On happiness—notes from prisonOn happiness—notes from prison
All In The Mind
Picture this—an Australian journalist sitting near a squat toilet under the only light in the prison cell he shares with 140 others, writing pages of notes about happiness. After 15 months in a notorious Cambodian prison, for a crime he denies, James Ricketson shares his insights into his personal experience in Prey Sar prison—and his new reflections on the state of happiness. Please note that this episode contains a small amount of strong language This program was first broadcast in July 2019
29:07•12 Jan 2020
On Happiness from a Cambodian Prison Cell
Episode Overview
- Happiness is described as, at least in part, a choice, with contentment sometimes more valuable than fleeting pleasure.
- Endless consumer choices can add low-level anxiety, while having fewer options can reduce mental strain.
- Human connection, affection and simple touch can ease tension and create powerful bonds, even in harsh environments.
- Most people may be far more resilient than they assume, discovering strength only when life becomes genuinely difficult.
- All emotions, including sadness and anxiety, are framed as worth feeling and "sitting with", rather than problems to erase.
“On the one hand, I think happiness is a choice. I think you can choose to be happy.”
How much of happiness comes from your surroundings, and how much comes from the way you think? All In The Mind takes that question to an extreme as Australian journalist and filmmaker James Rickardson reflects on 15 months in Cambodia’s Prey Sar prison, accused of espionage, a charge he denies. Sharing a cell with around 140 men, with "about one square metre each" of space and only three squat toilets, James paints a stark picture of overcrowding, illness and heat.
Yet amid the bed bugs, sores and sleepless nights, he starts asking what it really means to feel content. With books as his lifeline, he reads around 120 titles in 15 months and spends nights perched on an upturned bucket by the cell’s only light, writing "50 pages of notes about happiness". He notices that his emotional range in prison isn’t so different from life outside, and links this to the absence of constant choice and consumer pressure.
Back in Australia, he’s struck by supermarket aisles offering "15 different breakfast cereals" and the anxiety that comes with endless decisions. In contrast, prison strips life back to basics: no internet, no alcohol, no media—just his thoughts, his fellow inmates and his books. James talks about resilience, arguing that "most of us are much more resilient than we think we are" and that many comforts we cling to aren’t essential.
He questions the obsession with happiness as a goal, suggesting that contentment, love and honest emotional range—sadness included—might matter more. Touch, affection and tribal-style bonds with prisoners and guards alike become crucial for his well-being. For anyone curious about mental health under extreme pressure, or about finding inner resources when comforts vanish, this conversation offers a raw, thoughtful look at what really sustains a person.
It might leave you wondering: if everything extra was stripped away, what would still make you feel alive?
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