Cultivating Awe & Emotional Connection in Daily Life | Dr. Dacher Keltner

Andrew Huberman

Apr 6, 2026

Episode description

Dr. Dacher Keltner, PhD, is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and a leading expert on the science of emotions and human connection. We discuss the science of awe—what evokes it and how to access it. Dr. Keltner explains how awe helps us frame our experience of life and who we are both as individuals and collectively. We also discuss the role of humor in social bonding, dispel common myths about the biology of emotions and review the lesser-known factors that strengthen or inhibit relationships and communities.

Show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/JzXwTdS

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Dacher Keltner
Website: https://www.dacherkeltner.com
Academic profile: https://psychology.berkeley.edu/people/dacher-keltner
Greater Good Science Center: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu
Lab: https://bsil.studentorg.berkeley.edu
Awe (book): https://amzn.to/4sfQKYI
Science of Happiness (podcast): https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/podcasts/series/the_science_of_happiness
Other Books: https://www.dacherkeltner.com/books
Publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=oqw_lMkAAAAJ

Timestamps
00:00:00 Dr Dachner Keltner
00:01:55 Emotions, Awe; Facial Expressions & Culture
00:08:11 Sponsors: Joovv & Helix Sleep
00:11:05 Emotion, Motor Movement & Language
00:15:36 Measuring Emotion; Studying Awe
00:24:10 Horizons, Small to Vast, Shifting Perspective
00:29:27 Tool: Awe Walk
00:33:53 Time Perception, Tool: Space-Time Bridging Meditation; Chimps, Vastness
00:42:13 Sponsor: AG1
00:43:37 Consciousness, Collective Experiences & Brain Synchronization
00:50:04 Music, Concerts & Awe; Sparring, Transcendence
01:01:28 Joe Strummer
01:06:04 Inhibitors of Awe, Self-Focus & Narcissism
01:12:41 Sponsor: Function
01:13:52 Sports, Collective Effervescence
01:19:03 Social Media & Online Life, Social Community
01:29:51 Designing Cities & Places for Awe
01:34:29 Sponsor: Our Place
01:35:44 Embarrassment, Teasing; Collective Values
01:43:05 Male Friendship, Teasing
01:47:50 Isolation, Loneliness, Reemergence of Community
01:54:33 Psychedelics, Awe, Treating Trauma; Microdosing
02:01:18 Looking Forward, Awe Design
02:08:36 Campfires, Connection, Red Light
02:13:34 Life After Death; Acknowledgments
02:17:19 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow, Reviews & Feedback, Sponsors, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

#HubermanLab #Science #EmotionalConnection

Disclaimer & Disclosures: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

Mindsip insights from this episode:

Recognize cocaine's impact on self-interest and collective awe

Cocaine is considered the ultimate 'me drug' because it elevates dopamine and self-interest, destroying the collective feeling that awe cultivates.

#addiction

#dopamine

Implement weekly 'awalk' to enhance brain health and reduce pain

A weekly 'awalk,' where you shift your focus from small details to vast patterns, reduced physical pain and improved long-term brain health in older adults.

#brain

#pain

Incorporate one minute of awe daily to alleviate long Covid symptoms

Just one minute of awe per day has been shown to reduce inflammation, elevate vagal tone, and decrease symptoms of long Covid.

#COVID-19

#inflammation

Implement Huberman's red light therapy protocol for optimal health

Andrew Huberman uses a Joovv medical-grade whole-body red light panel three to four times a week for 10 to 20 minutes per session.

#protocol

#red-light

Utilize campfires to enhance mitochondrial function and connection

Campfires are a primal technology for human connection, and their long-wavelength red light is known to penetrate the body and improve mitochondrial function.

#mitochondria

#red-light

Link visual focus to perception of time

Your perception of time is linked to your visual focus, as a narrow aperture creates a high-frame-rate feeling of time slowing down.

#cognition

#eyes

Question microdosing trend and seek scientific support

Psychedelic expert Dacher Keltner worries about the trend of microdosing, stating it is not like taking coffee and the scientific data does not support it.

#microdosing

Leverage strong social community for ten-year longevity boost

A meta-analysis of 350,000 people found that strong social community provides a 10-year life expectancy benefit, more than many physical interventions.