In This Episode
- Check out the Happier Lives Institute – www.happierlivesinstitute.org
- Call Congress – 202-224-3121
- Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
- What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
Jane Coaston: It’s Wednesday, December 17th, I’m Jane Coaston, and this is What a Day, the show saying thank you to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for deciding, you know what, I am going to talk to a writer from Vanity Fair 11 times this year and just tell him everything I’m thinking about President Donald Trump’s quote, “alcoholic’s personality, and Elon Musk’s drug use,” and oh, by the way, Trump being in the Epstein files. Nothing is off limits. I’m sure this will all go great. It did! [music break] On today’s show, unemployment surges to its highest rate in four years, which is sad. And the deadline to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies draws dangerously near, also very sad. But let’s start with happiness? I know. It’s a weird topic to talk about right now, when there is so much to be justifiably unhappy about. As I said, unemployment is up. Two-thirds of Americans have recently struggled with the rising cost of groceries. And the president of the United States has occupied his time attempting to start a land war in Venezuela, posting on the internet and blowing up the East Wing of the White House. Times are tough. It’s no wonder then that the Common Good Institute, a non-partisan public policy think tank, found that the US fell from 11th place to 24th place in global happiness rankings between 2012 and 2025. More and more Americans are deeply, profoundly unhappy, especially younger Americans. So what do we do about it? And I mean that. What can we do as individuals and as a society to be happier? Besides flipping the House and Senate. Believe me, I got there before you did. To find out, I spoke to Michael Plant. He’s the founder and director of the Happier Lives Institute, a nonprofit that researches the most cost-effective ways to improve well-being around the world. Michael, welcome to What a Day.
Michael Plant: Thank you for having me on.
Jane Coaston: So I’m a little skeptical of a lot of the happiness studies I’ve seen, so let’s start at a very basic level. What has your research led you to believe happiness is?
Michael Plant: Well, happiness is feeling good overall, but um in the science of wellbeing, there are quite a few different measures of happiness. So the sort of standard one is life satisfaction. How do you feel about your life overall? So you’re probably familiar with the idea that the Nordic countries are the happiest on earth. That’s based on this measure of life satisfaction, and then there’s a kind of experiential measure. That’s what we tend to mean in happiness in ordinary language. That’s how good or bad you feel. Those are the main two.
Jane Coaston: How do you research or scientifically analyze something that feels so abstract?
Michael Plant: Actually, researching happiness is much easier than people think. It turns out that if you want to find how happy someone is, you just ask them, how happy are you zero to 10? It’s the sort of solution hiding in plain sight. And this contrasts with how we often try and work out how people’s lives are going, which is effectively we look in their wallets and then we tell them how their lives are. And this is to generalize this to our approach to social welfare, where we think that what makes a society going well or badly is just its level of GDP.
Jane Coaston: I think to that point, as you know, we’re at a pretty tumultuous time in the U.S. A lot of people are fighting just to afford basic necessities. And you mentioned that in the UK as well. The political climate is volatile and lawmakers are not delivering fixes for the issues Americans care about the most. And they’re just screaming at each other all the time, generally on the internet. How much do things like the economy and politics play into our happiness?
Michael Plant: Yeah, so it’s an important role. What we’re sensitive to is how we feel like our circumstances are changing again, compared to our expectations. So America has been getting steadily less happy since records began where records began was 1972 the US General Social Survey. And I think I would be bold enough to say that probably part of the reason that you have your current president is because happiness has been going down over that time period. So there’s new research that came out this year in the world happiness report, which finds that when people are dissatisfied with their lives, they’re more likely to vote for populist presidents. If you have low trust in other people, you’re more likely to vote right wing populists. If you have high trust in other people, but you’re dissatisfied with life, you’re more likely to vote for left-wing populists, so that’s kind of Trump and maybe Sanders perhaps so if people felt like their lives were going better they would want to keep the status quo but if you feel like your life is going poorly then you know you’re prepared to have a swing with something else.
Jane Coaston: In a society like the US or the UK, how do you refocus on non-material things as a meter or metric for happiness?
Michael Plant: That’s a great question. So if you remember the US Declaration of Independence, what are some of the key words that we have these inalienable rights?
Jane Coaston: Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Michael Plant: Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And then Thomas Jefferson said in 1810, that human happiness and the care of life are the only legitimate objects of good government. So I think we should get back to happiness. We got sidetracked in the 20th century where we focused on GDP and the economy. But now there is a new happiness of science that really started in the ’70s. It’s grown up since. Most of the world’s wealthiest countries, with I think the exception of America, measure well-being as part of their national statistics. That might not sound very exciting, but if you don’t measure it, then you can’t capture it and you won’t make it a priority. So if we can start to put happiness first in our lives, in our government policies, then that will eventually translate to people’s lives improving, to our societies feeling more kind of civil and harmonious. So I think a better future is possible.
Jane Coaston: What do happy people have in common?
Michael Plant: Well, there are quite a few things which the research shows as the main determinants of happiness. It’s things like having good mental and physical health, having a job, having a job that you enjoy, being in a relationship, it’ll be exercise, friendship, these sorts of things. So the things we think are important are borne out by happiness research. But what happiness research does show us is that there’s differences between how important we think these things are. So income has a surprisingly low effect in happiness research compared to things like mental health, and you can capture better the impact of the human aspects of life that you would do if you were just looking at sort of standard economic measures like GDP.
Jane Coaston: And if all of that is established, you have a job, you exercise, you eat right, you get enough sleep, what has your research found that can make people actually happy beyond those essentials?
Michael Plant: Then your attitude is going to play quite a big role. So do you find things to be grateful for? Do you connect with others? Do you live a life which you feel is meaningful? So lots of the kind of current discourse around self help was the popular book ,that the let them theory is quite focused on just focus on your own life and forget about othe people and that’s really you know not what the happiness research says. Our lives are happier if we feel useful to other people and if we feel connected if we feel a part of something larger than ourselves. You can think about volunteering, participating in political activity, in work where you feel like you’re making a difference so so Jane you probably feel like you’re doing a job which matters so you can have jobs which matter. So different people search for happiness advice in different circumstances but if your life is going quite well. Uh, and you’re thinking, oh, I’m not really happy. It’s probably cause you don’t have enough meaning or purpose in your life. And getting yourself a larger salary, a nicer car, a fancier iPhone is, is only going to make a temporary difference to how you feel.
Jane Coaston: I think a question I’ve always had is are there some people who are naturally happy or naturally unhappy? Because I think that we’ve all met someone who is just kind of like, even in really difficult situations or something really bad happened, they seem to stay on an even keel and be comparatively happy. And then we’ve also met people who could be, you know, like the president of the United States, who could have literally everything he wants and then has to get on his phone and deride talk show hosts and famous movie directors. Are there just people who are just naturally unhappy?
Michael Plant: Yeah, I mean, you have differences in personality traits. There’s um links between people’s genetics, twin studies. So yeah, there is some heritability to your happiness. But you know, you can’t change your genes, but you can change how you think about life. You can change your activities. So yeah. Some people get an unfair start in terms of how happy they are and the rest of us have to work at it.
Jane Coaston: As we head into 2026, you’ve already given suggestions on how people can work towards happiness. But what would you say to people who are struggling to find happiness right now?
Michael Plant: So a couple of different thoughts. If you’re seriously unhappy, you might want to go and talk to a doctor. Mental health is very serious. There that’s more than just unhappiness. That’s a particular kind of long-lasting unhappiness. In that case, you probably want to find a therapist. So that’s if you’re like really at the kind of low end. But I would say as we’re getting into 2026, you want to think about what differences do you want to make to your life? Think about things which are actually you’re going to enjoy are going to make you happier and that you’re likely to achieve so if you aren’t a marathon runner then don’t say to yourself I’m now going to run a marathon because you’ll just end up being disappointed you should be realistic but instead you might want to think about something like what’s an activity I I think I would enjoy it but I just haven’t got around to. Like maybe you want to go dancing or you know making clay pots or drawing art whatever it is. But doing something that allows you to connect with other people and to do something where, again, it feels useful, but probably something that you haven’t tried before. And then something I would say, particularly to Americans, is that part of what’s related to the lowering of happiness in the US is that people are more socially isolated. So if you look at the number of people who are eating alone, that’s shot up in the U.S. over the last couple of decades. So ask a colleague out for lunch, try and talk to other people. Think about how you can interact with people on a daily basis, kind of improve the social fabric and I think you will find that that makes you happy and that helps other people as well.
Jane Coaston: Michael, it made me really happy, actually, for you to join me, so thank you.
Michael Plant: You’re welcome.
Jane Coaston: That was my conversation with Michael Plant, founder and director of the Happier Lives Institute. We’ll get to more of the news in a moment, but if you like the show, make sure to subscribe, leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, watch us on YouTube, and share with your friends. More to come after some ads. [music break]
[AD BREAK]
Jane Coaston: Here’s what else we’re following today.
[sung] Headlines.
[clip of unknown speaker] President Trump last week gave his economy a grade of A++++. What grade would you give the economy today?
[clip of Vice President J.D. Vance] A+++.
Jane Coaston: Hmm, one les plus. Suspicious. Job numbers are finally in, and despite the confidence exuding from Vice President J.D. Vance about the economy, data shows the labor market is losing momentum. The unemployment rate rose to 4.6% last month, the highest since 2021. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Lost 105,000 jobs in October, then gained 64,000 in November. The new data published Tuesday comes up to delays due to the government shutdown. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CNBC it’s best to squint your eyes and look at the October and November numbers combined.
[clip of Kevin Hassett] And if you do that then you’re looking at private sector gains of about a hundred twenty thousand maybe a hundred twenty one and then uh we dropped about a hundred sixty thousand government workers, federal government workers who were the people who took the buyout that uh you know we began that program in the spring and gave people to the fault of to step aside and so I think that from the private sector point of view it’s it’s just about what we’ve been getting all year it’s a solid upward trajectory.
Jane Coaston: You know, if you just sort of ignore the actual numbers, the numbers are great. President Trump echoed the sentiment on Truth Social Tuesday, writing, quote, “the best is yet to come.” Maybe in two weeks.
[clip of Vice President J.D. Vance] And after 11 months, again, the average American family is $1,000 richer than they were 11 months ago. Now, if you had $3,000 taken out of your pocket by the Biden administration, of course you’re still struggling to get by. Rome was not built in a day.
Jane Coaston: And neither was that explanation. Vice President J.D. Vance asked for patience from Americans during a speech in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. The stop in Lehigh Valley was part of a larger White House attempt to get its economic story straight, as voter frustration over high costs continues to chip away at Republicans standing ahead of the 2026 midterms. Unlike Trump, who appeared in the state a week earlier, Vance generally stayed on message and avoided calling affordability itself a hoax. But he didn’t forget the one man dying to solve the problem he thinks isn’t real.
[clip of Vice President J.D. Vance] I promise you, there is no person more impatient to solve the affordability crisis than Donald J. Trump, the President of the United States.
Jane Coaston: Vance is right. We unearthed recent footage of Trump barely containing his efforts to solve the affordability crisis.
[clip of President Donald Trump] I think it’ll be one of the great ballrooms anywhere in the world. It’s about $300 million.
Jane Coaston: Just like Vance said, rebuilding Rome, one brick at a time. The House is expected to hold a vote on a GOP health care package today. What is not as certain as of Tuesday evening is whether House Speaker Mike Johnson will allow a vote on an amendment to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, which some moderate Republican lawmakers are advocating for. The enhanced subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year, all but guaranteeing higher health insurance premiums for millions of Americans. New York Republican Representative Mike Lawler told reporters the decision not to have a vote on extending the subsidies is, quote, “Absolute bullshit.” House speaker Mike Johnson said during a press conference that Lawler fights hard for New York, but:
[clip of House Speaker Mike Johnson] The districts are different they have different priorities and and ideas but we do have there’s about a dozen members in the conference that are in these swing districts who were fighting hard to make sure that they reduce cost uh for for all of their constituents and and many of them did want to vote on this Obama care you know covid era subsidy the democrats created. We looked for a way to try to allow for that uh pressure release valve and it just was not to be
Jane Coaston: Johnson, though, appears to be a little wishy-washy on the subject. According to the New York Times, the House Speaker later said, quote, “There’s a real possibility to get a vote on it,” adding, quote, “I’ve certainly tried my best to provide for that, so we’ll see what happens.” Inspiring. Breaking news! Abraham Lincoln has been assassinated! Again. I’m talking, of course, about the decision back in November to officially end production of the penny bearing his face. Well, it turns out there’s a difference between a face and face value. Because according to Stax Bowers Galleries, a California coin auctioneer, sets of the final minted pennies were auctioned off for more than $16.7 million last week! The United States Mint said the auction featured 232 sets of three coins. Each pairing two Philadelphia-minted 2025 pennies, one standard and one made of 24 karat gold for some reason because who doesn’t want a gold penny, and then another penny from the Denver Mint. The three coin sets marked with an omega symbol to denote the pennies final run sold for an average of $72,000, with the very last set fetching $800,000. That means for three pennies someone paid the equivalent of $80 million pennies! That’s 26.6 million pennies per penny! So in 2025, a penny’s net worth is either one cent or 26.6 million cents? Huh. I guess there isn’t a middle class when it comes to the penny, either. And that’s the news. [music break]
Jane Coaston: That’s all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, learn more about an app that’s basically Tinder for cows. And tell your friends to listen. And if you’re into reading, and not just about the Herd Plus app, developed by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, which helps dairy farmers find their cows their perfect genetic match, like me, What a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at Crooked.com /subscribe. I’m Jane Coaston, and how does one swipe with hooves? [music break] What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It’s recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our producer is Caitlin Plummer. Our associate producers are Emily Fohr and Chris Allport. Our video editor is Joseph Dutra. Our video producer is Johanna Cates. We had production help today from Greg Walters and Matt Berg. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison and our senior vice president of news and politics is Adriene Hill. We had help from the Associated Press. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East. [music break]
