You 2.0: What Is Your Life For?

In this episode of Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam interviews Victor Strecher, a public health researcher, about finding purpose in life. Strecher shares the personal story of his daughter's heart transplant and subsequent passing, which led him to re-evaluate his own life and career. The conversation explores the science of purpose, including the importance of self-transcending values, emotion regulation strategies, and resilience in the face of adversity. Strecher discusses his research on how a sense of purpose can improve mental and physical well-being, and offers practical steps for identifying and aligning one's life with their core values, including the "headstone test" and an AI-driven app called Purposeful.