9 Best Positive Psychology Podcasts to Give a Listen

Using a purely unscientific approach, and not considering download numbers or even reviews, here is a brief list of positive psychology podcasts that will:

• Make you laugh
• Teach you about yourself
• Teach you about other people
• Help you experience awe and wonder
• Help you question what you believe you already know about happiness
• Encourage you to live life on purpose

While each of these podcasts might not be specifically about positive psychology, they often include topics within this field. Explore, listen, and feel free to add your suggestions in the comments.

To keep things simple, the following podcasts all are available via Apple Podcasts unless otherwise noted.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our five positive psychology tools for free. These science-based exercises explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology, including strengths, values, and self-compassion, and will give you the tools to enhance the wellbeing of your clients, students, or employees.

The Science of Happiness

Two researchers from the Greater Good Science Center at Berkeley launched an uber-popular course in 2014. The goal? Teach people the science of living a happy, meaningful life.

Since that time, 450,000+ students have registered for the course. Taught by Dacher Keltner and Emiliana Simon-Thomas, students cover everything from awe and gratitude to resilience and mindsets.

Fast forward to January 2018, and the first podcast episode, hosted by Keltner, introduced listeners to what they could expect from the new show. Their “happiness guinea pigs” try a technique and report back every episode. All the while, Keltner and his team offer explanations of the research that backs up the tools.

The discussions are lively, insightful, and honest. Most of the episodes are “potato chip” length: done in less than 30 minutes. This is perfect for the average commuter.

The first episode launched on February 5, 2018, and covered 3 Good Things. This is a technique used in positive psychology that helps a person shift their perspective. It is a reflective process that opens you up to what is going well in your day.

10% Happier with Dan Harris

Interestingly, this next podcast grew out of a personal crisis rather than an academic department.

Hosted by journalist Dan Harris, 10% Happier began after Harris experienced a panic attack on live television.

He then went looking for evidence-based ways to manage anxiety, stress, and rumination. What began as skepticism about meditation developed into a long-term, empirically supported investigation of mindfulness and wellbeing.

If you’d like to hear from researchers and clinicians who translate mindfulness and positive psychology principles and theory into practice, this is the podcast for you. Each episode features conversations with psychologists, neuroscientists, meditation teachers, and authors working at the intersection of mental health and contemplative practice.

The tone is pragmatic and accessible, and episodes typically run between 30 and 90 minutes.

Frequent topics include:

• Attention
• Mindfulness
• Emotion regulation
• Habit change
• Self-compassion

One popular episode features an interview with contemporary psychotherapist, Dr. Richard Schwartz—founder of the Internal Family Systems Model (IFS) therapy system. In it, they explore the fascinating intersection between IFS and Buddhism and provide practical tips for making peace with your more challenging inner parts, with or without the aid of a therapist.

Targeted at the skeptical listener, 10% Happier occupies a middle ground between academic psychology and everyday application, presenting happiness as something incrementally cultivated through small, repeatable practices.

The Psychology Podcast

Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman hosts a show that teaches you all about the mind, brain, behavior, and creativity. With 179 episodes from which to choose, you are sure to find a plethora of useful information.

The episode Humanizing Evil explores several taboo topics like BDSM, porn, how kink is stigmatized, vegan shaming, and more. His guest, Dr. Julia Shaw, is an expert in memory and criminal psychology.

Not every episode covers such touchy subjects. Previous shows include a discussion about the neuroscience of intelligence and creativity, highly sensitive people, and the power of passion and perseverance. His guest list has included Jordan Peterson, Angela Duckworth, Todd Kashdan, Brené Brown, and Kristin Neff, among others.

Kaufman describes himself as a humanistic psychologist who explores the “depths of human potential.” His research interests focus on creativity and wellbeing. He is the author of several books, including Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization.

All in the Mind

This weekly podcast explores everything from addiction to artificial intelligence. Hosted by Sana Qadar, the Australian-based show brings leading experts into the studio to offer insights into the mind, brain, and behavior.

In the episode Controlling the chatter in your head, Dr. Ethan Kross, Professor of Psychology and Management at the University of Michigan, discusses the line between a helpful inner monologue and one that loops and ruminates.

By comparing the inner monologue’s more helpful functions—like counting sets when exercising and rehearsing talking points before an interview—to its unhelpful functions—like overthinking or hearing voices, Kross explores the line between run-of-the-mill inner chatter versus that indicative of a clinical disorder.

Other topics covered include:

• Mindset
• Mental health disorders
• Gender and relationships
• Technology use

With bite-sized episodes running just 30 minutes each, All in the Mind is a great show for those eager to learn about psychology in the context of modern socio-cultural and technological advances.

Speaking of Psychology

In September 2013, the American Psychological Association launched the Speaking of Psychology podcast. Every episode breaks down psychological research and applies it to everyday life.

The first episode taught listeners the ins and outs of teaching social skills to teens with autism. Covering every facet of a person’s psychological experience is one of the goals of the show. For example, how do mirror neurons affect empathy?

Dr. Sara Konrath explains the connection in the episode The Decline of Empathy and the Rise of Narcissism.

Other topics have included:

• Psychological purpose of nostalgia
• How memories are manipulated
• Fake news
• Healthy workplace
• Living in a lonely world
• How to find meaning in life

This podcast is broad in scope, much like the previous two. Because it has been in production for a number of years, there is a lot to learn and explore.

The Happiness Lab With Dr. Laurie Santos

This research-based program is engaging, entertaining, and thought-provoking. Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos explores all facets of happiness and wellbeing.

Her class is the most popular in the school’s 300-year history. In her podcast, together with expert guests, she discusses topics like:

• Laughter, including “canned” laughter and how it affects us
• How too many choices exhaust us
• The negative effects of grades
• How the brain gets stuck on things
• The downside to positivity

The Make ‘em Laugh episode is a great introduction to this podcast. In it, you learn how you are influenced by other people’s behavior, particularly laughter. The host also highlights research about how an inability to express facial expressions negatively affects us.

We are behavioral chameleons and experience emotional contagion. This episode explains the research around these ideas with straightforward, real-world examples.

Unlocking Us

Unlocking Us is a fantastic podcast hosted by world-famous researcher and author Brené Brown.

The podcast, which debuted in 2020, expands on Brown’s research-based perspective on emotional life to include in-depth discussions about how individuals relate to one another and to themselves. Psychologists, therapists, writers, and cultural scholars are among the show’s many guests.

Episodes center on themes like connection, trust, resilience, boundaries, and belonging, often drawing directly on Brown’s qualitative research as well as related findings from psychology, sociology, and neuroscience.

In one popular episode, Brown speaks with relationship experts Drs. John and Julie Gottman about the science of what makes love between two partners last. They break down the science of marital stability and discuss practical, science-backed shifts couples can make in their relationships to support lasting love and relationship success.

With episodes averaging about 1 hour each, Unlocking Us offers a research-informed exploration of the emotional terrain underlying wellbeing. It challenges listeners to consider the narratives they tell themselves as well as the cultural narratives that influence the expression, repression, and sharing of their deepest emotions.

Hidden Brain

This fascinating podcast explores the unconscious patterns that shape how people think, feel, and behave.

The podcast, hosted by journalist Shankar Vedantam, originated from a well-known NPR segment of the same name and has since grown to become one of the most popular psychology podcasts globally.

Its central premise is that a large portion of human behavior is influenced by subconscious mental processes. Each episode blends storytelling with behavioral science, drawing on research from psychology, neuroscience, and economics.

An example episode is titled Radical Kindness, featuring a discussion with psychologist and neuroscientist Abigail Marsh. The episode explores the science behind altruism and why some people will go so far as to risk their own lives in service of others. In particular, it asks how each of us can work with our own psychology to become more like these individuals.

With episodes running from between 30–90 minutes, Hidden Brain is great for listeners curious to learn more about the invisible forces shaping our psychology, wellbeing, and interpersonal lives.

Nothing Much Happens

Sleep is essential to wellbeing and flourishing. No list of positive psychology podcasts is complete without one podcast with the purpose of helping us sleep better.

Each episode is a bedtime story for grown-ups in which “nothing much happens, you feel good, and then you fall asleep.” This has got to be one of the best show descriptions ever created.

Kathryn Nicolai’s voice is soothing, measured, reassuring, and calming. She is someone you can spend hours listening to, but you do not need to because you will fall asleep fast. Nicolai writes all of the stories.

Best Podcast Players

There are several podcast player apps from which to choose, so explore until you find the one that fits your needs. Some offer paid features.

Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Overcast (iOS)
• Pocket Casts
• Podcast Addict
• Castbox
• Player FM
• YouTube/YouTube Music
• Amazon Music/Audible

They each offer something a little different. Some have better search algorithms to help you find niche shows that might interest you. Once you settle on one or two, you can easily add your favorite shows to a playlist. Offline listening varies.

A Take-Home Message

If you have never listened to any podcasts, this is a fabulous place to begin your journey. Podcasts and podcast players are free (for the most part) tools that encourage us to pursue a life of continuous learning.

Morning, evening, and afternoon commutes are perfect times to add them to your day. Other listening possibilities include while making dinner, relaxing by a pool, or when you are a solo diner in a restaurant.

With the diversity and variety offered by the podcasts above, you will always find something interesting and engaging to listen to and share with others.

What has been your favorite positive psychology podcast episode? Let us know in the comment section. We love hearing from you.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our five positive psychology tools for free.