HAPPINESS PROFESSOR: How to Discover the Meaning of Your Life with Oprah and Arthur C. Brooks

HAPPINESS PROFESSOR: How to Discover the Meaning of Your Life with Oprah and Arthur C. Brooks

From The Oprah Podcast by Harpo

March 10, 2026 · 59 min

About this episode

Oprah and Arthur C. Brooks discuss finding purpose in life amidst modern distractions and feelings of emptiness.

What is the true meaning of your life? Does your life have purpose? Are you living a life you love? These are questions many people quietly wrestle with in a time when more individuals report feeling lonely, anxious and uncertain about their place in the world. Oprah is back with the Harvard Happiness professor and #1 New York Times bestselling author Arthur C. Brooks. They explore his latest book The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness. Arthur explains why so many people today feel stuck in what he calls an “age of emptiness,” and reveals the modern traps that can make life feel like a simulation of endless distraction, doom scrolling and procrastination. These leave people disconnected from their deeper purpose. Oprah and Arthur take questions from listeners including a college freshman caught in what Arthur Brooks calls “the doom loop" struggling to break free from constant scrolling while searching for a sense of direction. The episode also checks in with several of Arthur Brooks’ former students who share how they found meaning through serving others, pursuing achievement with intention and redefining success beyond personal gain. BUY THE BOOK! To…

People in this episode

Host: Oprah

Guest: Arthur C. Brooks

Topics covered

  • happiness
  • meaning of life
  • purpose
  • loneliness
  • anxiety
  • self-discovery
  • modern distractions

Keywords

  • happiness
  • purpose
  • life meaning
  • anxiety
  • self-discovery
  • doom scrolling
  • achievement
  • success

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Harvard, The Gorilla Foundation

Books & works: The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness

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