What does it take to flourish? We started Flourish FM to share cutting edge research from world experts on how to thrive, so you can take away big ideas and practical steps to enhance your life, the lives of others, and, ultimately, make the world a better place.
Flourish FM is hosted by Dr. Jon Beale and Dr. Nick Holton, and in collaboration with the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University, the Department of Education at the University of Oxford, and The Shipley School.
All content for Flourish FM is the property of jonandnick and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
What does it take to flourish? We started Flourish FM to share cutting edge research from world experts on how to thrive, so you can take away big ideas and practical steps to enhance your life, the lives of others, and, ultimately, make the world a better place.
Flourish FM is hosted by Dr. Jon Beale and Dr. Nick Holton, and in collaboration with the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University, the Department of Education at the University of Oxford, and The Shipley School.
Episode #76: How Immersive Experiences Lead to Flourishing, with Dr. Paul Zak
Flourish FM
50 minutes
1 month ago
Episode #76: How Immersive Experiences Lead to Flourishing, with Dr. Paul Zak
Paul J. Zak is a professor at Claremont Graduate University, where he directs the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies. He is ranked in the top 0.3% of the world’s most cited scientists, with over 200 published papers and more than 20,000 citations to his research. Paul’s two decades of research have taken him from the Pentagon to Fortune 50 boardrooms to the rainforest of Papua New Guinea. Along the way he helped start a number of interdisciplinary fields including neuroeconomics, neuromanagement, and neuromarketing.
Paul has written four general audience books and is a regular TED speaker. His latest book, The Little Book of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Living Better (2025) aims to show people how to live a longer, happier and healthier life by investing in improved relationships. Zak’s other books are Immersion: The Science of the Extraordinary and Source of Happiness (2022), Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High Performance Companies (2017) and The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity (2012).
Trust Factor applies neuroscience to efficiently build high-performance organizations by creating a culture of trust. The Moral Molecule received much attention for Zak’s discovery of the key role played by the neurochemical oxytocin to explain virtuous behaviors and happiness. Zak delivered a TED Talk titled “Trust, Morality—and Oxytocin?” in 2011 that has been viewed two million times. He also co-founded the first neuroscience-as-a-service (NaaS) company, Immersion Neuroscience.
Learn more and subscribe at flourishfmpodcast.com
Follow us:
YouTube @flourishfmcast
Instagram @flourishfmpodcast
LinkedIn @flourishfmpodcast
Twitter @flourishfmcast
Facebook @flourishfmcast
Links:
Website
Claremont Graduate University webpage
Most recent book: The Little Book of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Living Better (2025)
Other books
Six: emotional fitness app
LinkedIn
Twitter
Facebook
Google Scholar
“The Neuroscience of Trust,” Harvard Business Review, 2017
Timestamps:
[00:05:08] PlaySpan and human flourishing.
[00:09:46] Investing in relationships.
[00:10:41] Stress and bonding experiences.
[00:18:17] Strategies for improving relationships.
[00:28:55] Six high value experiences daily.
[00:35:35] Optimizing high-value experiences.
[00:39:12] Neuroscience of trust.
[00:46:27] Trust's role in flourishing.
[00:48:27] Strengthening relationships daily.
Flourish FM
What does it take to flourish? We started Flourish FM to share cutting edge research from world experts on how to thrive, so you can take away big ideas and practical steps to enhance your life, the lives of others, and, ultimately, make the world a better place.
Flourish FM is hosted by Dr. Jon Beale and Dr. Nick Holton, and in collaboration with the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University, the Department of Education at the University of Oxford, and The Shipley School.
