around the world, and has received both a National Magazine Award and a Peabody Award.

In this episode we talk about:

• Junger’s near death experience and the impact it had on him
• The conclusions he came to after investigation the possibilities of an afterlife 
• The mysteries of quantum physics and what they might tell us about life and death
• How he believes we can all experience awe on a daily basis 

Related Episodes:

How Thinking About Death Can Improve Your Life | Alua Arthur

Neil DeGrasse Tyson on Why Having a “Cosmic Perspective” Will Help You Do Life Better

George Saunders on: “Holy Befuddlement” and How to Be Less of a “Turd”

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Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/sebastian-junger

Additional Resources:

• Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.

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How to find your voice when you need to be heard, learn when it's smart to choose silence, and communicate better with the people who matter most.

Elaine Lin Hering is a former Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School. She works with organizations and individuals to build skills in communication, collaboration, and conflict management. She has served as the Advanced Training Director for the Harvard Mediation Program and a Managing Partner for Triad Consulting Group. She has worked with coal miners at BHP Billiton, micro-finance organizers in East Africa, mental health professionals in China, and senior leadership at the US Department of Commerce. She is the author of the forthcoming book Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent, and Live More Fully.

In this episode we talk about:

• How we learn silence and self-editing 
• How we often miscalculate the cost-benefit when it comes to speaking up or staying silent
• Elaine’s four steps to learn how to speak up and find your voice
• How we can unintentionally silence others, especially those closest to us, and what to do about it  

Related Episodes:

How to Speak Clearly, Calmly, and Without Alienating People | Dan Clurman and Mudita Nisker

How to Call People In (Instead of Calling Them Out) | Loretta Ross

Do You Feel Like an Imposter? | Dr. Valerie Young (Co-Interviewed by Dan’s Wife, Bianca!)

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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes

Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/elaine-lin-hering

Additional Resources:

Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.

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An acclaimed science writer on how to upgrade your mind by using more than your head.

When you think about thinking, most of us think of it as a supremely solo pursuit. You’re in your head, concentrating and cogitating, all by yourself. But the science shows that if you want to improve your thinking, you need to get out of your head. Today we’re going to talk about a concept called “the extended mind.” Your mind isn’t just in your skull: it’s in your body, it’s in the people around you, it’s in your surroundings. The best thinking requires that you break out of what the writer David Foster Wallace called “the skull sized kingdom” and access these other resources.

This may sound abstract, but our guest today makes it very practical. Annie Murphy Paul is an acclaimed science writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Scientific American, Slate, Time, and The Best American Science Writing, among many other publications. She is the author of Origins and The Cult of Personality, hailed by Malcolm Gladwell as a “fascinating new book.” Currently a fellow at New America, Paul has spoken to audiences around the world about learning and cognition; her TED talk has been viewed by more than 2.6 million people. A graduate of Yale University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, she has served as a lecturer at Yale University and as a senior advisor at their Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning. Her latest book is The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain

In this episode, we also talk about:

• How to use your surroundings to think better 
• My favorite of the three areas of this book – thinking with our relationships
• Why “groupthink” isn’t always a bad thing (OR you can say, the benefits of thinking in groups)
• What she called “extension inequality” – that this benefit of the extended mind isn’t available to all people

Related Episodes: Ancient Secrets to Modern Happiness | Tamar Gendler

Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/anniemurphypaul

Additional Resources:

Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install