Americans Should Be Happy, But They're Not | Crooked Media
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May 17, 2026
What A Day
Americans Should Be Happy, But They're Not

In This Episode

It’s rather obvious Americans have not exactly been … cheerful for the last few years. And it’s showing up in the data – the General Social Survey, the Consumer Sentiment Survey from the University of Michigan, the World Happiness Report, and even the Federal Reserve all report that Americans are less happy than they were a decade ago. Whether that’s with their jobs, the economy, the state of the world – no matter the metric, Americans are not having it. To find out why we’re feeling down, we spoke with Derek Thompson. He’s the co-author of the book “Abundance,” and he writes a popular Substack called, well, Derek Thompson.
And in headlines, President Donald Trump is once again threatening Iran via Truth Social, House Speaker Mike Johnson talks about the administration’s priorities, and Taiwan’s president stresses the importance of arms purchases from the United States.
Show Notes:

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