Pondering the meaning of life, love and happiness? These 5 podcasts are for you
Listen to poets Mary Oliver and Ocean Vuong discuss the nature of being, or revisit Slavoj Zizek’s writings with these podcasts
Happiness manages to be simultaneously an elusive luxury and a basic human right, a dichotomy rich for research and discussion and, of course, podcasts. Happiness podcasts are manifold, easily identified by their cheery yellow cover art. But how to differentiate between good advice and self-help snake oil?
I can’t help you there but if it is any consolation, broadly the same band of Harvard-trained experts are consulted on most of them so it is more a case of finding a host who chimes with you and trusting the process. Affirmations optional.
What I can say is that most of the requests I get are for recommendations on happiness podcasts, which gets me down, ironically. To paraphrase Esther Perel of the eye-opening relationship-therapy podcast Where Should We Begin?, there is something tyrannical about the constant demand for happiness because it is a necessarily fleeting by-product of a meaningful life rather than a destination.
This week’s recommendations look at happiness from five perspectives: that of poet, doctor, psychologist, philosopher and comedian. None of them has the answer but all will uplift and inform, which is the next best thing.
1. On Being with Krista Tippett
Created in 2003, On Being has been around for as long as the very first podcasts, though it started life as a public radio show. Host Krista Tippett, whose background has encompassed divinity school and diplomacy as well as journalism, often gravitates to topics with a social justice bent, finding happiness and meaning in trying to make the world a better place.
