Arthur Brooks on Optimism, Boredom and How Phones Ruin Our Brains

On this week’s episode of Glass Half Full With Craig Melvin, Harvard professor and happiness expert Arthur Brooks sits down for a wide-ranging conversation about how to live a life of purpose, optimism and fulfillment. Brooks reveals the simple habits he believes support meaning, explains why boredom plays a critical role in restoring it, and details how falling into the “striver’s trap,” the lifelong habit of trying to earn the love you already have, can undermine the happiness of high achievers.

Glass Half Full is a new podcast from TODAY’s Craig Melvin. Each week, Craig sits down with a celebrity, athlete, comedian or just plain fascinating person for intimate conversations that feel like catching up with an old friend. With warmth, humor, and curiosity, he explores how setbacks become breakthroughs — and how you never really know when that moment can become the moment that changes.

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