Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 608: Have You Ever Regretted a Good Decision? (Temporarily) Oct 14, 2026

Show notes

A listener shares a Know Yourself Better discovery, Elizabeth reports on what she learned from her Summer of Off-White Delight, and a recommendation for a new daily game.

Episode highlights:

Try This at Home— Figure out your Tendency [02:10]

Happier Highlights— Elizabeth’s verdict on her Summer of Off-White Delight [15:34]

Know Yourself Better: Listener describes her “new-pet regret” [21:30]

Demerits and Gold Stars: Elizabeth’s Demerit: skipping posture exercises; Gretchen’s Gold Star: sticky notes [23:39]

Mentioned in this Episode:

⁠Anthropeum, the daily Met art guessing game⁠

⁠Try the Happier app monthly jump-start challenge⁠ (this month: 7 quick wins to clear the decks)

Sister Light, Sister Dark by Jane Yolen (⁠Amazon⁠, ⁠Bookshop⁠)

⁠Take the Four Tendencies quiz for free ⁠

Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Website: gretchenrubin.com

Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft

⁠Learn more about Gretchen’s Four Tendencies personality framework and take the free quiz.⁠

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify. It helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Little Happier: What Seems Important Isn't Always What Is Important Oct 12, 2026

Show notes

Aphorisms are short, sharp, and easy to remember, and here are four surprising examples of one of my own: "What seems important isn't always what is important."

Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com
Website: gretchenrubin.com
Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft
Take Gretchen's free Four Tendencies quiz

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify—it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More Happier: Lean into Fall with the Five Senses Oct 10, 2026

Show notes

We revisit some of our favorite try-this-at-home tips for tapping into our five senses this fall. Some ideas might turn into new annual traditions; others might be fun for this year as a way to make the most of the season.

Episode Highlights:

Choose a signature color for little bursts of happiness [01:20]
Celebrate a minor holiday with a fast, low-effort breakfast [06:38]
Make a five senses portrait to notice what's familiar [11:10]
Organize a tasting for whiskey, tea, chocolate, or vanilla ice cream [22:56]
Collect gratitude leaves each Thanksgiving [24:07]

Mentioned in this Episode:

Better Than Before (Amazon, Bookshop)
The Happiness Project (Amazon, Bookshop)
Pantone color finder

Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com
Website: gretchenrubin.com
Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft
Take Gretchen's free Four Tendencies quiz

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify—it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep. 607: Do You Love Whimsy? Celebrate a New Holiday with Us Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

We discuss how we’re using whimsy to find the right date to celebrate our “How do we learn what everyone knows?” day, and listeners share their brilliant tips for elevating your home and how to stop working against yourself (or others).

Episode highlights:

Try this at home: Listeners propose imaginative dates for "What People Know" day [05:10]
Four Tendencies Tips for Rebels: Personal policies, identity, and choosing instead of being told [15:55]
Treat Your House like a Hotel—Add an outdoor shower or a backyard garden [01:35]
Demerits and Gold Stars: Gretchen’s Demerit: stopped a health habit; Elizabeth’s Gold Star: Ferment statue in Kansas City [24:17]

Mentioned in this Episode:

Check out these new items in the Happiness Project Shop: Design Your Year (Deluxe Edition), Twelve-Day Countdown Calendar, Happiness Boost Tear-Away Deck
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe (Amazon, Bookshop)
In a Summer Season by Elizabeth Taylor (Amazon, Bookshop)

Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com
Website: gretchenrubin.com
Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft
Take Gretchen's free Four Tendencies quiz

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify—it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Little Happier: A New Moral for An Old Fable Oct 05, 2026

Show notes

I've always loved Aesop's fables, but I've come to think the accepted morals don't always fit the stories.

Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com
Website: gretchenrubin.com
Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft
Take Gretchen's free Four Tendencies quiz

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify—it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More Happier: Embrace a Party Theme, Plus a Lesson About How to Fight Right Oct 03, 2026

Show notes

Turn party-planning stress into fun with a theme, and why one person downplaying can lead the other to overreact.

Episode highlights:

Something Making Us Happier: Embrace a party theme. [00:40]
I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You: Gretchen’s Perfume Party [10:42]
I’ve Been Meaning to Ask You: Gretchen’sinsight on a comment that Elizabeth’s son, Jack, made about communication [19:41]

Mentioned in this episode:

Move 26 in '26 bingo card in The Happier app

PLOT TWIST by Harlan Coben (⁠Amazon⁠, ⁠Bookshop⁠)

Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com
Website: gretchenrubin.com
Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft
Learn more about Gretchen's Four Tendencies personality framework and take the free quiz.

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify — it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep. 606: What We Learned from “Do-Spend September,” Plus What’s Safe in the Microwave & Try a Day Pass Sep 30, 2026

Show notes

Here’s what we learned from our own Do-Spend September, and how to get a luxury-resort experience for a fraction of the cost. Plus: really, what can go in a microwave?

Episode highlights:

Try This at Home— Reflect on Do-Spend September [03:10]
Happiness Hack— Buy a hotel-pool day pass for a luxury "staycation" at a fraction of the cost of a room [11:24]
Happiness Stumbling Block: Settling confusion on what can and can't go in the microwave [14:07]
Demerits & Gold Stars: Elizabeth's demerit: not talking to friends on the phone enough; Gretchen's gold star: a surprise hoodie [21:33]

Mentioned in this episode:

Mercer Culinary bread knife
Real Simple/Whirlpool guide to what you can microwave
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe (Amazon, Bookshop)
Virginia Woolf by Mary Ann Caws (Amazon)
Gretchen's free 7-Day Email Challenge, Boost Your Energy Through Movement
PLOT TWIST by Harlan Coben

Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com
Website: gretchenrubin.com
Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft
Take Gretchen's free Four Tendencies quiz

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify — it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Little Happier: Dolly Parton Always Knew Just What to Say Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

Remembering the gracious words Dolly Parton used to decline a statue in her honor—and how that moment captured her humility, her love for Tennessee, and her commitment to doing good.

Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com
Website: gretchenrubin.com
Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft
Learn more about Gretchen's Four Tendencies personality framework and take the free quiz.

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify—it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More Happier: Helping Rebel Kids with School—and Other Rebel Questions Answered Sep 26, 2026

Show notes

We revisit some of our most useful Four Tendencies conversations about Rebels, including listener advice for navigating school and ADHD, what actually motivates Rebels, and practical habit strategies shared by Rebels themselves.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com
Website: gretchenrubin.com
Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft
Take Gretchen's free Four Tendencies quiz

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify—it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep. 605: Why You Should Leave the House, Plus Why Sometimes You Don’t Need to Have an Opinion Sep 23, 2026

Show notes

We discuss why we should make an effort to leave the house. Plus, a stumbling block related to “having a take,” and a simple hack for reconnecting with people.

Episode highlights:

Try This At Home—Why leaving the house, even briefly, has a big effect on happiness [06:42]
Happiness Hack: a tip for reconnecting with people you haven't talked to in a while [15:30]
Happiness Stumbling Block— We don't have to have an opinion on everything [21:00]
Demerits and Gold Stars: Gretchen’s Demerit: Leaving her shoe in a cab—Gold Star to the cab company! Elizabeth’s Gold Star: Dinner at the Garland Hotel [23:56]

Mentioned in this episode:

Plot Twist: Life, Craft, and the Messy First Draft by Harlan Coben — upcoming book club pick
Kate Bowler's "Everything Happens" newsletter
Free 7-Day Email Challenge: Boost Your Energy Through Movement
Blacktail by Scott Hawkins (Amazon, Bookshop)

Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com
Website: gretchenrubin.com
Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft
Learn more about Gretchen's Four Tendencies personality framework and take the free quiz.

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify — it helps other listeners find the show!
Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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