Imagine that after work, a woman decides to take her dog to the park. Although rules mandate that pets must be leashed at this hour, she decides it will be fine to let her dog roam freely since the park is mostly empty. Before long, the dog becomes distracted by a group walking across the park and dashes toward them.

Horrified, the woman worries the dog will jump on t...

A simple experiment turning a parking space into a parklet reveals how small changes to public spaces can spark connection, belonging, and awe.

I’m one of those freaks who genuinely enjoys dating. Not because I typically get what I want (believe me, I don’t), but because I see dating as a transformative and educational process—one that has the power to lead us into greater authenticity and intimacy with ourselves and others.

The realization that dating can be a valuable activity in...

My husband, Don, will talk to anyone. In line at a store, on a plane, in a parking lot; it doesn’t matter where we’re at, he’ll engage. In fact, I have my current job because he was gregarious enough to ask two strangers sitting next to us in a restaurant to join our table. One of them was Dacher Keltner, the Greater Good Science Center’s founding director.

Despite se...

When I moved my family of four—husband and two daughters, seven and nine at the time—in with my parents, I knew that I was taking on a lot.

I also knew that I wasn’t alone. In fact, one in four adults in their 40s and 50s are doing “sandwich generation caregiving.” By 2030, all Boomers will be over 65, and even more of us will be taking care of kids and aging parents...