Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Latest Episodes:

More Happier: Gretchen on Totally Booked with Zibby Owens Jun 14, 2025

Show notes

We bring you a conversation with my friend Zibby Owens on her podcast Totally Booked. Taped in front of a life studio audience, we discuss my new book, Secrets of Adulthood, the beauty of frameworks, and why you should label your next email "confidential."

Resources & links related to this episode:

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Ep. 538: Set a Tripwire, Decide If You Need the Storage Unit & Do You Use that Gizmo? Jun 11, 2025

Show notes

We talk about why it can be helpful to set a tripwire for making a decision or moving forward. We also discuss a Secret of Adulthood that’s very relevant to the practice of keeping a storage unit (even one that’s not really needed), and a know-yourself-better question related to the use of gadgets and gizmos.

Resources & links related to this episode:

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells (Amazon, Bookshop)
Order your copy of Secrets of Adulthood
I'm partnering with Bookshop.org for Read 25 Day!
Pledge to Read 25 on June 25th and head to happiercast.com/read25day
Snuffle mats
Download The Happier app
Elizabeth is reading: Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America by Bridget Read (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen is reading: A Chance Meeting: Intertwined Lives of American Writers and Authors by Rachel Cohen (Amazon, Bookshop)

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Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Little Happier: Four Helpful “Secrets of Adulthood” for Parents Jun 09, 2025

Show notes

Becoming a parent can be one of the most transformative, and instructive, experiences of our lives. These four “Secrets of Adulthood” examine some of the most important lessons parenthood can teach us.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Open-door stage
Secrets of Adulthood
A version of this piece was originally published on the CNBC site.

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

More Happier: James Taylor, Unrealistic Expectations & Do You Love to Provision? Jun 07, 2025

Show notes

James Taylor and a new puppy are making us happier. We also explore the question of whether it’s common these days to have perhaps unrealistically high expectations from the people and organizations in our lives, from marriage to work to friendship. Plus we discuss an intriguing question: Do you love to "provision,” to stock up on essential items?

Resources & links related to this episode:

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Ep. 537: Create a Family “Familect,” Organize Your Apps & Listeners’ Great Secrets of Adulthood Jun 04, 2025

Show notes

We discuss the idea of the “familect” and why it might be fun to create a dictionary for our own familect. We also talk about a hack that makes it easier to use a smartphone, and we share dozens of listeners’ thought-provoking “Secrets of Adulthood.”

Resources & links related to this episode:

Order your copy of Secrets of Adulthood
Join Secrets of Adulthood on SubStack
Look Back with Love by Dodie Smith (Amazon)
Elizabeth is reading: All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen is reading: Modern Friendship by Anna Goldfarb (Amazon, Bookshop)

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Little Happier: Some Words from Winston Churchill—Among Other Things, He Was a Terrific Writer Jun 02, 2025

Show notes

Winston Churchill was an extraordinary presence on the world stage, and among his strengths, he had a tremendous gift with words. Here are just a few of the powerful, insightful, or hilarious observations he made.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Secrets of Adulthood
Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill
Episode of “A Little Happier on one of Winston Churchill's most famous lines
Painting as a Pastime by Winston Churchill (Amazon, Bookshop)
Winston Churchill Didn't Hesitate to Show His Emotions

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

More Happier: Parenting Roundtable with Dr. Becky and Samantha Bee May 31, 2025

Show notes

The Roundtable Series tackles the subject of parenthood. With parenting expert Dr. Becky Kennedy and comedian Samantha Bee, we discuss the most helpful lessons we’ve learned, big challenges we’ve faced, the anxieties that we sometimes feel as parents, and more.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Ep. 536: Make a Before-&-After Book, Enter the Library, and How to Deal with a Questioner Spouse May 28, 2025

Show notes

We discuss how creating before-and-after photo books of renovations or improvements can bring satisfaction and preserve memories. Our happiness hack suggests visiting your local library (or museum) for the first time; that first visit can be surprising to make. We also share listeners’ strategies for handling a spouse who asks too many questions at inopportune times.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Order your copy of Secrets of Adulthood
Read 25 in 25
Bookshop
Pledge to Read 25 on June 25th
Visit The Happiness Project shop for Father's Day gifts
Elizabeth is reading: All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen is reading: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (Amazon, Bookshop)

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Little Happier: The Surprising Origin of One of My Favorite Book Titles May 26, 2025

Show notes

I love book titles, and when I finally tracked down the book attached to one of my favorite titles, I was astonished to learn where I heard about it.

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

More Happier: Our Longest-Lasting Relationships, a New Way to Think About Our Past & a Fun Quiz May 24, 2025

Show notes

We discuss why it’s interesting to consider our longest continuous non-family relationships. We spotlight a tool for spring: the Five-Senses Quiz that helps you discover which of our senses might be neglected. Plus, we explore how authors like Stephen King shape their creative landscapes from personal memories, and how viewing the own past through different literary lenses—Jane Austen, Judy Blume, Tolstoy—can reveal new perspectives on our life experiences.

Resources & links related to this episode: