#168 Happiness Calculator vs. Alex Goldman

The '#168 Happiness Calculator vs. Alex Goldman' episode of the 'Reply All' podcast delves into the concept of quantifying happiness through a tool called the hedonometer. The hosts, PJ and Alex, begin by discussing the bleakness of the year and their personal moods, which sets the stage for a deeper exploration of happiness measurement. Alex, intrigued by an article about researchers plotting daily happiness levels globally, reaches out to one of the scientists, Peter Dodds, a data scientist at the University of Vermont. Dodds and his colleague Chris Danforth had devised the hedonometer to analyze the happiness reflected in Twitter posts by assessing the emotional weight of words used in tweets. The tool has been collecting data since 2008, revealing patterns such as global happiness spikes during holidays and the significant impact of cultural phenomena like K-pop star birthdays.

The hedonometer's data shows a long-term decline in happiness over the past five years, with the English-speaking world losing a 'Christmas Day' of happiness. The year 2020 saw record lows in happiness levels, with the stock market crash, the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the killing of George Floyd marking some of the saddest days recorded by the tool. The episode takes a personal turn when Alex decides to analyze his happiness through his text messages. After scraping a year's worth of texts, he sends them to Dodds for analysis. The resulting report reveals patterns in Alex's emotional states, including a preponderance of negative emotions during late-night texts and a general trend mirroring the global downturn in happiness.

The episode also touches on the idea that happiness can be influenced by seemingly small actions, such as adding lemon to water, as Alex's wife does. PJ and Alex discuss their own attempts to find incremental happiness through personal rituals like taking baths or lighting candles. They invite listeners to share their own 'varsity self-care' strategies, seeking to understand and share the small ways people find joy amidst widespread unhappiness.