KINDNESS: December 2021 podcast playlist

It’s that time of year when gratitude and thinking of others is top of mind, so we thought a playlist all about Kindness would be a nice way to end the year. Not to mention the fact that we simply need more kindness in the world these days. As we’ll hear on this playlist, kindness doesn’t have to be a grand gesture; it can be as simple as offering a hug or teaching someone a cool card trick.

Podcast Listening List on KINDNESS

Get the full listening list on your podcast player of choice using these platforms:

Storytime with Seth Rogen: “Glorious Basterds” (October 2021, 36 min)
A chance encounter with Paul Rudd at a movie theater causes formerly devout Jehovah’s Witness, Quinta Brunson, to rethink her future and embark on a new life. And telling the story to Seth Rogan, uncovers a chain of kind celebrity encounters.
Kind World: “Encore: Stuck In Transit” (January 2020, 14 min)
A 7 month stay in an airport is made bearable by a kind-hearted stranger who took matters into her own hands. Plus, the people in a small Canadian town rally around a refugee family to help them rebuild their life and business.
Live Happy Now: “Living Longer and Happier Through Kindness With Kelli Harding” (August 2019, 21 min)
A discussion with Kelli Harding, MD, MPH, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, about her book “The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness.”
Good Life Project: “Adventures in Kindness | Leon Logothetis” (April 2019, 56 min)
One day Leon Logothethis decided to reorient his life around the principle of kindness. This interview talks about where that journey led him, including the writing of his book, “Go Be Kind: 28 1/2 Adventures Guaranteed to Make You Happier” and his TV series, The Kindness Diaries.
TEDx Shorts: “How the magic of kindness sustains us” (September 2021, 8 min)
A small kindness in a concentration camp keeps a young boy hopeful.

Bonus podcast episodes:

• Health Check: “The Kindness Test” (September 2021, 33 min)
  This episode highlights a unique research project, The Kindness Test, which is led by a team of researchers based at the University of Sussex in partnership with BBC Radio 4. The aim is to learn more about how people’s attitudes and experiences might vary across different groups, and how experiences of kindness might relate to health, well-being, and other social and psychological experiences.
  
• Criminal: “Episode 119: He’s Still Neutral” (July 2019, 35 min)
  When a man puts up a Buddha in order to deter crime in his neighborhood, the project takes on a life of its own.
• My Unsung Hero: “Jackie Briggs’ Story” (October 2021, 5 min)
  A stranger notices something on Jackie’s arm, and rather than keeping quiet, she speaks up, ultimately saving Jackie’s life.
• Israel Story: “Bonus: Love Syndrome, Revisited” (October 2020, 1 hr 9 min)
  After finding out that her sixth child, Angkor, has Down’s syndrome, Chaya Ben Baruch adopts a baby with Down’s syndrome as a companion for Angkor. This starts her on a journey that takes her from Alaska to Israel, adopting more Downs’ children along the way.
• It’s All Good – A Block Club Chicago Podcast: “Episode 14 – A Missing Ring’s 25-Year Journey Home” (August 2021, 20 min)
  A South Shore Man lost his college championship ring 25-years-ago. Found 500 miles away in the unlikeliest of places, it’s back on his finger.
• The Happiness Lab: “The Kindness of Strangers” (September 2021, 38 min)
  People like helping and get a happiness boost from being kind. So how do we encourage more bystanders to intervene?
  

Recommended Books/Resources:

We’ve started compiling recommended books from the podcast playlists and from our chapter meetings on our Amazon Idea List.

• Book: “The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness” by Kelli Harding (guest on Live Happy Now podcast)
• Book: “Go Be Kind: 28 1/2 Adventures Guaranteed to Make You Happier” by Leon Logothetis (guest on Good Life Project podcast)
• The Kindness Test: help researchers learn more about kindness by taking part in the biggest ever public science project on this topic! The aim is to learn more about how people’s attitudes and experiences might vary across different groups, and how experiences of kindness might relate to health, well-being, and other social and psychological experiences.

Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something PBC may get a little something in return.

Conversation Starter Questions:

1. Have you ever performed a random act of kindness for a stranger or has a stranger been kind to you? If so, tell us about it! How was it received? How did you feel afterward?
2. What prevents people from acting more kindly toward one another?
3. Do you think that understanding the science behind the health and happiness boosts that we get from being kind will incentivize people to behave kindly or is it simply a personality trait?