The Unhappy Millionaire

This podcast episode explores the misconception that achieving desires, particularly wealth, guarantees happiness. It features interviews with experts and individuals who experienced significant life changes (winning the lottery, contracting herpes). The discussion highlights "impact bias," our inaccurate prediction of emotional responses to events, and "hedonic adaptation," our tendency to return to a baseline happiness level. Research by Kahneman and Deaton shows that well-being plateaus above an annual income of $75,000. The episode concludes by emphasizing the resilience of the human psyche and its capacity to adapt to even the most challenging circumstances, suggesting that true happiness stems from personal growth and adaptation rather than solely from achieving external goals.