Flourish FM

Episode #82: Decision-making and when to walk away, with Dr. Annie Duke

About this episode: 
 
Annie Duke is an author, speaker, and consultant in the decision-making space. She loves to dive deep into decision-making under uncertainty. Her latest obsession is on the topic of quitting. In particular, she is on a mission to rehabilitate the term “quitting” and get people to be proud of walking away from things. 
 
Annie is the author of two bestsellers, Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away (2022), and Thinking in Bets (2018). As a former professional poker player, she has won more than $4 million in tournament poker. During her career, Annie won a World Series of Poker bracelet and is the only woman to have won the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions and the NBC National Poker Heads-Up Championship. 
 
Annie retired from poker in 2012. Prior to becoming a professional poker player, she was awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship to study Cognitive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her master’s degree. In 2023, Annie completed her Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology. 
 
Annie is the co-founder of The Alliance for Decision Education, a non-profit whose mission is to improve lives by empowering students through decision skills education. 
 
 
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Links:
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The Alliance for Decision Education
Make Better Decisions course on Maven
Decision Education Podcast
 
00:00 Meet Dr. Annie Duke: Decision-Making, Poker, and the Case for Quitting
05:22 Defining a “Good Decision”: Goals, Values, and the Four Quadrants
09:14 Luck vs. Choice: Avoiding Nihilism and Leaning Into Uncertainty
12:49 Sponsor Break: The Anti-Fragile Academy
14:21 Decision-Making for Flourishing: Agency Without Illusions of Control
18:33 Quitting Well: Updating Beliefs, Identity Threats, and Mental Time Travel
28:03 Quitting, Happiness & the Forecasting Problem (Tying the Strands Together)
29:38 Why We Misread Our Values—and Resist Changing Course
30:52 The ‘Future Unhappy’ Exercise: Mental Time Travel for Better Decisions
32:42 Get Outside Perspectives (Independently): Friends, Mentors & Written Answers
34:11 Real-World Example: Forecasting Reveals It’s Time to Shut the Business Down
35:15 Why Focus on What Could Go Wrong: Optimism, Faster Pivots & Opportunity Cost
37:01 Flourishing Takeaway: Tech-Free Savoring Walks (and the Dog Rule)
43:26 Flow, Sports & Real Connection: Pickleball/Tennis as Tech-Free Joy
46:10 Wrap-Up: Courses, Decision Education in K–12, and Final Thanks

Episode #81: How to feel happier and more loved, with Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky

About this episode:
 
Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky is the world’s preeminent expert on happiness. She is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside and is the author of The Myths of Happiness and the bestseller The How of Happiness, which have been published in 39 countries. Her next book, co-authored with Harry Reis, is coming out in February and is titled, How to Feel Loved: The Five Mindsets That Get You More of What Matters Most.
 
Sonja received her degrees from Harvard and Stanford. She has been awarded many grants and honors for her research, which focuses on how and why happiness can shift over time, and how to build lasting happiness via gratitude, kindness, and connection interventions. 
 
Sonja’s work has been written up in hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles, and she has appeared on multiple TV shows, radio shows, and feature documentaries worldwide. 
 
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Links:
Website
The Happiness Files Newsletter
Elevate Your Happiness Membership
LinkedIn
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
Books
Happiness and Mindset Quizzes
Google Scholar
 
02:05 Defining Happiness 
03:56 Happiness and Human Flourishing
07:17 The Benefits of Happiness
11:56 Effective Happiness Interventions
13:55 Gratitude Interventions
21:35 Acts of Kindness and Their Impact
23:38 Connection Interventions and Upcoming Book
28:14 Understanding Loneliness and Connection
29:51 Introducing the New Book: How to Feel Loved
33:26 Mindsets for Feeling Loved
39:23 The Role of Negative Emotions
41:20 The Power of Gratitude
45:33 The Secret to Happiness: Deep Conversations
50:11 Holiday Conversations and Final Thoughts

Resilience, Performance and Growing the Good, with Sonya Looney

Sonya Looney is a World Champion mountain biker with nearly two decades of elite racing experience across 25+ countries, earning titles including 2015 World Champion and four times USA National Champion. Her unique background combines endurance sports with a deep expertise in positive psychology. She holds a Master’s in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s in Electrical Engineering with a focus on neuroscience.
 
Driven by her passion for personal growth and well-being, Sonya focuses on helping high performers navigate perfectionism and balanced striving while cultivating vitality, purpose, and resilience. Known for her infectious energy and relentless curiosity, she is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach dedicated to guiding others toward meaningful accomplishments – without burning out.
 
Through her work as a TEDx speaker, podcast host, consultant, writer, and professional speaker, Sonya brings her knowledge and experiences to life. As the host of the Grow the Good podcast, Sonya inspires listeners by diving into topics like grit, mindset, self-worth, purpose, success, and healthy striving. 
Learn more and subscribe at flourishfmpodcast.com
 
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Grow the Good podcast
Timestamps:
00:02:30 - Sonia's Background and Journey00:05:00 - Interdisciplinary Approach to Well-being and Performance00:07:00 - Defining Well-being and Balance00:09:00 - Problems with Sacrificing Well-being00:11:00 - The Role of Relationships in High Performance00:14:00 - Mastery vs. Outcome-focused Goals00:15:00 - Meaningful Accomplishment00:18:00 - Social Contribution and Mattering00:19:00 - The Dark Side of Meaningful Work00:20:00 - Balancing Vitality and Meaningful Work00:24:00 - Personal Fulfilling Goals vs. Meaningful Otherish Goals00:25:00 - Building on the Initial Model00:27:00 - The Six Striving Mindsets00:29:00 - The Importance of Belonging00:30:00 - The Role of Recognition and Self-acceptance00:32:00 - Practical Advice for Finding and Maintaining Meaningful Accomplishments00:33:00 - The Importance of Savoring and Celebrating Wins

Episode #80: The ways we respond to our environment and how they impact flourishing, with Dr. Joanna Moncrieff

Dr. Joanna Moncrieff, M.D., is Professor of Critical and Social Psychiatry at University College London, and a consultant psychiatrist for the NHS in London. She studies the effects, action, use and representation of psychiatric drugs, including antidepressants and antipsychotics, and has also written about the history and philosophy of psychiatry. 
 
Joanna has published several books, the most recent of which is Chemically Imbalanced: The Making and Unmaking of the Serotonin Myth (2025). Her previous books include The Myth of the Chemical Cure, The Bitterest Pills and A Straight Talking Introduction to Psychiatric Drugs.
 
Joanna has written for The Guardian, Daily Mail, The Conversation, Literary Review, was profiled in The Spectator and has been interviewed for Channel 4’s Ways to Change the World Podcast, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee’s Feel Better, Live More podcast, The Guardian’s Science Weekly podcast and the Evening Standard’s Tech and Science Daily, among others. 
 
Learn more and subscribe at flourishfmpodcast.com
 
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Links:
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Publications
Google Scholar
Psychology Today blog
Timestamps:
 
[00:03:04] Critical psychiatry's alternative perspective.
[00:04:10] Questioning the pharmaceutical industry's dominance.
[00:09:40] Emotional reactions to personal loss.
[00:14:00] Serotonin theory of depression.
[00:17:27] SSRIs versus benzodiazepines distinction.
[00:21:44] Biological vs. psychological treatment approaches.
[00:27:50] Flourishing despite mental illness.
[00:30:56] The role of suffering.
[00:36:09] Emotions as signals for change.
[00:42:07] Psychedelics and depression treatment.
[00:46:19] Depression's complex nature.
[00:48:38] Finding purpose in life.

Episode # 79: How to Flourish More Through the Science of Happiness, with Dr. Laurie Santos

Dr. Laurie Santos is a Professor of Psychology at Yale University and one of the world’s leading experts on the science of happiness. She is also an expert on the evolutionary origins of human cognition and the ways our minds lie to us about what makes us happy. 
 
Laurie’s course at Yale, “Psychology and the Good Life,” teaches students how the science of psychology can help us make wiser choices and live a happier and more fulfilling life. It’s the most popular class ever taught at Yale, with almost one out of four students enrolled. It has been featured in media outlets including the New York Times, [and] NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, GQ Magazine and Slate. The publicly available online version of the class, called “The Science of Well-Being,” has attracted more than 4 million learners worldwide.
 
Laurie has won numerous awards, both for her science and teaching. She was recently voted one of Popular Science Magazine’s “Brilliant 10” young minds and was named in Time Magazine as a “Leading Campus Celebrity.” Her podcast, The Happiness Lab, is a top-3 Apple podcast which has attracted over 100 million downloads.
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Links:
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Yale webpage
Yale course: “The Science of Well-Being” (publicly available version of the most popular class in Yale’s history)
Podcast: The Happiness Lab
Google Scholar
Recent article: “Laurie Santos’ Pursuit of Happiness,” The New Yorker, March 19, 2025
Instagram
LinkedIn
YouTube
TikTok
Facebook
Twitter
Timestamps:
[00:02:46] Definition of happiness.
[00:04:09] Balancing affective and cognitive happiness.
[00:06:57] Happiness in vs. Happiness with.
[00:10:25] Misunderstandings about happiness.
[00:12:27] Evolutionary perspective on happiness.
[00:16:09] Happiness is within our control.
[00:19:08] Pursuing happiness the wrong way.
[00:23:14] Misguided happiness metrics.
[00:31:40] Social comparison and happiness.
[00:35:25] College student mental health crisis.
[00:39:05] Changing thought patterns for happiness.
[00:45:06] Parenting practices and discomfort.
[00:48:10] Practical steps for happiness.

Episode #78: Understanding High Functioning Depression with Dr. Judith Joseph

Dr. Judith Joseph MD, MBA is a world-renowned, board-certified psychiatrist and researcher specializing in mental health and trauma. She is the founder and chief investigator at New York City’s premier clinical research base, Manhattan Behavioral Medicine, assistant professor in child and adolescent psychiatry at New York University, and chair of the Women in Medicine Board at Columbia University. 
 
Judith conducted the world’s first peer-reviewed clinical research study on high functioning depression in her laboratories. She recently published her instant national bestselling book based on her findings from this study, High Functioning: Overcome Your Hidden Depression and Reclaim Your Joy (2025). She has become the world’s leading voice on high functioning depression.
 
Judith received a 2023 Congressional Proclamation from the US house of representatives for her social media advocacy and research in mental health. She has received several awards, including Share Care Awards in 2020 and 2023 for her MedCircle series on PTSD and a Good Morning America investigative special on ADHD. In 2025, Judith was featured as a
Mental Health Thought Leader on CNN’s Game Changers series. She has written for or been quoted in media outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post and Forbes, and has been featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show, Oprah Daily and more. 
 
Learn more and subscribe at flourishfmpodcast.com
 
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Links:
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Book: High Functioning: Overcome Your Hidden Depression and Reclaim Your Joy (Penguin Random House, 2025)
Podcast: The Vault with Dr. Judith
High Functioning Depression and Anhedonia quizzes
Psychology Today page
Google Scholar
Instagram
LinkedIn
YouTube
TikTok
Facebook
 
 
Timestamps:
 
[00:02:19] Understanding high functioning depression.
[00:09:06] High functioning depression explained.
[00:14:05] Anhedonia and trauma connection.
[00:19:28] Pathologically productive behaviors.
[00:20:44] Joy and technology's impact.
[00:25:17] Joy vs. pleasure in happiness.
[00:28:46] The hedonic treadmill explained.
[00:32:45] Awareness of anhedonia in therapy.
[00:35:43] Role of gratitude in healing.
[00:39:49] Gratitude practices for mental health.
[00:42:39] Tapping into your values.
[00:45:38] Overcoming hidden depression.

Episode #77: How Psychological Richness Helps Us Flourish, with Dr. Shigehiro Oishi

Shigehiro Oishi, Ph.D., is the Marshall Field IV Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago, and a leader in the study of happiness, psychological well-being, the experience of a meaningful life and cultural psychology. He has published over 200 journal articles and book chapters with over 100,000 citations. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and won the 2017 Society of Experimental Social Psychology Career Trajectory Award, the 2018 Carol and Ed Diener Award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and the 2021 Outstanding Achievement Award for Advancing Cultural Psychology. 
 
Shigehiro’s research focuses on culture, social ecology, and well-being. His most recent book is Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life (Penguin Random House, 2025). His research lab is particularly interested in investigating questions about the concept of well-being, such as “What is a good life?”, the predictors of well-being, such as “What are the predictors of a good life?”, and the consequences of well-being, such as “Are there benefits to a happy/meaningful/psychologically rich life?”. He is also interested in how the concepts, predictors, and consequences of well-being might differ across cultures. 
 
Shigehiro’s research also explores socio-ecological conditions that are detrimental or conducive to well-being, such as income inequality, residential mobility, and walkability. Currently, he is focusing on the effects of economic inequality and residential mobility on the well-being of individuals and communities. 
 
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Links:
University of Chicago webpage
Book: Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life (Penguin Random House, 2025)
Article: “A Psychologically Rich Life: Beyond Happiness and Meaning” (Psychological Review, 2021, with Erin Westgate) 
Google Scholar
LinkedIn
Twitter (X) 
Timestamps:
 
00:01:00 - Anticipation for the Conversation
Hosts express their excitement about the conversation and discuss the relevance of psychological richness.
00:02:09 - Defining a Good Life
Dr. Oishi discusses the empirical consensus on what constitutes a good life, including subjective well-being and meaningful life.
00:07:11 - Psychological Richness Defined
Dr. Oishi defines psychological richness and provides examples of experiences that contribute to it.
00:08:49 - Distinguishing Meaning from Richness
Discussion on how psychological richness differs from a meaningful life and the role of perspective-changing experiences.
00:11:34 - Personal Experiences and Psychological Richness
Hosts share personal experiences that resonate with the concept of psychological richness.
00:13:10 - Values and Psychological Richness
Dr. Oishi explains how different value orientations can lead to the pursuit of psychological richness.
00:19:05 - Biological Predispositions and Values
Discussion on the role of biological predispositions and upbringing in shaping values and the pursuit of psychological richness.
00:26:39 - Flourishing and Its Relationship with Happiness, Meaning, and Richness
Dr. Oishi's perspective on flourishing and how it can be achieved through happiness, meaning, or psychological richness.
00:30:08 - Obituary Study on Flourishing Lives
Findings from a study analyzing obituaries to identify lives that were happy, meaningful, and psychologically rich.
00:32:00 - Regrets and Psychological Richness
Research findings on how undoing life's biggest regrets could lead to a more psychologically rich life.
00:36:22 - Preference for Security Over Adventure
Discussion on why people might prefer security and stability over the adventurous pursuit of psychological richness.
00:41:35 - Criteria for Psychological Richness
Dr. Oishi explains the threshold for an experience to be considered psychologically rich.
00:43:35 - Emotional Complexity in Psychological Richness
The relationship between psychological richness and the experience of both positive and negative emotions.
00:44:17 - Practical Steps for a Psychologically Rich Life
Dr. Oishi shares practical advice for living a more psychologically rich life, including being playful and saying yes to new experiences.
00:48:24 - Flourishing Question
Dr. Oishi's advice on flourishing, emphasizing the importance of saying yes to new experiences.
00:49:00 - Conclusion and Contact Information
Closing remarks, where to find more about Dr. Oishi's work, and current research focus.
 

Episode #76: How Immersive Experiences Lead to Flourishing, with Dr. Paul Zak

Paul J. Zak is a professor at Claremont Graduate University, where he directs the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies. He is ranked in the top 0.3% of the world’s most cited scientists, with over 200 published papers and more than 20,000 citations to his research. Paul’s two decades of research have taken him from the Pentagon to Fortune 50 boardrooms to the rainforest of Papua New Guinea. Along the way he helped start a number of interdisciplinary fields including neuroeconomics, neuromanagement, and neuromarketing. 
 
Paul has written four general audience books and is a regular TED speaker. His latest book, The Little Book of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Living Better (2025) aims to show people how to live a longer, happier and healthier life by investing in improved relationships. Zak’s other books are Immersion: The Science of the Extraordinary and Source of Happiness (2022), Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High Performance Companies (2017) and The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity (2012). 
 
Trust Factor applies neuroscience to efficiently build high-performance organizations by creating a culture of trust. The Moral Molecule received much attention for Zak’s discovery of the key role played by the neurochemical oxytocin to explain virtuous behaviors and happiness. Zak delivered a TED Talk titled “Trust, Morality—and Oxytocin?” in 2011 that has been viewed two million times. He also co-founded the first neuroscience-as-a-service (NaaS) company, Immersion Neuroscience.
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Links:
Website
Claremont Graduate University webpage
Most recent book: The Little Book of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Living Better (2025)
Other books
Six: emotional fitness app
LinkedIn
Twitter
Facebook
Google Scholar
“The Neuroscience of Trust,” Harvard Business Review, 2017
Timestamps:
[00:05:08] PlaySpan and human flourishing.
[00:09:46] Investing in relationships.
[00:10:41] Stress and bonding experiences.
[00:18:17] Strategies for improving relationships.
[00:28:55] Six high value experiences daily.
[00:35:35] Optimizing high-value experiences.
[00:39:12] Neuroscience of trust.
[00:46:27] Trust's role in flourishing.
[00:48:27] Strengthening relationships daily.
 

Episode #75: AI and Flourishing with Dr. Michael Mannino

Michael Mannino, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist, AI expert, educator, and philosopher, whose work sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence, ethics, neuroscience, and optimal human performance. He holds a Ph.D. in Computational Cognitive Neuroscience, an M.A. in Philosophy, and a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Science. He is an adjunct professor, and has taught AI ethics, cognitive psychology, critical thinking, and applied neuroscience. 
Michael has led multiple initiatives focused on the responsible development, education, and application of AI, including serving as the Director of AI Center at Miami Dade College, and the Director of Programs at the Institute for Data Science and Computing at University of Miami. He also served as the Chief Science Officer at the Flow Research Collective, founded by Steven Kotler, where he researched the science that underscores ultimate human performance, flow, and well-being. 
Michael’s current work integrates brain science, technology, and systems thinking to optimize team performance. What drives his work is a belief in human potential and consciousness – particularly how science and technology can be used to expand it responsibly.
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Timestamps:
[00:01:15] AI and human flourishing.
[00:05:06] Definition of human flourishing.
[00:09:01] AI in mental health therapy.
[00:14:45] AI as a therapeutic tool.
[00:18:34] AI's impact on parenting.
[00:21:38] Human flourishing and AI impact.
[00:28:37] Cognitive offloading.
[00:32:11] Impact of AI on learning.
[00:35:25] AI-assisted personal flourishing plan.
[00:41:52] AI ethics and responsibility.

Episode #74: Flourishing and Psychological Strengths, with Dr. David Radosevich

David Radosevich, Ph.D., is a psychologist and coach specializing in high performance, leadership, and team culture. He is an associate professor of management for the Austin E. Cofrin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay. He is also co-founder of Flow Prone, a flow and high performance training and coaching organization. 
 
David has published peer-reviewed articles in leading academic journals and chapters in #1 international bestselling books. He works with C-suite leaders of Fortune 500 companies, and coaches individuals and leaders to enhance their leadership, teamwork, and emotional intelligence.
 
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Links:
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Flow Lab
Publications
 
Timestamps:
[00:02:12] Defining flourishing.
[00:07:16] Psychological strengths and flourishing.
[00:11:49] Protective and promotive strengths.
[00:14:06] Self-efficacy and burnout prevention.
[00:19:06] Flourishing and anti-fragility contrast.
[00:20:27] Anti-fragility in mental performance.
[00:25:04] Self-talk and self-efficacy.
[00:28:56] Assessing optimism in individuals.
[00:31:48] Importance of optimism for flourishing.
[00:33:58] Gratitude-forward exercises.
[00:38:39] Flourishing as a daily activity.
[00:40:41] Psychological strengths in flourishing.