Americans Should Be Happy, But They're Not

Summary

Podcast Summary: What A Day – "Americans Should Be Happy, But They're Not"
Date: May 18, 2026
Host: Jane Coaston
Guest: Derek Thompson, Host of Plain English & Author

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Episode Overview

This episode tackles the paradox at the heart of American society in the 2020s: Why are Americans reporting record lows in happiness despite being wealthier than ever? Host Jane Coaston speaks with journalist Derek Thompson to break down the latest data, investigate the causes of this national "happiness ditch," and get to the bottom of a decades-long trend. The conversation draws on economic indicators, the legacy of the pandemic, declining faith in institutions, and the relentless drumbeat of crises.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Backdrop: A Nation Growing Sadder

• Data Trends in Happiness (01:05–02:06)
  Jane opens with the statistical evidence: The General Social Survey, Consumer Sentiment Survey, World Happiness Report, and even the Federal Reserve all point to Americans being less happy than a decade ago.

  “It’s even showing up in the data... Americans are not having it.” – Jane Coaston (01:16)

• Despite assumptions that economic gains should enhance well-being, the opposite is occurring.

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2. Why the Happiness Paradox?

a. Investigating the Mystery (02:06–03:21)

• Derek likens the situation to a "murder mystery": With historic sadness amidst historic wealth, what caused this unexpected downturn?

  "Kind of the mystery I was setting out to investigate... here we have the dead body. The dead body is the fact that Americans have been historically, historically sad in the 2020s." – Derek Thompson (02:18)

b. The Pandemic: More Than a Biological Crisis (03:21–04:59)

• Beyond the devastation of Covid-19, Derek highlights the ongoing toll of long Covid and loss, while noting these alone don’t explain the story.
• The "second chapter" was economic: sharp rises in prices for homes, groceries, and mortgages, leading to a uniquely frustrating period of inflation.

  “The consumer price index has basically tripled in the rate of price growth in the 2020s compared to the last few decades...” – Derek Thompson (04:21)

• Result: Many Americans find basic life less affordable, fueling widespread discontent.

c. Defining and Measuring Happiness (04:59–06:51)

• Jane pushes on the subjectivity of happiness measurements; Derek concedes its “squishiness” but points to consistency across decades-long data sets.

  “When you're dealing with a squishy subject, what you want is data that goes back a long, long time...” – Derek Thompson (05:46)

d. It’s Not Just About Inequality or Technology (06:51–07:34)

• Contrary to popular theories, Derek argues income inequality and smartphones aren’t the primary drivers—though listeners may disagree.

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3. The Deeper Causes: Derek’s "Permidemic" Theory

• Affordability and Aspiration (07:34–10:43) Americans crave a future better than the present. Inflation knocks down both their security and their dreams.

  "They want to feel like the life that they lived yesterday is still affordable, and... the life they hope to live... is attainable." – Derek Thompson (07:37)

• Crises and Institutional Breakdown
  • Multiple crises (wars, climate, AI, etc.) and a prevalence of bad news exacerbate the mood.
  • Declining trust in institutions leaves people to fend for themselves—leading to what Derek terms “toxic individualism.”

  "We live in a period... where faith in institutions is plummeting while faith in individualism is rising." – Derek Thompson (08:51)

  • The result: Americans are lonelier, less resilient to adversity, and overwhelmed by bad news.
• Memorable Summary

  "It’s been like one shitty decade of one crisis after another… one existential crisis after another." – Derek Thompson (09:51) This cumulative environment, Derek contends, forms the "stew in which American unhappiness is brewing."

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the pandemic’s lingering impact:
  "Long Covid is real... but I just don’t think that explains everything." – Derek Thompson (03:35)
• On the "Permidemic":
  "So many aspects of the pandemic simply did not end. And the first one is the sheer shittiness that is inflation." – Derek Thompson (08:15)
• On American aspiration:
  “It not only makes it feel like the life you're used to living is getting more unaffordable, but it also makes people... feel like the life they hope to live... is unattainable." – Derek Thompson (07:54)
• On social habits and resilience:
  “People spend a historic amount of time by themselves and historically low amount of time socializing with other people.” – Derek Thompson (09:14)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:20 – Pete Buttigieg’s road trip quip
• 01:16 – Evidence/data on declining happiness
• 02:06 – Derek Thompson introduces the happiness mystery
• 03:25 – The pandemic’s dual biological and economic impact
• 04:21 – The inflation spike & cost of living
• 05:46 – Measuring happiness in surveys
• 07:37 – The twin needs: affordability & aspiration
• 08:51 – Decline of faith in institutions, rise of toxic individualism
• 09:51 – One decade of constant crisis
• 10:43 – Derek’s closing thoughts

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Additional Highlights (News Recap Segments)

• Political Fallout: Senator Bill Cassidy loses primary, echoing the theme of Trump loyalty as a litmus test (14:09).
• Foreign Policy: President Trump’s wavering stance on arms sales to Taiwan and antagonism towards Iran dominate the news (16:28–16:44).
• Soundbite: “Someone needs to Google Jesse Helms.” – Jane Coaston, lampooning Trump’s 'worst Republican' accusation (14:19).

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Tone and Style

• Jane Coaston delivers with wry humor and intellectual clarity, blending sharp political analysis with conversational warmth.
• Derek Thompson provides thoughtful, data-driven insight, while also keeping the discussion accessible and relatable.
• Standout moments include tongue-in-cheek asides, such as, “The leader of the free world uses sausages to type on true social.” (16:44)

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Summary:
This episode captures the perplexing, frustrating reasons behind Americans’ declining happiness. While economic realities and “the permidemic” loom large, so do the erosion of social ties and faith in shared institutions. Derek Thompson’s expansive perspective, paired with Jane Coaston’s probing questions, makes for a nuanced, deeply relevant discussion about what’s eating away at the national mood—and why the path to happiness may be harder (and more complicated) than ever.

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Transcript

[Jane Coaston]

Foreign

May 18th. I'm Jane Costen and this is what a Day. The show enjoying this response from former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to current Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's corporate road trip reality show adventure. Here's Buttigieg on CNN Sunday discussing the time he too took a road trip.

I love road trips. I love America. I actually took a taxpayer funded road trip lasting about seven months. It was in Afghanistan.

Sean Duffy, of course, never went to Afghan, but he did spend time as a lumberjack before going on the Real World Boston, where he compared a black woman to Hitler. On today's show, President Donald Trump continues to threaten Iran via social media. How presidential and Trump debuts a new superlative for one of his the worst Republican congressman in history. Place your bets on who that might be in the comments, but let's start with happiness or a lack thereof. It's easy to say that Americans have not exactly been cheerful for the last few years. It's even showing up in the data. The General Social Survey, the Consumer Sentiment Survey from the University of Michigan, the World Happiness Report, and even the Federal Reserve all say that Americans are less happy than they were a decade ago. Whether that's about their jobs, the economy, the state of the world, no matter the metric, Americans are not having it. The question is why? Why after roughly 50 years of being a relatively happy country, have we collectively fallen into a happiness ditch? I'm sure you've got receipts as to why you're not thrilled about the state of things right now. Like the President of the United States wants taxpayers to fund a fancy White House ballroom while we're at war with a country for reasons that keep changing. But this drop in unhappiness has lasted through both the Biden and Trump administrations. So what's going on? To find out, I spoke to Derek Thompson. He's host of the podcast Plain English and author of a self titled substack where he wrote about America's record breaking sadness. Derek, welcome back to what a Day.

[Derek Thompson]

Great to be here. Thank you.

[Jane Coaston]

So let's start out with the focus of your piece, Americans are Unhappy and have been for several years. Why?

[Derek Thompson]

This is a great question. This is kind of the mystery that I was setting out to investigate. I'm not entirely sure why. And the title of the piece is if America's so Rich, How'd it get so Sad? And the reason why I wanted to frame its wealth and its sadness is that typically when you look at surveys, people are happier when they're richer. Countries are happier when they're richer Countries get happier over time as they get richer. America in the 2000s is a pretty rich country. We've done much better than Europe in terms of keeping up with GDP growth. After the pandemic, there are more people moving into the upper middle class. This old economist saw that, oh, the richer you get, the happier you are. It doesn't seem to explain this particular misconception. And so that rules in other suspects, I suppose. I mean, I sort of thought about this a little bit like a murder mystery. Like here we have the dead body. The dead body is the fact that Americans have been historically, historically Sad in the2020s. And, you know, like, I guess, I suppose like a sort of criminal investigator. I wanted to find culprits that fit the crime. And most importantly, that means fitting the timing of the crime. So what has happened in the last five or six years in America that could possibly explain this?

[Jane Coaston]

I believe there was a pandemic of some kind.

[Derek Thompson]

Indeed, I think we do have to begin with the fact that there was a pandemic, a very bad one. 1.5 million people died. And I think it's important to begin with the biological fact that not only are lots of people missing people in their family, missing their children, their parents, their loved ones, their friends, but also this biological force still lives with us. Long Covid is real. I am quite certain that it is real. And so maybe Long Covid is a part of this. I just don't think that explains everything. I think that America is much health, healthier today than it was in 2020, 2021. And yet we have, in some cases, gotten considerably less happy over time. So that leads me to thinking about the sort of second chapter of the pandemic. If the first chapter was a biological crisis, the coronavirus itself, I think the second chapter of the pandemic, which was practically as global as the biological chapter itself, is the economic chapter. And as you saw, both rising costs for things like homes or groceries, plus rising interest rates for things like loans and mortgages, it just makes it much more expensive to live. Something you have to look at is the fact that maybe Americans are so upset about the 2000 and 20s because they've spent the last few decades expecting really low, quite tame inflation and by my calculations, some math that I did for this story. So I encourage people who actually understand math to maybe double check my work. The consumer price index has basically tripled in the rate of price growth in the 2020s compared to the last few decades, which basically means I don't want to overcomplicate this, prices have risen for everyday items and for homes two to three times as quickly this decade as they did in previous decades. And that's basically made a lot of Americans feel really unhappy.

[Jane Coaston]

Derek, I have to ask because we're talking about a pretty amorphous subject, which is happiness. When we measure happiness, when we look at these surveys of happiness, and you should know that I am a World Happiness Index truther, what are we talking about? What does happiness actually mean? Because I feel like if you ask people, are you happy? You're going to get an answer that's actually more about stuff they have going on than some sort of, like, objective, like, well, yes, here and here and here and here. So what are we talking about?

[Derek Thompson]

We're talking about subjective well being. And maybe the most important word in the concept of subjective well being is that it's subjective. Right? Different people are going to have different definitions of happiness. Different people are going to define their happiness differently. Like if I'm having a bad day and my mood is bad and, you know, Gallup or the General Social Survey calls me and says, are you happy? You know, maybe I'll think about my mood, in which case I'll say I'm unhappy, or maybe I'll think about, like, the fact that I like my job, the fact that I think I have a beautiful family, and I'll sort of rise above my mood and answer questions about sort of my station in life. So it's absolutely possible that this is a squishy subject. But when you're dealing with a squishy subject, what you want is data that goes back a long, long time. The General Social Survey goes back decades. The Consumer Sentiment Survey by the University of Michigan goes back 60, 70 years. So we can compare the way that Americans today are describing their happiness to the way they were describing it in the 2010s, 2000s, 1980s, 1950s, and here we really do see in practically every single survey a consistent downturn in all the surveys. And so that leads me to believe that, yes, we are asking about something subjective, but we're also looking at a range of objective declines in well being. So I do think there is a there, there.

[Jane Coaston]

You could say you were talking about prices and I was interested because you make the point, as you have done, that the US Economy has actually been pretty solid post. Covid, you argue that American unhappiness is not because of income inequality. And I'm sure if you put that on Twitter or Blue sky, you get a lot of, and perhaps People who are listening to this who would disagree with you on that front. So if the issue isn't income inequality, and you also mentioned in the piece, which I highly recommend everyone reads, it's probably not smartphones. There are a host of other issues that it could be. And I think the real question, because this isn't a murder mystery, we're still alive, thank God. What do you think would make Americans happy?

[Derek Thompson]

Well, I think Americans want a combination of affordability and aspiration. They want to feel like the life that they lived yesterday is still affordable, and they want to feel like the life they hope to live tomorrow, next year, next decade is attainable. And I think inflation crushes both affordability and aspiration. It not only makes it feel like the life you're used to living is getting more unaffordable, but it also makes a lot of people, especially young people, feel like the life they hope to live in 10 years is unattainable. That's what we're seeing, for example, in the housing market. What do high interest rates do? Well, they don't just increase the cost of money. That's a dry, cold, clinical economies description of what's going on. They simply make it three times more expensive to buy a home and afford that mortgage. If interest rates triple, then the interest rate on the same mortgage is going to triple. And so you have a lot of young people who feel like that home they wanted to buy, that they were hanging some vision of their future on, they were hanging their marriage on, their future of a family on. Well, if that becomes less affordable, then that can absolutely, I think, lead to feelings of sadness. The way I describe this phenomenon in the piece is I say, I call sort of my group of explanations the permidemic, because I feel like so many aspects of the pandemic simply did not end. And the first one is the sheer shittiness that is inflation. The second is that I do think that in times of crisis, it's helpful to believe in something bigger than you, that's external to you, that is protecting you in a way. That's what religion can offer, something bigger than you, something that can protect you in a way. That's what institutions have historically offered, this idea that someone's holding the reins, someone understands how to fix this. But we live in a period, and I think this is especially true in the last six years, where faith in institutions is plummeting while faith in individualism is rising. And that faith in individualism doesn't just mean that people are like self confident. It often means I think that people cherish their individualism by removing themselves from society. I've written a lot about the fact that there's this phenomenon that I call the antisocial century, that people spend a historic amount of time by themselves and historically low amount of time socializing with other people. And so this decline in faith in institutions has coincided with this kind of toxic individualism that I think may makes people less resilient to the bad things in their life. And then the last thing that I would say that I think is important is that it really has been like one shitty decade of one crisis after another. Like it's been one war after another. We get out of Afghanistan, we get into Ukraine, there's Gaza, there's Iran. It's been one existential crisis after another. There's a pandemic. It's climate change. No, it's AI that's gonna take all of our jobs. And so on top of the fact that there's inflation and on top of the fact that the home isn't affordable, and on top of the fact that they don't trust institutions and spend more time by themselves, every time they pick up their phone, what do they see that's happening? One thing that sucks after another. And so I think that all of these things together are sort of like the stew in which American unhappiness is brewing.

[Jane Coaston]

Derek, as always, thank you so much for joining me.

[Derek Thompson]

Thank you.

[Jane Coaston]

That was my conversation with Derek Thompson, host of Plain English and author of the Derek Thompson substack. We'll link to his piece in the show Notes. I'm actually really happy to get to do the show and hear from you, so leave us some comments and if you like the show, make sure to subscribe. Leave a five star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Watch us on YouTube and share with your friends. More to come after some ads. What a Day is brought to you by bookshop.org would you be surprised to learn that we're living in a resurgence of independent bookstores? More than a thousand new stores have opened in the last five years. Independent bookstores do more than sell books. They take care of and pour back into their communities, creating safe spaces that foster culture, curiosity and a love of reading. When you purchase from bookshop.org, you're supporting more than 3,000 local independent bookstores so they can continue their essential work. I'm just finishing A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan. The story of the rise and fall of the most powerful iteration of the Ku Klux Clan. Highly recommend Use Code Wad to get 10% off your next [e-mail] that's 10% [e-mail] with code WAD. This podcast is brought to you by WISE, the app for international people using money around the globe. When it comes to sending money abroad, many providers claim to offer free fees and competitive rates. But don't be fooled. This can be code for inflated exchange rates. With the WISE account, you can send, spend and receive money in over 40 currencies without ever having to worry about hidden fees sending pounds across the pond. Most transfers arrive in 20 seconds or less. Spending reals in Rio. The wise travel card gives you the mid market rate on every purchase. No costly markups on your bill. Getting paid in dollars for your side gig. Avoid hidden fees and get the real exchange rate every time. With 247 access to live support, your international transactions with WISE are quick, transparent and safe. Plus, WISE runs over 7 million daily checks to catch and prevent fraud. 15 million people already trust WISE to manage their money internationally. Be smart, Get Wise My husband and I have used WISE when we've traveled all over the country and it's been a total game changer. Download the WYZE app today or visit wise.com Terms and Conditions apply.

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[Jane Coaston]

Here's what else we're following today.

[Derek Thompson]

Head of Lines

[Political Commentator]

Bill Cassidy's lost because

[Derek Thompson]

he tried to destroy Trump Louisiana Republican

[Jane Coaston]

Senator Bill Cassidy lost his primary race on Saturday. South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told NBC's Meet the Press Sunday that the lesson from Cassidy's loss was clear. Never ever oppose Trump on anything.

[Political Commentator]

Massie's gonna lose because he's trying to destroy the agenda. You can disagree with President Trump, but if you try to destroy him, you're going to lose because this is the party of Donald Trump.

[Jane Coaston]

E.W. cassidy finished behind State Representative Julia Letlow, who was endorsed by Trump. Cassidy, who was a doctor, had lost favor with Trump back in 2021 when he voted to convict the then president of Insurrection for fomenting the January 6th riots. Cassidy had also opposed the administration's decision making on vaccines, on truth, Social Trump celebrated because, of course, he did, writing that Cassidy's, quote, disloyalty to the man who got him elected is now a part of legend. And it's nice to see that his political career is over. Trump is also hoping to oust Kentucky Republican representative and frequent adversary Thomas Massie in his Tuesday primary. Massie is facing Ed Gallerain, a former Navy SEAL endorsed by the president. Their race has become the most extreme, expensive primary in history, with more than $25 million in ad spending. On Sunday morning, Trump called Massie, quote, the worst Republican congressman in history on True Social and told Kentucky to, quote, vote the bum out on Tuesday. Someone needs to Google Jesse Helms. But Massie hopes he can survive Trump's ire. Here he is speaking to CNN's Manu Raju on the steps of the Capitol on Thursday.

What message would it send the country if you won on Tuesday? If I win? That you can come up here and you can vote for your constituents instead of for your party all the time. And if you lose, what message would that send? If I lose, I think it's going to disenfranchise a large part of the coalition that was formed to give us the majority here and to give us the White House.

Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Oregon and Pennsylvania all have primaries on Tuesday. President Trump returned from a summit in Beijing with China's President Xi Jinping on Friday with a clear edict don't support Taiwan. Trump had already approved a record breaking $11 billion arms package to Taiwan in December, including missiles, drones, artillery systems and military software. Taiwan's president stressed the importance of arms purchases from the United States on Sunday. This comes after Trump's interview with Brett Baier on Fox News Friday. He said he has yet to Greenlight A new $14 billion arms package to Taiwan and that it, quote, depends on China.

But you're waiting on approval. Billions of dollars in weapons for Taiwan, Is that moving forward? Well, I haven't approved it yet. We're going to see what happens. What are you looking for? I may do it. I may not do it. Yeah. What's your hinge point? Well, I'm not going to say that, but I may do it. I may not do it.

Trump also called the potential arms sale, quote, a very good negotiating chip for us. A negotiating chip for what? President Trump, or at least his fingers must be tired. The leader of the free world uses sausages to type on true social. For Iran, the clock is ticking and they better get moving fast or there won't be anything left of them. Time is of the essence Trump's ominous threats to Iran aren't new, but they are exasperating. The ceasefire remains tenuous as diplomatic efforts for a more durable peace have faltered again. This war was supposed to last four weeks. House Speaker Mike Johnson aired a lot of opinions on Sunday ahead of the prayer event on the National Mall. Here he is speaking with Fox News host Shannon Bream.

[Derek Thompson]

You know that generally the incumbent is punished in the midterms and people are feeling very uncertain about how they're doing personally.

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How do you campaign against that?

[Political Commentator]

Well, this relates to the last segment we were talking about, the Strait of Hormuz. Really. All points lead back to that. Gas prices are too high because of that. And then that has an effect on how goods are transported to the grocery store and all the rest. So as soon as we get that straightened out, we will get back to the kitchen table issues.

[Jane Coaston]

So what I'm hearing is the Trump administration needs to fix the problem it created abroad before it can address problems for Americans here at home. Hoping Mike Johnson prayed about that. And that's the news. Before we go Today's most obnoxious political media figures don't appear out of nowhere in the latest episode of this Fucking Guy Hysteria. Hosts Aaron Ryan and Alyssa Mastromonaco take on anti woke crusader turned CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss. They trace how someone with zero reporting background built a career on grievance, bad faith, culture war commentary and playing the victim while in society assisting everyone else is too sensitive. Watch the new episode of this fucking guy on YouTube now. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, pour one out for the most annoying jingle known to women and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just about how a judge ruled the Cars for Kids ads, you know the ones can no longer air in the state of California because they violate the state's false advertisement law. Like me, what a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and [e-mail] subscribe I'm Jane Coastin and let this be a reminder to think twice before donating your car to support a kid just because a non profit with a horrendous jingle asked you to. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. Our show is produced by Caitlin Plummer, Emily Foer, Erica Morrison and Adrienne Hill. Our team includes Haley Jones, Greg Walters, Matt Berg, Joseph Dutra, Johanna Case and Desmond Taylor. Our music is by Kyle Murdoch and Jordan Kanter. We had help today from the Associated Press. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America. East.

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