Read the full transcript here. (https://podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/280/#transcript) • Are we trying to maximize moment-to-moment happiness or life satisfaction? Can self-reports • really guide policy and giving? What happens to quality of life metrics when we judge impact by • wellbeing instead of health or income? How should we compare treating depression to providing • clean water when their benefits feel incomparable? Do cultural norms and scale-use quirks • impact the accuracy of global happiness scores? How much do biases warp both our forecasts • and our data? Is it ethical to chase the biggest happiness returns at the expense of other • meaningful interventions? Where do autonomy, agency, and justice fit if philanthropy aims to • reduce suffering or maximize aggregate happiness? Can we balance scientific rigor with the • irreducibly subjective nature of joy, misery, and meaning? What should donors actually do with • wellbeing-based cost-effectiveness numbers in the face of uncertainty and long-run effects? And • could a wellbeing lens realistically reshape which charities, and which policies, the world funds • next? • Dr. Michael Plant is the Founder and Director of the Happier Lives Institute, a non-profit that • researches the most cost-effective ways to increase global well-being and provides charity • recommendations. Michael is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Wellbeing Research Centre, • Oxford and his PhD in Philosophy from Oxford was supervised by Peter Singer. He is a co-author • of the 2025 World Happiness Report. He lives in Bristol, England, with his wife. • Links: • The Happier Lives Institute (https://www.happierlivesinstitute.org/) • Wellbeing Research Centre at Oxford (https://wellbeing.hmc.ox.ac.uk/) • PersonalityMap (%5Bhttps://personalitymap.io/?search=Right+now%2C+at+this+very+moment%2C+how+happy+%28rather+than+unhappy%29+do+you+feel+right+now%3F) (correlation between life satisfaction and moment-to-moment happiness) • The Elephant in the Bed Net (https://www.happierlivesinstitute.org/report/the-elephant-inthe-bednet/) • World Happiness Report 2025 (https://www.worldhappiness.report/ed/2025/?_bhlid=64d9590f721c8a00d8eb2d41364e0cf96926a847) • Staff • Spencer Greenberg (https://www.spencergreenberg.com/) — Host + Director • Ryan Kessler (https://tone.support/) — Producer + Technical Lead • Uri Bram (https://uribram.com/) — Factotum • WeAmplify (https://www.weamplify.info/) — Transcriptionists • Igor Scaldini (https://www.linkedin.com/in/igorscaldini/) — Marketing Consultant • Music • Broke for Free (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated) • Josh Woodward (https://www.joshwoodward.com/song/AlreadyThere) • Lee Rosevere (https://archive.org/details/MusicForPodcasts04/Lee+Rosevere+-+Music+for+Podcasts+4+-+11+Keeping+Stuff+Together.flac) • Quiet Music for Tiny Robots (https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Quiet_Music_for_Tiny_Robots/The_February_Album/05_Tiny_Robot_Armies) • wowamusic (https://gamesounds.xyz/?dir=wowamusic) • zapsplat.com (https://www.zapsplat.com/music/summer-haze-slow-chill-out-house-track-with-a-modern-pop-feel-warm-piano-chords-underpin-the-track-with-warm-pads-and-a-repetitive-synth-arpeggio/) • Affiliates • Clearer Thinking (https://www.clearerthinking.org/) • GuidedTrack (https://guidedtrack.com/) • Mind Ease (https://mindease.io/) • Positly (https://positly.com/) • UpLift (https://www.uplift.app/) [Read more: https://podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/280/michael-plant-beyond-saving-lives-happiness-and-doing-good]
