What does happiness mean and why do negative emotions matter more than we think?

In this thoughtful conversation, Gretchen Rubin, bestselling author of The Happiness Project and host of the Happier podcast, joins Steven Burns to explore what it really means to live a meaningful life. Rather than chasing constant positivity, Gretchen makes the case for embracing the full emotional spectrum - sadness, envy, regret, and melancholy - as essential tools for insight, growth, and wisdom.

If you’ve ever wondered why you’re not happy all the time, this episode is for you.

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Steve was a recently guest on the podcast Origin Stories and we wanted to share the episode with you. Origin Stories is the ultimate podcast for anyone curious about the workings of the creative mind. Each week, journalist Matthew Shaer talks to a different writer or director about the creation of a work close to their own hearts (and to ours). Nothing is off the table: not the frustrations and the joys, not the setbacks and the successes.

In this episode, Steve talks to Matthew about the creation of Alive With Steve Burns, and the learning curve involved in experimenting with a new medium. "I watched like 40 hours of Dick Cavett and then I realized that was not useful to this forum in any way," he says. "And that I'd probably be better off taking some improv classes and understanding what journalism is. Right now, it seems like it's improvisational journalism if it's anything. But I'm still flailing around in a sea of fear when I'm here."

You can listen to more episodes of Origin Stories at https://link.mgln.ai/steveburns

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This week, we’re taking a deep breath for the holidays, so we’re sharing an episode of Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know. Hasan sits down with documentary legend Ken Burns for a conversation that feels a bit like American history class — if history class were funny, generous, and quietly profound. Ken joins Hasan to talk about his new film on the American Revolution, the stories we choose to tell about ourselves as a country, and why all our dads love him so much.

It’s a warm, curious, and unexpectedly funny conversation about history, memory, and the people we turn to when we’re trying to understand who we are.

If you want to hear more episodes, follow Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know wherever you get your podcasts or head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/HasanMinhajDoesntKnowfd

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