January 20, 2023  3:00pm CT

Evanston Township High School is sponsoring two virtual Family Action Network events on January 24 and January 26. Both events are free and open to the public, suitable for ages 12 and up. Registration is required.

Robert Waldinger, MD and Arthur Brooks, Ph.D.
(image from www.familyactionnetwork.net)

“The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness,” a conversation between Robert Waldinger, MD and Arthur Brooks, Ph.D., will be held on Tuesday, January 24, beginning at 7:00pm via Zoom. Registration is required.

What makes for a happy life, a fulfilling life? A good life? According to Robert Waldinger, MD, and Marc Schultz, Ph.D., the directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest longitudinal biopsychosocial study of human development ever conducted, the answer is simple: relationships. The stronger our relationships, the more likely we are to live happy, satisfying, and overall healthier lives. In fact, the study, which began in 1938, and is still going strong, reveals that the strength of our connections with others can predict the health of both our bodies and our brains as we go through life.

Waldinger and Schultz’s new book, The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness, offers invaluable insights. The study has tracked the same individuals and their families, asking thousands of questions and taking hundreds of measurements—from brain scans to blood work—with the goal of discovering what really makes for a good life. Through all the years of studying these lives, strong relationships in all their forms stand out for their impact on physical health, mental health, and longevity.

Waldinger will be in conversation with Arthur Brooks, Ph.D. (FAN ’22), host of the popular Atlantic podcast How to Build a Happy Life and column “How to Build a Life.” Prof. Brooks is the bestselling author of, most recently, From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life. He is the Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School.

The event will be recorded and available later on FAN’s website and YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.familyactionnetwork.net.

Dacher Keltner, Ph.D. and Susan Cain
(image from www.familyactionnetwork.net)  

“Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life,” a conversation between Dacher Keltner, Ph.D. and Susan Cain, will be held on Thursday, January 26, beginning at 7:00pm via Zoom. Registration is required.  

In Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life, UC Berkeley professor of psychology Dacher Keltner, Ph.D. (FAN ’16) presents a radical investigation and deeply personal inquiry into this elusive emotion. Revealing new research into how awe transforms our brains and bodies, alongside an examination of awe across history, culture, and within his own life during a period of grief, Keltner shows us how cultivating awe in our everyday life leads us to appreciate what is most humane in our human nature. Up until fifteen years ago, there was no science of awe, the feeling we experience when we encounter vast mysteries that transcend our understanding of the world. Scientists were studying emotions like fear and disgust, emotions that seemed essential to human survival. Revolutionary thinking, though, has brought into focus how, through the span of evolution, we’ve met our most basic needs socially. We’ve survived thanks to our capacities to cooperate, form communities, and create culture that strengthens our sense of shared identity—actions that are sparked and spurred by awe.

Keltner is the faculty director of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. A renowned expert in the science of human emotion, he studies compassion and awe, how we express emotion, and how emotions guide our moral identities and search for meaning. His research interests also span issues of power, status, inequality, and social class. He is the author of The Power Paradox and the bestselling book Born to be Good, and the co-editor of The Compassionate Instinct. Keltner was also a collaborator in the Pixar film Inside Out. She partners with Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Ph.D. (FAN ’14, ’16), and Dan Pink (FAN ’18, ’22) to curate the Next Big Idea Book Club.

Keltner will be in conversation with Susan Cain (FAN ’13, ’22), author of the #1 New York Times bestselling books Quiet: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can’t Stop Talking and Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole.

The event will be recorded and available later on FAN’s website and YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.familyactionnetwork.net.