What's Worth Living For? | Dr. Atul Gawande

A surprisingly uplifting conversation on aging, sickness, and death. Plus: why you get happier as you get older, hard-earned tips for handling tough diagnoses, and how to think about AI in your health care.

Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, is a surgeon, author, and public health innovator. He holds the Fish Chair in Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He is the Samuel O. Thier Professor of the Practice of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Professor of the Practice at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Dr. Gawande was Assistant Administrator for Global Health at USAID from 2022-2025. He is a longtime writer for The New Yorker and has written four books: Complications, Better, The Checklist Manifesto, and Being Mortal.

In this episode we talk about:

Why the best doctors ask patients what matters before choosing treatment
The simple question that reveals what makes life worth living
Why patients who get less aggressive care sometimes live longer
His father's answer to "what's worth living for" changed three times
Why staying independent and staying safe often pull in different directions
Research showing people get emotionally calmer, not sadder, as they age
What happened when the U.S. shut down its global health aid programs
Why he sees AI as a helpful second opinion, not a replacement, for doctors

Get the 10% with Dan Harris app here

Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Additional Resources:

Being Mortal, the book
Being Mortal, the documentary

This episode is sponsored by:

Warby Parker: Buy one pair of glasses and get 20% off any additional pairs at WarbyParker.com/HAPPIER — and using our link helps support the show. #WarbyParker #ad

BetterHelp: Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/HAPPIER.
Notion: Learn more about how Notion can support your business, at notion.com/happier

To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/10HappierwithDanHarris

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(1090)

Neal Brennan On: Talking Back to Your Inner Critic, Why Chasing Validation Doesn't Work, and His Harrowing Psychedelic Journeys

The legendary comedian says you don't have to be tortured to be an artist, he doesn't need an index card of achievements in his pocket anymore, and even the bad trips have led to good destinations. Ne...

11 Sep 58min

Top 10 Practices for Resetting Your Time, Space, Body, Inner Critic, and Social Life | Laurie Santos and Gretchen Rubin

How to understand your tendencies and identify what's keeping you stuck. Plus: advice on treating resistance as data, reclaiming time affluence, and avoiding "procrasticlearing." Laurie Santos is the ...

9 Sep 1h 2min

The Science Of Building The Life You Want | Arthur Brooks

Plus: the benefits of a "reverse bucket list"; clear formulas for happiness, enjoyment, satisfaction, and purpose; and how to engage in the world's problems without being miserable. Professor and writ...

7 Sep 1h 22min

The Psychology Of Success | Guy Raz

A podcast pioneer on failure, resilience, luck, work/life balance, and the power of questions. Guy Raz has been instrumental in creating some of the most iconic podcasts in the world, including Wonder...

4 Sep 1h 10min

When Life's Not Working, Don't Try Harder. Change Your Situation Instead. | Angela Duckworth

How the people, places, and things around you can bring out your best. Plus, why willpower is unreliable, why AA works for so many people, and where to put your phone. Angela Duckworth is the Rosa Le...

2 Sep 1h 4min

The Science of Habit Change, Why GLP-1s are Disrupting It, and How To Use It To Have Better Conversations | Charles Duhigg

There's a three-part framework for analyzing, breaking, or building any habit. There's also a simple way to identify which ones might be "keystone habits" for you. And the surprising discovery of the ...

31 Aug 1h 8min

Sara Bareilles On: The Feelings You Fear Might Destroy You, What Antidepressants Actually Did to Her Creativity, and Why There's Nothing to Fix

Plus: her complicated relationship with antidepressants, weathering fertility struggles, and aging in public. Sara Bareilles joins Dan to discuss her new album Good Grief, a record she made after losi...

28 Aug 1h 3min