Happiness Expert Dr. Arthur C. Brooks episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 9, 2026 · 1H 53M

Happiness Expert Dr. Arthur C. Brooks

from Blocks w/ Neal Brennan · host Neal Brennan

Happiness expert, Harvard Professor & author Arthur Brooks joins Neal Brennan to discuss why happiness is ~50% genetic, why men and women fundamentally need different things from love (adoration vs. admiration), the dark triad/tetrad in dating apps, why “success addiction” ruins marriages, the psychology of comedy, the power of the “Reverse Bucket List,” why you need to be bored, how SSRIs affect creativity, Mass vs. Doomscrolling, why your personality keeps improving with age, and why suffering isn’t the same thing as pain. Arthur Brooks’ new book is called ‘The Meaning of Your Life’: https://www.arthurbrooks.com/the-meaning-of-your-life Subscribe to Arthur Brooks:  ⁨@drarthurbrooks⁩   https://www.Arthurbrooks.com 00:00 Intro 3:21 Is Happiness Genetic? 5:05 Male vs. Female Emotion 10:20 Adoration vs. Admiration: What Men and Women Really need 15:20 The Dark Tetrad: Society’s Most Dangerous People 19:38 Addiction to Being Adored 27:12 Sponsor: Superpower 30:21 Sponsor: BetterHelp 32:36 Sponsor: CookUnity 35:16 Addiction to Adoration 39:58 Building Protocols to Protect Marriage 44:19 The Happiness Scale 56:45 Going to Mass instead of scrolling 59:34 Why You Need to Be Bored 1:00:56 The Pill, SSRIs & Creativity 1:08:22 Happiness & Aging 1:17:13 Sponsor: Ultra Pouches 1:18:57 Sponsor: The Perfect Jean 1:21:15 The Psychology of Comedy 1:23:45 The Reverse Bucket List 1:31:25 Psychedelics & Prayer 1:36:18 Suffering 1:43:50 Love & Marriage Thanks to our sponsors!  Visit https://www.SuperPower.com & use promo code NEAL for $20 off your membership Go to https://www.BetterHelp.com/NEAL for 10% off your first month Visit https://www.CookUnity.com/NEAL & use promo code NEAL for 50% off your order Go to https://www.TakeUltra.com & use promo code NEAL for 15% off your order Visit https://www.ThePerfectJean.NYC/NEAL15 for 15% off plus free shipping. ---------------------------------------------------------- Follow Neal Brennan: https://www.instagram.com/nealbrennan https://twitter.com/nealbrennan https://www.tiktok.com/@mrnealbrennan Watch Neal Brennan: Crazy Good on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81728557 Watch Neal Brennan: Blocks on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81036234 Theme music by Electric Guest (unreleased). Edited by Will Hagle ([email protected]) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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