美国国家公共电台 NPR Paula Poundstone's 'Totally Unscientific' Search For The Secret Of Happiness

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

You may know Paula Poundstone from the smash 1 public radio hit - other than this program - Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! But she's also an accomplished 2 author, now of two books, all the more an accomplishment 3 because each book took nearly a decade to write. The latest is "The Totally Unscientific Study Of The Search For Human Happiness." And it's full of experiments Poundstone undertook to try and unlock 4 the secrets happy people must surely know. And of course, her motivations were pure.

PAULA POUNDSTONE: All right, don't tell anybody that I ever said this.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I won't say anything.

POUNDSTONE: I was hoping that the publisher would pay for the things.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter).

POUNDSTONE: You know? Like, I could do all this fun stuff 5, and somebody else would pay for it, you know, because it's research on this book.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Right.

POUNDSTONE: Boy, I could not have been more wrong about that.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter). Yeah, you spent eight years doing this, right? How many different experiments did you do?

POUNDSTONE: Well, I can't remember. There might be 10, maybe...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah.

POUNDSTONE: ...Or something like that. You know - let's see, I did one thing where I got fit for a long period of time. I mean, several months taking really grueling taekwondo classes. I went backpacking for a few nights and days with my oldest daughter. I - let's see, I spent a day hugging everyone I met. I rented a Lamborghini for a day. But there's a difference between enjoying something and something making you happy, you know?

The question was, when I left off doing whatever the thing was, what kind of umbrella did that leave me with for the inevitable 6 rainstorm of life's difficulties that come sprinkled 7 throughout every day? So the real meat of the story is, yes, I mean, hopefully they're the funniest field notes ever taken...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter).

POUNDSTONE: ...On each individual thing, but the real story is, when I was back in my regular life - raising my children, doing my goofy, stupid job, you know, a house full of animals, constant scheduling nightmare 8 - how did whatever that thing that I did bear up?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah. Well, how did you come up with these ideas? How did you come up with this very scientific study, or not so scientific?

POUNDSTONE: Well, some of them were suggested by other people. And each chapter is written as a science experiment. This one, me and my kids thought, was surefire to be the one that was really going to make us happy. My children - and I never allowed them to watch television growing up, so we decided 9 that we would try watching movies all day long, which was, like, the most exotic 10 thing that we could think of really for us.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: What could possibly go wrong (laughter)?

POUNDSTONE: We argued and argued. Plus, my tailbone began to hurt. But my son's movie tapes - I forget how old he was at the time. He might have been 13 maybe, 14 maybe. You know, he kept wanting to watch one of those horrible crashy one - "Fast And"...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: "The Fast And Furious 11."

POUNDSTONE: Yeah. And, you know, we put it on, and me and my daughters could only last so long with it before I finally had to go - you know what? - I can't watch another second of this. And he didn't understand why, like, his films got vetoed, so I finally just simplified it. I said, you know, Honey, a good film, Vin Diesel 12's not in.

(LAUGHTER)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Aw, poor Vin Diesel.

POUNDSTONE: Oh, yeah, because he cares so much what I think.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: You also tried the power of positive thinking. Tell us some of your mantras.

POUNDSTONE: Well, let's see. One of them was, I can find my happy place. I got them off the internet. I remember one of them was, my body is my vehicle, and, you know, I fill it with hope or something. And I could get as far as my body is my vehicle. But I fill it with hope was almost speaking another language for me. So I changed it to my body is my vehicle. I'll never pass the smog test.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter) So what of everything you tried made you the happiest?

POUNDSTONE: Well, I don't think it comes in huge, long stretches. And if it appears to, then you're probably daft. I think that the answer is very unromantic. I think that the answer is a lot of stuff that we kind of sort of knew but were hoping wasn't true, which is exercise, good sleep habits. You know, I wish I could tell you that there was, like, a class that you took, and then you're all set. But the truth is - and it's such a dry, horrible answer - drink water.

(LAUGHTER)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Good to know.

POUNDSTONE: Yeah.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: So Paula Poundstone, are you happier now? Are you happier?

POUNDSTONE: I think I am. Yeah, I think I am

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Paula Poundstone's new book is called "The Totally Unscientific Study Of The Search For Human Happiness." Thanks so much.

POUNDSTONE: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF JOHN SCOFIELD'S "BOOZER")

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And Paula Poundstone's new NPR podcast, Live, From The Poundstone Institute, launches 13 in July.