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'The Interview': Digital Drugs Have Us Hooked. Dr. Anna Lembke Sees a Way Out.
Sat, 1 Feb 2025
The psychiatrist and author of “Dopamine Nation” wants us to find balance in a world of temptation and abundance.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Full Episode
From The New York Times, this is The Interview. I'm Lulu Garcia Navarro. We live in a moment where things are more available than ever. You can whip out your phone right now and order lunch, bet on sports, listen to this podcast, watch porn, buy a car, meet a friend, get therapy from an AI bot. But all that convenience isn't making us any happier.
In fact, in the developed world, we are more lonely, anxious, and depressed than ever. Dr. Anna Lembke likens it to the plenty paradox. The more we have, the less satisfied we are. Lemke is a psychiatrist who works at Stanford University, and she's written extensively, including in her bestselling book, Dopamine Nation, about the science behind addiction.
Turns out our brains are wired to constantly seek stimulation, which our modern era delivers in overdrive. I'm sure if you look at your life, maybe there's something you are indulging in a little too frequently than is good for you.
For me, the turning point came at the start of the pandemic, when my sister died of liver failure brought on by alcoholism, something I shared with Dr. Lemke before our interview. It made me take a hard look at my life. After a lifetime of obesity, I ended up taking Ozempic, which curtailed my obsessive relationship with food. Then two years ago, I stopped drinking alcohol.
Hi, how are you?
I'm good.
How are you?
I'm good.
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