When ABC News anchor Dan Harris had a panic attack in front of Good Morning America’s five million viewers, it was both a mortifying wake-up call and a career-shaping turning point. But his ensuing hit book 10% Happier wasn’t the end point of Dan’s learned experience. Now, after more than a decade, he’s moved on from television to focus on the podcast by the same name, what he calls “an ongoing excuse to ask the world’s smartest people how to do life better.”

“The animating idea of my work is that the brain and the mind are trainable,” Dan says. “All of the mental states that you want—from happiness to calm to focus—are not unalterable factory settings, but trainable skills. This is radically good news. The shows and episodes I’m recommending center around practical, evidence-based advice for training your mind.”

Dan wants us to remember three things in our quest for happiness. “First, don’t be overwhelmed by the avalanche of good advice you find. Try to view it as a menu, not a to-do list. Second, don’t take any of it on faith. Try it out in the laboratory of your own mind, and see what works for you. And third, don’t be too hard on yourself. Research shows that if you approach your goals with self-compassion—instead of an inner cattle prod—you’re actually far more likely to achieve them.”