Researching Happy

Welcome to Researching Happy, a podcast all about the world of happiness and wellbeing research. researchinghappy.com

Researching Happy is a health podcast hosted by Matthew Iasiello, with 72 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Matthew Iasiello hosts Researching Happy, a health show with 72 episodes published.

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  Episode #71

  Is it Possible to Live Well with Cancer?

  Aug 16, 202658 min

  Matt sits down with A/Prof Hannah Wardill, who leads the Supportive Oncology Research Group at the University of Adelaide and SAHMRI, and Natalie Tuckey, a health and clinical psychologist finishing a PhD on multiple myeloma. Together they've spent the past few years taking a wellbeing skills program built for workplaces and rebuilding it for people living with a rare, incurable blood cancer. It's delivered in peer groups by specialist myeloma nurses, and it exists because consumers asked for it. Their answer so far is yes, it's possible. But not by accident, and not by waiting until someone falls apart first. What we cover: Why mental health support in Australia mostly arrives once someone is already in crisis, and what a program built for the years before that point looks like. Why specialist myeloma nurses turned out to be the right people to deliver it, and what it did for the nurses themselves. Why this program landed when similar content struggled in workplaces and universities. The friction between a flexible, individualised wellbeing program and the fixed endpoints of a randomised controlled trial. What came out of 40+ interviews about end of life, and why "fear of recurrence" might be the wrong phrase for what people actually mean. Chapters: 00:00 Meet Hannah and Nat 03:04 A PhD in multiple myeloma and smouldering myeloma 07:44 What the program is, and why it runs as a peer group 09:05 The three aims of the project 11:00 Dom, and the consumers who asked for mental health care 12:19 Why support only arrives once you're in crisis 17:14 "We already do wellbeing" 19:03 The unsung heroes of supportive care 24:52 Why this landed when the workplace programs didn't 29:11 What surprised a lab scientist about wellbeing research 34:20 Fitting a wellbeing program into a clinical trial 38:06 The participant who dropped out and still benefited 45:50 The Death Festival 52:04 The loneliness nobody talks about 55:06 Fear of recurrence, or fear of dying? Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZKJumS7dKzrB6stwsrnNV33fEd5lVe9M Join the community on Substack: https://wellbeingexplained.substack.com/podcast Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-iasiello/ Follow Matt on Substack: https://substack.com/@mattiasiello Follow Hannah Wardill: https://au.linkedin.com/in/hannahrosewardill Follow Natalie Tuckey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-t-68712035/ Researching Happy is hosted by Be Well Co's Head of Research & Translation. Be Well Co is a social enterprise by Camp Quality that focuses on proactive mental health and wellbeing care. Through evidence-based wellbeing workshops and programs to organisations, Be Well Co is on a mission to make an impact for the 5 million Australians currently languishing. Website: https://www.bewellco.io/

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  Episode #68

  068 - Flourishing with AI: Virtue Ethics and the Risks of Outsourcing Our Humanity

  Jun 29, 20261h 7m

  In this episode of Researching Happy, Dr. Matthew Iasiello speaks with Dr. Anco Peeters, philosopher and cognitive scientist at Radboud University. Anco’s work sits at the intersection of embodied cognition, virtue ethics, human-centered design, and AI — with a focus on care robots, education, and the societal impacts of intelligent systems. Starting from a prescient thought experiment about “Google Morals,” Anco explains how we’ve rapidly moved from hypothetical worries about outsourcing ethics to everyday reality with large language models. The conversation explores: The risks of de-skilling critical thinking, moral reasoning, and reflection by over-relying on AI Why friction, pushback, and discomfort are often essential for personal growth and flourishing Virtue ethics as a practical framework for evaluating AI in healthcare, education, and mental health Lessons from care robots and sex robots for today’s AI companions Practical ways to design “frictional AI” that supports — rather than replaces — human connection and development The balance between efficiency and human well-being in professional and personal contexts Whether you’re optimistic or concerned about AI’s role in our lives, this episode offers nuanced, thought-provoking insights grounded in philosophy and cognitive science. Anco makes a compelling case for human-centered AI development that prioritizes long-term flourishing over short-term convenience.

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  Episode #67

  067 - Building Societies for Human Wellbeing: Stress, Social Conditions, and Flourishing | Dr. Matthew Fisher

  Jun 8, 20261h 9mS0

  <p>In this episode of Researching Happy, host Dr. Matthew Iasiello interviews Dr. Matt Fisher, philosopher, artist, and senior research fellow in public health at Adelaide University. </p><p>They discuss Fisher’s book How to Create Societies for Human Well-being, which integrates philosophy, psychology, and public health to argue that societies must be intentionally designed to support human flourishing rather than undermine it.</p><p>The conversation explores how social environments drive chronic stress through threats to coping ability and social standing, contributing to widespread mental ill-health (especially among young people). Fisher presents wellbeing as an active process—the develo...

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  Episode #66

  066 - Time for a Reset: The Future of Positive Psychology | Prof Aaron Jarden

  May 24, 202649 minS0

  <p>In this episode of Researching Happy, host Matt welcomes back Professor Aaron Jarden, who recently moved to Perth and took on the role of Associate Dean (Postgraduate) in the School of Education at Edith Cowan University (ECU). </p><p>Aaron discusses his leadership approach, which emphasizes enabling others, and reflects on career highlights beyond metrics (e.g., student successes).</p><p>The core discussion focuses on the upcoming 12th European Conference on Positive Psychology (ECPP), where Aaron serves as co-chair of the academic committee. He is highly enthusiastic about its innovative philosophy: greater interdisciplinarity, genuine debate and extended audience co...

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  Episode #65

  065 - Are We Preventing Suicide in One Room and Assisting It in Another? A/Prof Kristin Collier

  May 10, 20261h 4mS0

  <p>We all agree that something is deeply wrong with how we die today. In many modern healthcare systems, death feels over-medicalised, isolating, and often stripped of meaning, dignity, and human connection. No one is defending the status quo.Yet on the deeply contentious issue of assisted dying, we are sharply divided — not necessarily on the existence of suffering, but on how we should respond to it, and what it truly means for human dignity, autonomy, and the role of medicine.</p><p>In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Kristin Collier — practicing internist, Associate Professor at the University of Michi...

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