What Is The Secret To Happiness? (Your Radical Questions with Lord Richard Layard)

What Is The Secret To Happiness? (Your Radical Questions with Lord Richard Layard)

From Radical by BBC Radio 4

July 6, 2026 · 19 min

About this episode

Amol Rajan discusses happiness and wellbeing with economist Lord Richard Layard, addressing various societal issues.

For this week’s Q&A, Amol is joined by the economist, author, Labour peer, and happiness champion Lord Richard Layard. In their previous conversation, Lord Layard outlined his radical idea; that government policymaking should be decided first and foremost by how it impacts overall happiness and wellbeing. Now, he answers your questions on the NHS and mental health, how we should measure success, the ethics of farming animals for food, and whether pacifism is the answer for how we achieve greater happiness around the world. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: [email protected] Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Monday and Thursday. Amol Rajan is a presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. He is also the host of University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and editor at The Independent. Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Rufus Gray and Oscar Pearson. Technical production was by Jonny Baker. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. The series producer is Rufus Gray.

People in this episode

Host: Amol Rajan

Guest: Lord Richard Layard

Topics covered

  • happiness
  • mental health
  • government policy
  • success measurement
  • ethics of farming
  • pacifism

Keywords

  • happiness
  • wellbeing
  • NHS
  • mental health
  • government policy
  • success
  • ethics
  • farming
  • pacifism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC Radio 4, NHS, Labour

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