I’ve had an intermittent relationship with podcasts. Over the past several years I’ve tended towards listening to epic audiobook stories on Audible. Books like Game of Thrones, the Harry Hole ...

People who come to therapy after experiencing a difficult breakup often mention that they have been turning to music as a source of emotional release. They sometimes ponder questions like: “Why am I ...

For as long as I can remember, I have always preferred sad music. As a child, I used to force my mom to listen to me belting along to karaoke tracks of “My Heart Will Go On” and “I Will Always Love ...

Sadness is generally seen as a negative emotion, but we tend to find it pleasurable in an aesthetic context. What is the nature of pleasure that people experience from listening to sad music?

Music is a part of every culture around the world. In fact, the ability to appreciate music is built into our brains, suggesting music has an evolutionary function. Many music studies look at the long ...

Professor of Cognitive-Neuroscience , Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle When I hear Shania Twain’s You’re Still The One, it takes me back to when I was 15, playing on my ...

It’s that time of the year: the temperature has dropped 30 degrees to now an unpredictable back-and-forth of somewhere between 50 and 60, the sun goes down by the time it’s 6 p.m. (and I haven’t even ...

Is Christmas really the saddest day of the year? There’s a whole history of holiday music that explores what it’s like to be down-and-out during the season. Are you mourning absent family members?

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily. I think I was happiest this year when I was really fucking sad. Or, at the very least ...