Happiness: history of an emotion

King Philip Augustus of France was the Plantagenets’ ultimate enemy. A ruler with an iron fist and sharp political instincts, he consistently exploited the squabbles of the English dynasty, all while transforming France into a dominant power in Western Europe. Speaking to Emily B ...  Show more

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 'Little House' books have captivated generations with tales of family, hardship and survival on the American frontier. But how closely did Wilder’s fiction reflect her real childhood – and what should we make of its more controversial portrayals? In this ep ...  Show more

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss whether 'happiness' means living a life of pleasure, or of virtue. It is an old question, and the Roman poet Horace attempted to answer it when he wrote; 'Not the owner of many possessions will you be right to call happy: he more rightly deserves t ...  Show more

The words we use to describe our emotions affect how we feel, says historian Tiffany Watt Smith, and they've often changed (sometimes very dramatically) in response to new cultural expectations and ideas. Take nostalgia, for instance: first defined in 1688 as an illness and consi ...  Show more

Do we ever stop to wonder where our moments of joy and happiness come from during our daily routine? Today's podcast episode aims to explore this thought-provoking question. We're taking a break from the usual rush to understand our emotions better. We'll find out that the sourc ...  Show more

In this episode, Rebecca and Mike, an anthropologist, discusses the topic of happiness and its relationship to humans as a species. The conversation touches on the evolution of humans and their pursuit of happiness. The concept of happiness is explored, including a discussion on ...  Show more