You can never have enough happiness in your life (especially in this post-pandemic world), and the best happy podcasts on the planet promise to throw open the windows and let the sunshine in. Sometimes that sunshine comes in the form of beautiful meals, terrible movies, and absurd football-centric comedy, but beggars can’t be choosers. These hilarious podcasts are here to bring more happiness into your everyday life. Load up these old and new episode podcasts, get ready for that sunshine, and live happy.
Unfortunately, the path to happiness isn’t as simple as acquiring things and letting satisfaction do the job. There is a science to this, a process, and the best way to get to grips with it is to enter the happiness lab and let Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos get to work. The Happiness Lab is a podcast about the science of happiness, what it means to be truly happy in one’s own life, and the proof is in the pudding. In this case, the pudding is inspiring stories and the latest scientific research, a charming mixture of ideas and experience, perfect for putting a smile on your face.
Yale Professor Dr. Laurie Santos’ psychology course is the most popular class in the university’s long and storied history, so this doctor knows exactly what she is talking about.
It might sound somewhat counterintuitive, but success and happiness are as much to do with failure as getting everything right. A podcast about failure might not sound like the cheeriest of prospects but sleep on Elizabeth Day’s charm at your peril; this is a celebration of life and all the ups and downs that it throws at us, with some of the biggest names around the world sharing the times they got it wrong. How to Fail with Elizabeth Day is the best friend of the podcasting world, an arm around the shoulder in times of need, a pick-me-up that dives deep into why getting things disastrously wrong is sometimes the best way to get them right.
Fearne Cotton has been a popular figure in British music media since the ’90s, so it stands to reason that the London-born TV and radio presenter would have a long list of celebrity friends to call on for a podcast. What’s best is that she has used this power for good, interviewing everyone from Will Young to Dr. Rangan Chatterjee in search of their happy place. Happy Place with Fearne Cotton is a celebration of happiness in its most unbridled form, told through the lens of ultimate positivity and candid chatter. Happiness means different things to different people, but its impact is often the same worldwide.
Speaking of Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, the British physician with over 20 years of experience, his podcast focuses on the individual and his attempt to simplify mental health. This doesn’t need to be complicated, after all. Bestselling author, Dr. Chatterjee is one of the most influential practitioners in the UK. He backs up that expertise with a convivial quality that simply cannot be manufactured. Feel Better, Live More builds on the success of his internationally bestselling books, looking to broaden smiles and lengthen lives. Life is to be lived and we should be free to live happily. Dr. Chatterjee is here to help us all out with simple life hacks and expert advice on feeling better.
Alison Hammond is just about as infectious as television personalities get. It's rare moments when her joyful smile and brilliant laugh don’t light up any screen she finds herself on. So, it isn’t a great shock then to learn that Hammond brings the energy and excitement to My Life in TV, a podcast that sees the Big Brother contestant turned television darling sit down for a candid chat with favourite faces from TV history. The subject at the heart of the podcast? TV shows from childhood to the binge-worthy dramas of the modern age. The whole thing is refreshingly human. Filled with the sorts of conversations that pepper pub talk daily, only this time it is the actors gushing about their new favourites.
Few podcasts have given the world as much side-splitting laughter and hilariously awkward conversation as My Dad Wrote a Porno. This original podcast is exactly what the title suggests it might be. It is such a bizarre premise for a podcast, but it works beautifully; Jamie Morton discovered that his father had written a piece of erotic literature. He decided to read it to the world in an award-winning podcast that has redefined self-deprecating comedy in the audio world. Each episode focuses on a different chapter. It is all every bit as awkward as you assume, not to mention downright hilarious, and guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
Dear Joan and Jericha is an absolute riot of a podcast. It is a wildly informative show built around everywomen, Joan Damry and Jericha Domain, with more than 30 years of life coaching, sports journalism, and psycho-genital counselling. If that hasn’t already got you smiling, this might not be the comedy podcast for you. That would be a shame because Dear Joan and Jericha is tremendous from the beginning, a real treasure from the combined comic minds of Julia Davis and Vicki Pepperdine.
Against all odds, some people on this planet remain disastrously single. Nicole Byer is one such catch, eternally alone on the romantic plain despite being just about as eligible a bachelorette as possible. It has been like this for decades, too. Why Won’t You Date Me? is modern comedy podcasting at its finest, as the American comedian and Netflix star interviews a different co-host every week in search of the answer to the question posited in the title. Podcasts about dating can often be overwrought and filled with unnecessary advice, but not this one. Why Won’t You Date Me? is hilarious. Romantic self-help in the most awkwardly brazen fashion? That sounds about right.
What do you get when you bring a flame-haired bisexual menace and self-professed drag trash together to take a deep dive into the culture of their respective childhoods? You get a tremendously funny podcast, that’s what. A pop culture phenomenon guaranteed to put a smile on any listener’s face. The Queers Gone By podcast features notorious comedy queers Caitlin Powell and Kate Butch turning back the clock to discuss everything from CBBC classics to Disney Channel icons. This is a riotous trip down memory lane that unpacks nostalgia with love and jokes aplenty. There are more than 120 episodes to dig into, so let the nostalgia flow.
It might read like a superfluous sentence, but it is the sort of thing that generally bears repeating; comedians are hilarious people. Naturally funny. That’s how they get into it in the first place, after all. Yes, most comedy shows are heavily scripted, but behind the lines lie naturally funny people who are experts when it comes to chatting and letting the conversation flow as it may. Wolf and Owl is this at its very best, a weekly podcast featuring funnymen Tom Davis and Romesh Ranganathan talking about anything and everything from sandwiches to clever dinosaurs via musicals, shiny trench coats, dangerous dentists, and more. It is hilarious, and the best happiness podcasts tend to veer that way, right?
We’ll get right to it; Birthday Girls House Party is positively hilarious. This isn’t rocket science; this is a comedy. Birthday Girls House Party sees award-winning sketch trip Beattie Edmondson, Camille Ucan, and Rose Johnson take their two loves of inane chatter and house parties and smash them together to see what comes out. Birthday Girls House Party is the result, a funnier-than-funny comedy podcast that revolves around party themes and no shortage of oversharing with a conveyor belt of charming guest stars. Every episode occurs at a different themed party, but the fun never stops with this one.
Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are British comedy royalty. The irrepressible duo have been making people laugh for decades, and the stupendous Titting About podcast is their latest gift to the world of happy places and laughter. The two series of Titting About to date have seen French & Saunders take aim at various important subjects and have a fantastic tit about them. What does that mean exactly? You’ll have to load up Titting About and listen to find out. But rest assured, you’ll spend much of the time giggling and guffawing along with these two icons of British comedy.
Bob Mortimer is a national treasure, sticking with British comedy royalty, isn’t he? The Middlesbrough-native has been a mainstay of British slapstick and absurdity for decades, and the Athletico Mince podcast might be Bob at his loopiest. Ostensibly a football podcast that has absolutely nothing to do with the beautiful game. Athletico Mince revolves around a variety of sketches and characters that could only come from the genius minds of Bob Mortimer and co-host Andy Dawson, with no shortage of leftfield laughs sprinkled throughout. An undeniably funny podcast, Athletico Mince is the sort of listen that puts a smile on your face every time, even if you aren’t entirely sure what is going on. Classic Bob.
The phrase ‘so bad, it's good’ has to come from somewhere, right? How Did This Get Made? is a podcast love letter to terrible movies hosted by Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, and Jason Mantzoukas. With more than a decade’s worth of episodes in the bank, this weekly podcast holds nothing back when dissecting the worst movies of all time, from big-budget Hollywood blockbusters to indie flicks that probably shouldn’t have seen the light of day. We’re happy they did because now we get to listen to this trio of comedians pull the films apart and make the days just that little bit brighter along the way.
Food is universal, but can food be funny? When some of the most surreal minds discuss perfect meals in British comedy, you bet it can. Off Menu is a podcast from the brilliant minds of James Acaster and Ed Gamble, and every episode sees a variety of hilarious guests stop for dinner at the Dream Restaurant. What would make up your perfect meal? You get a starter, main, dessert and more; this is a dream, but more importantly, how is it funny? Acaster and Gamble are perfect co-hosts, making this a deliciously entertaining podcast.
Where better to end than one of the most iconic funny podcasts of recent times? The Last Podcast on the Left is dark comedy at its most hilarious, as the team explores the darkest subjects on the planets and somehow manages to twist and turn them into utter hilarity. Who knew that horror could make listeners happier? In the right hands, anything is possible. The Last Podcast on the Left has been a staple of the comedy podcast world since the first episode aired in March 2011, winning awards and making people smile in horror every step of the way.
The clue for this podcast's topic is in the name. However, it can be challenging to decipher just what "good life" means in the first place. Is it about happiness? Where do love, work, and friendship come into play? And what is the meaning of it all? These are massive subjects, but Jonathan Fields doesn’t shy away from asking the big real-life questions in The Good Life Project. Some of the most prominent names are interviewed here, with special guests from Brené Brown to Matthew McConaughey and so many more. If you’re looking to understand the entire concept of happiness better and want personal growth and development through utter joy, The Good Life Podcast is for you.
The New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before, Gretchen Rubin, has brought her love for all things happiness to the podcast world. A homage to the search for a happier life, Happier with Gretchen Rubin is a love letter to all the things that make life that little bit easier, from good habits to joyful conversation. Rubin is joined on the podcast by co-host Elizabeth Craft, and the two conjure up joy like the happiness wizards they are. There are a lot of well-being podcasts that can lead to a happier life by blowing away the lows, but Happier with Gretchen Rubin is another thing altogether.