logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2023
49m 47s

The Paradox of Pleasure

Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam
About this episode
All of us think we know what addiction looks like: it’s the compulsive consumption of drugs, alcohol, or nicotine. But psychiatrist Anna Lembke argues that this definition is far too narrow — and that a broader understanding of addiction might help us to understand why so many people are anxious and depressed. This week, we begin a two-part series that expla ... Show More
Up next
Sep 7
Blowing Up Your Life
Have you ever had a flash of insight that hit you when you least expected it? How did it change your life? Psychologist Anthony Klotz studies the "jolts" that shake us out of our routines, and how these moments can help us make more intentional decisions about the people we want ... Show More
1h 26m
Aug 31
The Things We Don't Say
From childhood, we're taught that honesty is the best policy. Yet in everyday life, we hedge, soften our words, and leave things unsaid. This week, we talk with psychologist Steven Pinker about why indirect speech is such a fundamental part of human relationships. How long can yo ... Show More
50m 2s
Aug 24
What Art Does For Your Brain
Think about the last time a piece of music stopped you in your tracks, or a novel kept you up late at night. Why do these experiences feel so powerful? Psychobiologist Daisy Fancourt says engagement with the arts can help to regulate our emotions, build resilience, and support lo ... Show More
49m 18s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2022
Too much pleasure can lead to addiction. How to break the cycle and find balance
Dr. Anna Lembke, psychiatrist and author, explains when too much pleasure-triggering dopamine upsets the delicate balance of pleasure and pain our brains need to feel "normal," which can lead to long-term pain and addiction. In today's dopamine-filled world, here's how keep that ... Show More
23m 33s
Aug 2021
Anna Lembke, MD on The Neuroscience of Addiction, Dopamine Fasting & The Opioid Crisis
The relentless pursuit of pleasure always leads to pain. As the world evolves from one of scarcity to overabundance, we increasingly orient our lives around the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain—an instinct that has produced a myriad of unprecedented types of addiction, a ... Show More
2h 24m
Feb 2024
Midweek Reset: Are you addicted?
This week, Anna Lembke, addiction specialist at Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, and author of “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence,” provides the clinical definition of addiction and says it’s becoming easier than ever adopt addictive beha ... Show More
3m 22s
Oct 2022
How To Build a Happy Life: When Virtues Become Vices
When the behaviors we thought would make us happy don’t, we’re forced to bridge the gap between where we are and where we want to be. But our happiness goals are often stifled by the disease of addiction—and its complex neurochemical influence on our desires. A conversation with ... Show More
31m 50s
Feb 2023
Dr. Anna Lembke: Between Pleasure and Pain
Are you scrolling on your phone constantly? How badly do you crave that morning cup of coffee? Are you compulsively gambling, drinking, shopping, or even reading romance novels just to fall asleep? The potential for addiction is everywhere in our society, and on this episode of T ... Show More
1h 8m
Nov 2023
"Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence" by Anna Lembke
Today, Dr. Anna Lembke, psychiatrist and author, explores the exciting new scientific discoveries that explain why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain — and what we can do about it. 
14m 47s
Oct 2023
Dopamine Nation with Dr. Anna Lembke
Addiction is such a widespread issue in our society but many of us don’t realise it surpasses alcohol, drugs and gambling. Our brains are wired with reward systems controlled by dopamine, and dopamine hits are plentiful in the modern world. With social media, entertainment, our p ... Show More
47m 9s
Nov 2017
Is It Possible To Break Free From The Chains of Addiction?
Our pleasure centers are intended to handle an intermittent dripping of dopamine, but what happens when we pour dopamine onto our pleasure centers and drench them? In the first episode of a series on addiction, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen explain the science behind our compulsi ... Show More
20m 36s
Dec 2021
Finding Balance In A Dopamine Overloaded World with Dr Anna Lembke #222
CAUTION: Includes themes of an adult nature. Do you think you have an addiction, or perhaps an unhealthy relationship with a certain behaviour? It may be a behaviour that you have tried to stop in the past that you keep returning back to despite your best intentions. Well, if you ... Show More
1h 42m