Recorded on: Jul 28, 2025
Description
In this week’s Frankly, Nate reflects on a moment of unexpected insight during a morning bike ride, which catalyzed a larger meditation on the modern human predicament. This episode explores the neuroscience of dopamine, and offers a reflection on the ways it plays into distraction, technology, and how we interact with the hyperstimulating world around us.
What is the “ghost of dopamine past,” and how does it shape not only our individual lives, but our collective economic and ecological behavior? Why does the urge to scroll on our phones override the deep calm of watching wildlife? And how might tactics like dopamine fasting or socialization help us rebalance our nervous systems in a culture engineered to constantly produce more?
Show Notes & Links to Learn More
02:40 – dopamine, neurotransmitters
03:05 – Peter Whybrow, Peter Whybrow TGS episode, American Mania: When More is Not Enough
03:15 – Wolfram Schultz, research about rewards + dopamine neurons in monkeys
06:20 – Parkinson’s disease
07:00 – Personality, Addiction, Dopamine: Insights from Parkinson’s Disease
12:30 – TGS with Audrey Tang, greyscale and digital wellbeing
13:22 – Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering
