The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

Cats have a reputation for being aloof, independent, and sometimes downright indifferent to their human companions. But what if we've been getting cats all wrong? In honor of National Cat Day, Dr. Laurie is joined by cat behavior expert Dr. Kristyn Vitale to explore the surprising science of our relationships with cats. They unpack what cats really think about their human caregivers, how our feline friends can boost our happiness and wellbeing, and what we can do to make their lives happier, too. Experts Mentioned: Kristyn Vitale, Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and internationally recognized expert in cat behavior and the cat-human relationship John Bowlby, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and founder of attachment theory Mary Ainsworth, developmental psychologist and creator of the Strange Situation assessment Harry Harlow, University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher and former director of their Primate Laboratory  Karen McComb, Emeritus Professor of Animal Behaviour and Cognition at the University of Sussex  Wendy Berry Mendes, Professor of Psychology at Yale University Mikel Maria Delgado, animal behavioural scientist  Resources Mentioned: “Social interaction, food, scent or toys? A formal assessment of domestic pet and shelter cat (Felis silvestris catus) preferences,” by Kristyn Vitale, Lindsay Mehrkam, and Monique Udell (Behavioural Processes, 2017) “The quality of being sociable: The influence of human attentional state, population, and human familiarity on domestic cat sociability,” by Kristyn Vitale and Monique Udell (Behavioural Processes, 2019) “Attachment bonds between domestic cats and humans,” by Kristyn Vitale, Alexandra Behnke, and Monique Udell (Current Biology, 2019) “The Development of Affectional Responses in Infant Monkeys,” by Harry Harlow and Robert Zimmermann (Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 1958) “Attachment, Exploration, and Separation: Illustrated by the Behavior of One-Year-Olds in a Strange Situation,” by Mary Ainsworth and Silvia Bell (Child Development, 1970) “Maternal Care and Mental Health,” by John Bowlby (Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 1951) “The cry embedded within the purr,” by Karen McComb, Anna Taylor, Christian Wilson, Benjamin Charlton (Current Biology, 2009) — Thank you to Professor McComb and her team for letting us include the solution purr audio in this episode! “Cardiovascular reactivity and the presence of pets, friends, and spouses: the truth about cats and dogs,” by Karen Allen, Jim Blascovich, and Wendy Mendes (Psychosomatic Medicine, 2002) “Social referencing and cat-human communication,” by Isabella Merola, Martina Lazzaroni, Sarah Marshall-Pescini, and Emanuela Prato-Previde (Animal Cognition, 2015) “Cats (Felis silvestris catus) read human gaze for referential information,” by Péter Pongrácz, Julianna Szulamit Szapu, and Tamás Faragó (Intelligence, 2019) “Domestic cats (Felis catus) discriminate their names from other words,” by Atsuko Saito, Kazutaka Shinozuka, Yuki Ito, and Toshikazu Hasegawa (Scientific Reports, 2019)  “The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat–human communication,” by Tasmin Humphrey, Leanne Proops, Jemma Forman, Rebecca Spooner, and Karen McComb (Scientific Reports, 2020) Play with Your Cat!, by Mikel Maria Delgado (2024) “Cat School” — Youtube channel “Positive Reinforcement Training Educational Toolkit,” by Feline Veterinary Medical Association (2026)  Maueyes — Educational resources  Related Episodes: “Let Slip the Dogs of More Happiness” “How Dogs Changed my Life (with The Dogist)” “‘Birds Are Like My Afternoon Martini’ (Birding with Lili Taylor)” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For most of human history, we only had one way to talk to one another: our voices. Today, we have more ways to communicate than ever before. We can text, call, send a video message, reach out over social media, et cetera. And we often choose whichever option seems easiest or least awkward. But research suggests that how we choose to communicate matters much more than we realize and can have a surprising impact on how well we understand one another and how connected we feel. In a live conversation recorded at the World Happiness Summit at SXSW, Dr. Laurie speaks with psychologist Nick Epley about the common mistakes we make when communicating in the modern world — and the small changes that could help us connect more meaningfully with the people around us. His new book, A Little More Social, is available now. Experts Mentioned: Nicholas Epley, Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Bronisław Malinowski, Polish anthropologist and ethnologist Resources Mentioned: A Little More Social: How Small Choices Create Unexpected Happiness, Health, and Connection, by Nick Epley (2026) “Hello, stranger? Pleasant conversations are preceded by concerns about starting one,” by Juliana Schroeder, Donald Lyons, and Nicholas Epley (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2022) "The Problem of Meaning in Primitive Languages," by Bronisław Malinowski (1923) “Is Conversation Magical?,” by Nicholas Epley (Chicago Booth Review, 2026) “The Humanizing Voice: Speech Reveals, and Text Conceals, a More Thoughtful Mind in the Midst of Disagreement,” by Juliana Schroeder, Michael Kardas, and Nicholas Epley (Psychological Science, 2017) "Egocentrism over e-mail: can we communicate as well as we think?," by Justin Kruger, Nicholas Epley, Jason Parker, and Zhi-Wen Ng (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2005) “The Sound of Intellect: Speech Reveals a Thoughtful Mind, Increasing a Job Candidate's Appeal,” by Juliana Schroeder and Nicholas Epley (Psychological Science, 2015) “It's surprisingly nice to hear you: Misunderstanding the impact of communication media can lead to suboptimal choices of how to connect with others,” by Amit Kumar and Nicholas Epley Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2021) Related Episodes: Forget Small Talk: Go Deep Instead You’re Actually Not Bothering People Enough Why Giving is a Great Daily Habit The Surprising Case for Oversharing See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When we’re exhausted, overworked, or just going through a difficult time, our instinct is often to put our heads down and simply focus on getting through it. But those serious moments may actually be when we benefit from a little silliness and absurdity the most. Laurie explores the science of humor with comedian Chris Duffy, host of How to Be a Better Human and author of the new book Humor Me: How Laughing More Can Make You Present, Creative, Connected, and Happy. Chris shares what he’s learned about how to find humor in almost any situation — and how embracing the funny can improve our wellbeing in surprising ways. Experts Mentioned: Chris Duffy, comedian, author, and host of How to Be a Better Human E. B. White, writer and essayist  Mimi M.Y. Tse, Assistant Professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Ross Gay, poet, essayist, and Professor of English at Indiana University  Annie Rauwerda, creator of “Depths of Wikipedia” Aparna Nancherla, comedian and author Greg Bryant, Professor of Communication at UCLA Adam Mastroianni, experimental psychologist and author Resources Mentioned: Humor Me: How Laughing More Can Make You Present, Creative, Connected, and Happy, by Chris Duffy (2026) How to Be a Better Human, TED podcast hosted by Chris Duffy “The impression management benefits of humorous self-disclosures: How humor influences perceptions of veracity,” by T. Bradford Bitterly and Maurice Schweitzer (Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2019) “The effect of a pratfall on increasing interpersonal attractiveness,” by Elliot Aronson, Ben Willerman, and Joanne Floyd (Human Learning and Thinking, 1966) “Humor Therapy: Relieving Chronic Pain and Enhancing Happiness for Older Adults,” Mimi Tse, Anna Lo, Tracy Cheng, Eva Chan, Annie Chan, and Helena Chung (Journal of Aging Research, 2010) The Book of Delights: Essays, by Ross Gay (2019) Listers: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching, directed by Owen Reiser (2025) “Depths of Wikipedia” “Hello, stranger? Pleasant conversations are preceded by concerns about starting one,” by Juliana Schroeder, Donald Lyons, and Nicholas Epley (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2022)  “The Perception of Spontaneous and Volitional Laughter Across 21 Societies,” by Greg Bryant et al. (Psychological Science, 2018) “Neural substrates of spontaneous musical performance: an FMRI study of jazz improvisation,” by Charles Limb and Allen Braun (PLoS One, 2008) “Good conversations have lots of doorknobs,” by Adam Mastroianni (Experimental History, 2022) Related Episodes: “Laurie Gets a Fun-tervention (Part One)” “The Surprising Case for Oversharing” “How To Embrace Imperfection” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most of us are familiar with this frustrating pattern: you set a goal, start off strong, but then lose motivation and end up right back at square one. Why does it seem so hard to change — even when you have a plan in place? Turns out, you may be aiming too high, too soon. Laurie breaks down the science behind this pattern with Eric Zimmer, host of the award-winning podcast “The One You Feed” and author of the new book How A Little Becomes A Lot: The Art of Small Changes for a More Meaningful Life. Eric spent years struggling to overcome a heroin addiction before eventually turning his life around. He explains why lasting change often comes from making consistent progress in the right direction rather than attempting one dramatic transformation, and shares what he’s learned about building momentum, overcoming setbacks, and finally reaching the goals we’ve been striving for. Experts Mentioned: Eric Zimmer, author and host of “The One You Feed” Steven Pressfield, author Resources Mentioned: How A Little Becomes A Lot: The Art of Small Changes for a More Meaningful Life, by Eric Zimmer (2026) “The One You Feed,” hosted by Eric Zimmer  The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield (2002) Related Episodes: "Dump Your Inner Drill Sergeant" "How to Kick Bad Habits (and Start Good Ones)" "You Only Live Once… So Commit" See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.