Why Money Doesn't Buy Happiness in America

Plain English with Derek Thompson

The Ringer

News Commentary, News

4.8 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 7 October 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

America is rich—richer than ever. Yet Americans are more anxious, lonelier, and less satisfied than people in many poorer nations. The 2025 World Happiness Report ranked the U.S. 24th in life satisfaction, its lowest on record. Maybe, as social scientists say, we’ve traded community for consumption. Today’s guest, Morgan Housel, thinks there’s a deeper reason money hasn’t bought us happiness. America, he says, is world-class at making money, but bad at spending it wisely. In his new book, The Art of Spending Money, Housel argues that we’re burdened not only by visible debt—mortgages, credit cards, loans—but also by invisible debt: desire. In this episode, Derek talks with Morgan—the author of The Psychology of Money and Same as Ever—about how money, comparison, and human nature shape happiness. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Morgan Housel Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	What's up? It's Todd McShay, host of the McShay Show at the Ringer and Spotify.
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1:10.5	Today, money. America is rich. And decades of economic research tell us that rich countries are happier than poor countries.
1:12.2	Just as rich people tend to be happier than poor people.
1:15.7	So why is rich America so unhappy?
1:20.0	One possibility that I've explored on several shows is that there is something about the isolation of American life that is stealing joy from us.
1:28.6	The 2025 World Happiness Report ranked the U.S. 24th in average life satisfaction, its lowest
1:35.7	position ever.
1:37.5	Americans have bigger houses, faster phones, better health care than ever before, but we
1:43.0	eat more meals alone, trust our neighbors less,
1:45.0	scroll endlessly through other people's perfect lives.
	...

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