Short Wave

How The Brain Experiences Pleasure — Even The Kind That Makes Us Feel Guilty

15 Apr 2024

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We've all been there: You sit down for one episode of a reality TV show, and six hours later you're sitting guiltily on the couch, blinking the screen-induced crust off your eyeballs. Okay. Maybe you haven't been there like our team has. But it's likely you have at least one guilty pleasure, whether it's playing video games, reading romance novels or getting swept into obscure corners of TikTok. It turns out that experiencing – and studying – pleasure is not as straightforward as it might seem. And yet, pleasure is quite literally key to the survival of humanity. So today on the show, we explore the pleasure cycle: What it is, where it lives in the brain and how to have a healthier relationship with the things that make us feel good. Want more on the brain? Email us the neuroscience you want us to talk about at [email protected]! (Also please email us if you would like to gush about any of the books you've been loving — romantasy or otherwise!)Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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Short Wave

How The Brain Experiences Pleasure — Even The Kind That Makes Us Feel Guilty

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet

Other episodes from Short Wave

Lessons and failures from the Challenger space shuttle explosion

What drives animals to your yard? It's complicated

Iran offline: How a government can turn off the internet

The plight of penguins in Antarctica

A failed galaxy could solve the dark matter mystery

10 breakthrough technologies to expect in 2026

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