Establishing Traditions, Dad Jokes, Family Movie Night

Important conversations and encouraging words to help you make every day a great one. Exercise Makes Us Happy (00:00) The question of, “How can we be happier?” is as much a part of human nature as it is difficult to answer. But what if the answer is simpler than we think? Dr. Weiyun Chen is a kinesiologist at the University of Michigan who conducted a review of 23 different studies about how physical activity can affect our happiness. We learned about her research from the New York Times. Establishing Traditions (11:37) Carrie Ann Rhodes and Lisa discuss traditions, how to start them, and where to compromise. Dad Jokes (48:47) You’ve almost certainly heard the type of joke referred to as a “dad joke”—the kind of joke that makes you groan, roll your eyes at its awful punchline, and regret the five seconds of your life wasted in listening to it. Yet for all the bad rap they get, “dad jokes” are still alive and kicking. Stanley Dubinsky is here with us today to talk with us about why dad jokes are still so popular, and what linguistic characteristics make them special. The idea for this story came from The Atlantic.com. Fighting Childhood Obesity and Negative Body Image (1:05:57) In the United States, almost one fifth of kids from ages 2 to 19 are obese. In the past decade childhood obesity has grown into an epidemic. But at the same time, negative body image and self-hate has become more and more of an issue, which leaves us with the question: how can we help kids love and appreciate their bodies the way they are, while still trying to help them be healthy and avoid childhood obesity? To find an answer, we’re joined by Dr. Brian Saelens, a clinical psychologist and principal investigator from the Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Family Movie Night (1:23:50) Producer Rod Gustafson discusses the 1998 Canadian-American film “Smoke Signals.”