"Happier With Gretchen Rubin" a Podcast All About Happiness

I have always been inspired by simple yet practical ways to provide positivity in my everyday life. I am always on the hunt for new ways to increase my happiness whether that is an inspirational quote or a social media platform all about spreading positivity, especially since the pandemic started.


I thought I had heard and seen everything there is to know about finding ways to be happy until I stumbled upon Gretchen Rubin’s podcast all about creating ways and learning tips on how to be happier.


“Happier with Gretchen Rubin”, by a writer who studies human nature and is the bestselling author of “The Happiness Project,” is a podcast that she shares with her own sister Elizabeth Kraft, who is a writer and TV producer. The podcast was created back in 2015 but their conversations are still thriving and better than ever. These two sisters give advice on ways to be happier throughout our daily lives and they talk about tips and tricks on how to form better habits.


Rubin and Kraft sometimes have guest stars like Drew Barrymore, Leslie Jordan, and Glennon Doyle to spice up the episodes and give people more examples and insights on people’s journey to find happiness.


Every week Rubin and Kraft do an episode that is under 50 minutes long. Then, Rubin does a short episode that usually lasts around two minutes, where she shares some wise words of happiness. For me the short episodes are nice because if I really want to listen to a podcast but I only have a short amount of time I can just quickly listen to Rubin’s two-minute pick me up.


One of my favorite things Rubin and Kraft do on their podcast is in every longer episode each week they give themselves a gold star and a demerit. A gold star represents something that they are proud of and a demerit represents something that happened that they need to work on. In episode 322, Kraft’s demerit was that she has been in Puerto Rico for almost a week and has not posted a single photo. Rubin gave her goldstar to their mother and father for just being great parents. This keeps it honest and shows listeners that not everyone is perfect but it is also nice to realize the accomplishments.


You can find Happier with Gretchen Rubin podcast on Spotify, Apple podcasts, and for free on the Podbean app.


In their newest episode, Episode 322 that came out April 21, they talk about how picking the right word can make a huge difference, a hack about how reading different books during different occasions can increase your reading skills, and they have the amazingly wonderful Leslie Jordan as a guest star. He is an American actor, singer and writer.


If you're like me and you always want to dive deeper into an episode, especially their most recent one, you can go to Rubin’s website. This is where you can find what they talked about in each episode, such as her most recent episode where you can find some of Leslie Jordan’s words for the wise like, “I just have a huge capacity for happiness, I don’t have many days off.”


An interview with Rubin in The Washington Post talks about how real and honest Rubin can get throughout her books, blog, and podcast. Her friend Julia Bator says, “She sort of lives out loud and she’s very narrative in her podcast and her work.” Also in the same article, her agent Christy Fletcher says, “There is something universal about what she is writing about, the ideas and the experience, that becomes equalizing.” What people get out of her writing is the same as what they get out of her podcast as well, pure happiness.


On the other hand, since Rubin is doing this podcast with her sister, they do sometimes get off track by talking about their family and catching up with each other at times. However, it is nice to hear experiences from their personal lives and see how you can relate them to your own.


In Episode 44 Rubin and Kraft interview Drew Barrymore and she captures in words exactly what I would want to say to Rubin and Kraft by saying, “ Thank you so much to both of you because you have built a temple about commercializing and celebrating the emotion of happiness.” Barrymore mentions in the podcast how she kept “The Happiness Project”, Rubin’s bestselling book, with her while she travelled the world, it was always by her side. Barrymore also mentions how excited she was to finally meet Rubin and Kraft because she has been a huge fan forever.


Not only is this a podcast about habits, advice, and positivity but a way for people of all ages to come together and embrace happiness. It is nice to know that even on days where it is hard to see the sunshine I can always turn on “Happier with Gretchen Rubin” and find my way back to happiness.




At a Glance

Happier with Gretchen Rubin
Starring: Gretchen Rubin and Elizabeth Kraft

Summary: Two sisters share practical tips, good habits, and pure creative ways to be happier and healthier.

Air Date: shorter episodes that are around two minutes long are every monday and longer episodes are every wednesday

Stream on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Podbean app

Awards: Best Health & Fitness Podcast 2016 award

Website: https://gretchenrubin.com/