Arthur is an academic and writer. The former president of the American Enterprise Institute, he’s a professor at Harvard Business School and the Kennedy School, where he teaches courses on leadership and happiness. The author of 13 books — including the 2023 bestseller he co-authored with Oprah Winfrey: Build the Life You Want — his latest is The Happiness Files, a curated collection from his “How to Build a Life” column at The Atlantic. He’s also the host of the “How to Build a Happy Life” podcast.
An auto-transcript is available above (just click “Transcript” while logged into Substack). For two clips of our convo — how to prevent Trump from wrecking your mood, and how to open up your right brain — head to our YouTube page.
Other topics: raised in Seattle by an artist mom and mathematician dad; converting to Catholicism as a teen; his early career as a French horn player; meeting his Spanish wife at a young age — and not speaking the same language; the risks that immigrants take; the British aversion to striving; walking the Camino de Santiago; his mother’s struggle with depression her whole life; how half of your happiness level is genetic; Charles Murray on religion; near-death experiences; Burke; Emerson; Oakeshott; animal impulse vs moral aspiration; Nicomachean Ethics; success as a false siren; Spinoza; our obsession with screens; the AI explosion; time management; the Daily Dish and my burnout in 2015; silent meditation retreats; the happiness of having a dog; Arthur’s work with the Dalai Lama; Buddhist vs Christian suffering; my deepest fear; my HIV test; the importance of failure for strivers; Stoicism; psychedelics; the Sabbath; the denialism over death; and how change is the only thing we can count on.
Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: Laura Field on the intellectuals of Trumpism, Vivek Ramaswamy on the right’s future, Jason Willick on trade and conservatism, and Claire Berlinski on America’s retreat from global hegemony. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.
From a happy subscriber:
Just a quick note to say how much I love the Dish, and congrats on five successful years on Substack!
I’m a former journalist turned government communicator turned semi-retired consultant/newsletter writer who’s just a tad older than you are. Your sharp writing and insistence on publishing and responding to dissents should be the norm, yet it’s the exception. That’s why I’ll be upgrading to Founding Member. Your work is worth every penny!
Glad to hear you’ll keep writing the Dish while making early progress on your book on faith/religion. Very much looking forward to that! (I’m an Orthodox Christian who attends an Episcopalian church, so I can relate a little to your experience in organized religion!)
Also, thanks again for introducing me to Christian Wiman! A couple of weeks ago, you linked to a Damon Linker piece in the Stacks, which led me to a Ross Douthat article which in turn led me to Wiman’s piece in Harpers, “The Tune of Things.” It’s a magnificent read on the most important of topics.
Blessings to you both this holiday season.
Thanks. If you’re a subscriber who’s discovered a new writer or essay or book via the Dish, please consider re-upping as a Founding Member. Just click on the “Upgrade to founding” button at the very top-right of this page, and pick a price higher than $50 a year. Or, if you’re reading this page over email, click here to find the “Upgrade to founding” button. It only takes a few seconds — your payment info is already loaded.
Speaking of Christian Wiman, here’s a clip from his appearance on the Dishcast last year:
Another quick note: “No Dissent: Just a Merry Christmas! Thanks for reminding me to not despair as we live through these troubled times.” From a new subscriber:
I’ve been following you since the first Obama election and never paid before. I thought it was high time I contributed.
You can also contribute by clicking here to lock in the low price of $5 a month or $50 a year, before it goes up 20 percent on January 1. From a generous subscriber:
I hope you, Chris, and Truman are all well. Has it been five years of the weekly Dish already? Time flies. I’m proud to be a supporter from the beginning. And, being lucky enough to be able to afford it (I am very careful about subscriptions), I’ve gone you one better: $84/year ($7/mo). Happy to increase my support.
Keep up the good work! We don’t always agree; but most of the time we do. And you are always a voice of sanity in an increasingly crazy world. (And you almost never piss me off.) Be well and enjoy the holidays. Merry Christmas!
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See you next Friday for a pod discussion with Laura Field on the intellectuals behind Trumpism, and the full Dish returns on January 9.
