Office Hours with Arthur Brooks

4 Ways to Be Less Lonely

6 Financial Rules for Greater Happiness with Dave Ramsey

The Anxiety Journal: A Neuroscience-Based Way to Calm Your Mind

Why You Wake Up Anxious, And How to Fix It

How to Set the Right Goals in Life

The 9 Signs You’re Dating a Dark Triad (and How to Spot Them Early)

How to Control Your Emotions (According to Neuroscience)

Emotional self-management requires shifting the processing of emotions from the limbic system to the prefrontal cortex, a process known as metacognition. By introducing a deliberate delay—such as counting to 30—individuals can evaluate the potential consequences of their impulses before acting. This executive control i...

How to Stop Caring What Others Think

Caring about the opinions of others is a deeply ingrained evolutionary trait, rooted in the biological necessity to avoid social rejection and the resulting pain processed by the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. While humans naturally rely on external data to form their own self-perceptions, this tendency often spiral...

The 8 Life Lessons that Hoda Kotb Follows

The podcast explores how life changes shape individuals, featuring Hoda Kotb, Emmy award-winning co-anchor of NBC News Today, as the guest. Kotb shares personal stories, including her parents' immigration from Egypt and her early career rejections, illustrating how constraints can be reframed as opportunities. She emph...

3 Ways to Set Smarter New Year’s Resolutions

In this episode of "Office Hours," Arthur Brooks discusses New Year's resolutions, highlighting their high failure rate due to their negative, avoidance-based nature. He explains that people often frame resolutions around what they want to avoid, which leads to unpleasant rumination and reliance on willpower, a finite ...

My 4-Step Method for Making the Holidays Better

In this episode of Office Hours, Arthur Brooks discusses the holiday blues, focusing on why many people experience negative emotions like annoyance, disappointment, and sadness during the Christmas season. He explains how memories are structured, distinguishing between semantic and episodic memories, and how the fallib...

3 Ways to Want Less and Be Happier

In this episode of "Office Hours," Arthur Brooks delves into the science of happiness, specifically focusing on satisfaction as a key component. He argues that happiness isn't merely a feeling but a combination of enjoyment, meaning, and satisfaction. Brooks explores why satisfaction is fleeting and how our brains are ...

The 3 Macronutrients of Happiness, and How to Measure Yours

In this episode of "Office Hours," Arthur Brooks discusses the science of happiness, addressing common misconceptions and providing practical advice. He emphasizes that happiness is a direction, not a destination, and consists of enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning. Brooks explores the genetic component of happiness, ...

The Truth About Creativity, Aging, and Discipline: From the World’s Best-Selling Author (James Patterson)

Arthur Brooks interviews James Patterson about creativity and its impact on happiness and life lessons. Patterson shares insights into his writing process, emphasizing the importance of thinking, rewriting, and focusing on character development. He discusses where he gets his ideas, how his writing process has evolved,...

5 Steps Toward a More Grateful Life

In this Thanksgiving special of "Office Hours," Arthur Brooks discusses the science of gratitude, explaining why humans are naturally inclined towards negativity due to evolutionary biology. He details how negative emotions were crucial for survival, leading to a negativity bias. Brooks emphasizes the importance of con...

My 9-Step Evening Protocol for More Happiness and Better Sleep

A 5-Step Approach to Ending Your Phone Addiction

In this episode of "Office Hours," Arthur Brooks discusses phone addiction, explaining the neuroscience behind it, particularly the role of dopamine in creating addictive behaviors. He highlights how excessive phone use can lead to unhappiness, depression, and anxiety, and compares it to other addictions. Brooks offers...

Four Practical Ways to Live Like a Stoic with Ryan Holiday

The 4 Types of Careers, and How to Find Yours

4 Ways to Love the People You Disagree With