# What makes a Happy, Fulfilling Life? Lessons From the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness. With Dr. Robert Waldinger Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/untangle-322367/what-makes-a-happy-fulfilling-life-lessons-from-the-world-s-longest-scientific-study-of-happiness-with-dr-robert-waldinger Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/untangle-322367/what-makes-a-happy-fulfilling-life-lessons-from-the-world-s-longest-scientific-study-of-happiness-with-dr-robert-waldinger.md Podcast: [Untangle](https://stenobird.com/podcast/untangle-322367) Published: 2026-07-07T11:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://mgln.ai/e/211/rss.art19.com/episodes/f02c241a-d560-46c0-a479-3a7299c108d7.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0 Audio file: https://mgln.ai/e/211/rss.art19.com/episodes/f02c241a-d560-46c0-a479-3a7299c108d7.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/untangle-322367/episodes/what-makes-a-happy-fulfilling-life-lessons-from-the-world-s-longest-scientific-study-of-happiness-with-dr-robert-waldinger Duration seconds: 2547 ## Resource This was such a fun interview — our encore guest today is Dr. Robert Waldinger, a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, a practicing Psychiatrist, Zen Master and author of the book The Good Life, Lessons from the Worlds Longest Scientific Study on Happiness. This study, which began in 1938, reveals what it takes to build a good life. What does that exactly mean, I wondered…fulfilling, satisfying, meaningful, happy? All of it. There's no one size fits all. BUT…the one thing that was consistent? Relationships. All kinds of relationships. The quality of the social connections that we make throughout our lives means everything. He says…Human connection is our superpower. Good relationships help us get through life’s inevitable challenges, and they keep us happier and healthier. and the research shows that they actually help us to live longer. Robert reminds us that we should pay attention to the things that we really care about…the things and people that energize us. AND pay attention to the things and people that deplete us. He shares the keystones of healthy relationships — things like safety security, emotional closeness, fun and relaxation, learning and growth…and there’s more.  Resources: The Good Life is available at all major booksellers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info . ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/untangle-322367/episodes/what-makes-a-happy-fulfilling-life-lessons-from-the-world-s-longest-scientific-study-of-happiness-with-dr-robert-waldinger/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/untangle-322367/what-makes-a-happy-fulfilling-life-lessons-from-the-world-s-longest-scientific-study-of-happiness-with-dr-robert-waldinger.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.