Jonathan Rauch, "The Happiness Curve"

Jonathan Rauch discusses his book, "The Happiness Curve", at Politics and Prose on 5/20/18.

As new research is establishing, we experience a “happiness curve” as we age, following a U-shaped trajectory from the bright ambitions of the 20s to the more pragmatic 40s before rising again with the empathetic joy of the 50s. Once known as the midlife crisis, the emotional trough of the 40s is more usefully viewed as an essential stage. Recounting his own and others’ experience of the slump decade as well as citing statistics, Rauch, a senior fellow at Brookings and contributing editor of The Atlantic, shows that this period helps us shift our focus from competition to compassion, and that in the process we develop the skills of wisdom, gratitude, and supportiveness we’ll need in the third stage of life. Rauch is in conversation with Scott Stossel, editor for The Atlantic and author of My Age of Anxiety

JONATHAN RAUCH, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, is the author of several books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. A recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, he's a contributing editor of The Atlantic. He has also written for The New Republic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, among many other publications. He lives with his husband in Washington, D.C.

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Produced by Tom Warren