Plain English BEST OF: How to Be Happy and the Science of Cognitive Time Travel

This podcast episode features Derek Thompson interviewing Laurie Santos, a cognitive scientist at Yale and host of the Happiness Lab podcast, about the philosophy of happiness and well-being. They discuss the distinction between happiness "in your life" (positive emotions) and happiness "with your life" (satisfaction and meaning), and how expectations influence our experiences. They explore the human need for struggle, the concept of psychological distancing, and how thinking about our future selves can impact present behavior. The conversation touches on the phenomenon of rosy retrospection, the balance between myopia and hyperopia (focusing too much on the present or future), and the impact of technology on social fitness and human interaction.