211. Why Do We Listen to Sad Songs?

What are Mike and Angela’s favorite songs to cry to? Can upbeat music lift you out of a bad mood? And what is Angela going to sing the next time she does karaoke?

SOURCES:Matthew Desmond • , professor of sociology at Princeton University. Daniel Kahneman • , professor emeritus of psychology and public affairs at Princeton University. Joshua Knobe • , professor of philosophy, psychology, and linguistics at Yale University. Simon McCarthy-Jones • , professor of psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin. Yael Millgram • , senior lecturer of psychological sciences at Tel Aviv University. Stanley Milgram • , 20th-century American social psychologist. Ruth Reichl • , food writer. Laurie Santos • , professor of psychology at Yale University. Barbara Tversky • , professor emerita of psychology at Stanford University.

RESOURCES: • " On the Value of Sad Music • ," by Mario Attie-Picker, Tara Venkatesan, George E. Newman, and Joshua Knobe ( The Journal of Aesthetic Education, • 2024). • " The Reason People Listen to Sad Songs • ," by Oliver Whang ( The New York Times, • 2023). • " Adele 30: The Psychology of Why Sad Songs Make Us Feel Good • ," by Simon McCarthy-Jones ( The Conversation, • 2021). • " Why Do Depressed People Prefer Sad Music? • " by Sunkyung Yoon, Edelyn Verona, Robert Schlauch, Sandra Schneider, and Jonathan Rottenberg ( Emotion, • 2020). Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, • by Matthew Desmond (2016). • " Sad as a Matter of Choice? Emotion-Regulation Goals in Depression • ," by Yael Millgram, Jutta Joormann, Jonathan D. Huppert, and Maya Tamir ( Psychological Science, • 2015). • " Music and Emotion Through Time • ," by Michael Tilson Thomas ( TED Talk, • 2012). Thinking, Fast and Slow, • by Daniel Kahneman (2011).

EXTRAS:Girl Power Sing-Along with Laurie Santos and Catherine Price • , at the Black Squirrel Club in Philadelphia (September 28, 2024). • " What Makes a Good Sense of Humor? • " by No Stupid Questions • (2024). • " How Contagious Is Behavior? With Laurie Santos of 'The Happiness Lab' (Replay) • ," by No Stupid Questions • (2023).