#188 Ruth Whippman: What *Actually* Makes Us Happy? (California Innovation Tour #1)

I am thrilled to have partnered with Visit California for this special mini-series for Ctrl Alt Delete. I first started working with Visit California a few years ago, and they’re doing some incredible things in the tourism landscape and it’s been really exciting to work with them on this podcast mini-series which we’ve called ‘The California Innovation Tour.”


There is something about the place that keeps drawing me back: the positive mind-set of the people who live there, the laid-back lifestyle, the incredible diversity and beauty of the landscape and so much more. For years California has been the inspiration for songs, films, and novels, as well as the birthplace of emerging trends, from the tech world and fitness and health. So together with Visit California I got to meet a handful of incredible minds to cover these topics. Megan Jones-Bell from Headspace, bestselling thriller author Caroline Kepnes, happiness expert Ruth Whippman on happiness, activist Erica Williams Simon - just to name few.


If you’ve been following my Instagram (@emmagannonuk) you’ll see that I spent the first two weeks of March road-tripping around California. I started in the Bay Area with a few days in San Francisco and Oakland, where I met some of the series’ guests that you’ll hear from, before travelling down the coast to LA and then onto Huntington Beach for International Women’s Day. Over the course of my trip I met with some of California’s most forward thinking dreamers and pioneers, and I’m really excited bring you this mini-series.


This episode is with Ruth Whippman, and we recorded it in a room at Hotel Zephr on Fisherman’s Wharf. The Sunday Times has called Ruth: "A whip-sharp British Bill Bryson"and she is a writer and cultural critic from London, now living in the California. She writes for the New York Times. She is the author of America the Anxious (US edition) /The Pursuit of Happiness (UK edition). Her book is about when Ruth moves to California, and notices that there is an American obsession with finding happiness - and she unpicks why this is and why chasing constant happiness might not be the answer.


For more information on things to do San Francisco and to help plan your own California road-trip check out www.visitcalifornia.co.uk, it has really in-depth travel guides, as well as a loads of content to inspire you if you’re thinking of booking a trip, including California Now, which is the tourism boards own podcast blog and their tv channel Dream365. Have a look online and on their Instagram page (@visitcalifornia) for more inspiration.


Also check out Visit California’s own podcast, ‘California Now’, where listeners can learn more inspiring travel tips about California. https://www.visitcalifornia.com/podcast
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Thanks for listening and please make sure to rate and review on iTunes!


*This a PAID PARTNERSHIP with Visit California*