(no music) (10 hours) Happiness | Trivia Tuesday | LMBYTS #1469 | Jason Newland | 21st October 2025

https://www.jasonnewland.com/

Happiness | Trivia Tuesday | LMBYTS #1469 | Jason Newland | 21st October 2025
Podcast Host: Jason Newland
Episode Theme: "Trivia Tuesday – Happiness Edition"
Tone: Casual, reflective, personal, humorous, and meandering. 🎙️ Main Segments Covered: 1. Trivia Tuesday Theme – "Happiness" Jason reflects on how he previously mentioned doing a Trivia Tuesday about happiness and finally follows through. He explores various facts about happiness from science, psychology, and culture, such as:

• Smiling (even fake) can boost your mood.
• Finland ranks as the world’s happiest country.
• Bhutan measures Gross National Happiness.
• Music, laughter, social connection, volunteering, and gratitude all enhance happiness.
• Oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin are the “happy chemicals.”
• Watching funny videos and being near nature or the sea can also improve mood.

🧠 Fun fact he shares: Laughing 100 times burns as many calories as 15 minutes on an exercise bike.

🧠 Deep Personal Reflections Throughout the recording, Jason frequently pauses the trivia to go on personal tangents, which are honest, introspective, and sometimes quite emotional:

• He shares struggles with recognition and validation, especially from family.
• Talks about loneliness, bipolar disorder, and the challenges of maintaining motivation over 20 years of recording.
• Reflects on the joy and pain of helping others and how he has found purpose through podcasting and counseling.
• Shares the importance of feeling seen and appreciated — a touching moment involves an old friend saying they were proud of him.

🧡 Quote: “Even at 55, I still wish my dad would tell me he’s proud of me.”

🐶 Vinny the Dog Makes an Appearance Vinny, Jason’s loyal but quirky dog, features in various anecdotes:

• Refuses to obey commands.
• Is his main source of companionship.
• Jason jokes about how Vinny often does the opposite of what he's told.

🛠️ Podcasting Insights Jason discusses:

• His various podcast series: Let Me Bore You to Sleep, Jason’s Bedtime Storytime, Sleepy Boring Objects, and Let Me Pull the Pain Away.
• How many recordings he’s made (over 4,000!).
• YouTube stats, and how listener feedback (or lack thereof) affects his motivation.
• Technical and emotional effort involved in each episode.

🧦 Random Tangents In true Jason fashion, he takes detours into:

• Childhood memories (like tin baths in front of the fire).
• Helping strangers in the rain with an umbrella.
• Watching old comedy shows.
• His eyesight declining and needing new glasses.
• The mystery of podcasts disappearing from directories.
• Debating whether helping family counts as “charity” (it doesn’t, he says!).

🎯 Key Themes

• Happiness is complex and individual.
• Helping others helps yourself.
• You can create meaning, even if the world doesn’t always see it.
• Vinny rules the house.