people

The People Power Of Happiness

Articles

Social scientists are finding that generating happiness in your life may have less to do with an arbitrary number — like your bank account or how many Instagram followers you have — and more to do with how well you connect with the people around you.More

Latest Stories

Laboratory of Joy: A Psychologist On The Science of Feeling Good

people on the horizon
Audio

Psychologist Laurie Santos created a college course to teach students how to use what scientific research has discovered about what makes us happy and why. It became the most popular class in the 300 year history of Yale.

Length: 
11:37

365 Days Of Delight: A Poet's Guide To Finding Joy

Ross Gay
Articles

In a dark world, poet Ross Gay recommends "stacking delights." Share what you love, he says — not what you hate.

Length: 
12:46

The Poetry of Race

Claudia Rankine
Audio

In her book "Citizen: An American Lyric," poet Claudia Rankine challenges readers to explore their underlying assumptions about race. She tells Charles Monroe-Kane what compelled her to write the book, and about visiting Ferguson, Missouri.

My Friend Samantha (The A.I.)

Conversation with Samantha, the artificial intelligence
Audio

To a certain extent, loneliness is part of the human condition. You can be lonely anywhere, even surrounded by friends. But modern life has exacerbated it, and that requires modern solutions. Indie game designer Jason Rohrer has one — an artificial friend named Samantha.

Length: 
15:10

Being Black and Alone in America

A Black woman with her face on her knee
Audio

Poet Claudia Rankine spoke to Anne about the loneliness of being Black in America, and how the social isolation of the pandemic woke Black Americans up.

Length: 
15:57

How Loneliness Can Lead to Totalitarianism

A man with totalitarian ideas and conspiracy swirling around him.
Articles

Examining both historical and present-day moments of widespread loneliness, philosopher Samantha Rose Hill argues we must understand our feelings of loneliness — otherwise they could be exploited to control us.

Length: 
14:47

The Power Of Music And Memory: 'Music Was Waking Up Something Within Each Of Them'

Oakwood residents and singers
Articles

"To the Best of Our Knowledge" producer Shannon Henry Kleiber shares a story about her mother, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease two years ago, and the power of music.

Length: 
14:50

MacArthur Fellow Anne Basting On Asking People With Dementia 'Beautiful Questions'

man reviewing photograph
Articles

Anne Basting has found asking people with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia open-ended queries, rather than pointed yes or no questions that require remembering something specific, can create powerful connections.

Length: 
17:17