Speaker
Researcher
Podcast Host
Dr. Laurie Santos

Yale professor and host of The Happiness Lab podcast, Laurie helps people improve their well-being with the science of happiness.

An expert on human cognition and happiness

Laurie is the Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon Professor of Psychology and Head of Silliman College at Yale University.

In addition to her work on the evolutionary origins of human cognition, Laurie is an expert on the science of happiness and the ways in which our minds lie to us about what makes us happy. Her Yale course, Psychology and the Good Life, teaches students how the science of psychology can provide important hints about how to make wiser choices and live a life that’s happier and more fulfilling. The class became Yale’s most popular course in over 300 years, with almost one out of four students enrolled. Her course has been featured in the New York Times, NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, GQ Magazine, Slate and O! Magazine. The online version of the class—The Science of Well-Being on Coursera.org—has attracted more than 4 million learners from around the world. A winner of numerous awards both for her science and teaching, she was recently voted as 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 100+ million downloads since its launch.

"We’re not doing our jobs educationally if 60% of students are overwhelmingly anxious," Santos comments, highlighting the need for addressing mental health through education.

— Hannah Whitaker, TIME
"Within three days [of opening registration], about 1,200 students, or nearly one-fourth of Yale undergraduates, were enrolled. Dr. Santos said in an interview, 'Students want to change, to be happier themselves, and to change the culture here on campus... we’re actually seeding change in the school’s culture.'"

— David Shimer, The New York Times
"Big Bird is having a rotten day... Luckily, he has a great new friend to help him deal with this feeling – Dr. Laurie Santos, the professor behind Yale’s happiness course... 'Big feelings like disappointment don’t go away quickly,' she tells him. 'But there are things we can do...'"

— Hollie Richardson, The Guardian
"'Why are there so many happiness books and other happiness stuff and people are still not happy?' asks Santos, who is 46. 'Because it takes work! Because it’s hard!'"

— David Marchese, The New York Times