
Anna Lembke: Why Your Brain Mistakes Instagram for Heroin
From The Unmistakable Creative Podcast by Srinivas Rao
April 30, 2026 · 1h 2m
About this episode
Anna Lembke discusses the parallels between social media and drug addiction through the lens of neuroscience.
Stanford addiction psychiatrist Anna Lembke explains the neuroscience of dopamine and why our brains respond to social media the same way they respond to drugs. Drawing from her book Dopamine Nation, she shares how a dopamine fast can reset reward pathways and why the solution requires both individual discipline and systemic change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Srinivas Rao
Guest: Anna Lembke
Topics covered
- neuroscience
- dopamine
- social media
- addiction
- individual discipline
- systemic change
Keywords
- dopamine
- addiction
- neuroscience
- Dopamine Nation
- reward pathways
- dopamine fast
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Stanford
Books & works: Dopamine Nation
More episodes of The Unmistakable Creative Podcast
- April Rinne: Thriving Through Change After Losing Both Parents at 20 · May 2, 2026 · 1h 21m
- Andy Molinsky: The Three Cs That Help You Step Outside Your Comfort Zone · April 29, 2026 · 39 min
- Andrew Horn: Finding Your Grain of Truth Through Service and Emotional Mastery · April 28, 2026 · 54 min
- Amy Edmondson: The Science of Failing Well and Why We Avoid Learning From Mistakes · April 27, 2026 · 59 min
- Amy Blankson: Five Strategies to Find Happiness in a Tech-Saturated World · April 26, 2026 · 52 min
- Alex Pang: Why Working Less Can Make You More Creative · April 25, 2026 · 1h 0m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Unmistakable Creative Podcast podcast page.