The book is the story of Jacob, a man who uses electrical stimulation to masturbate. He makes his own masturbation machines by attaching electrodes and wires to stereo system. The higher the volume on the stereo, the higher the current. At low volume, he feels nothing; at higher volume, it is painful. But in between, he can orgasm from the sensation.
In “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence,” Dr. Anna Lembke says today’s superabundance of pleasurable stimuli makes us all vulnerable to overindulgence. But don’t lose hope. Anna, the medical director of addiction medicine at Stanford, says that by understanding how modern stimulants — from Instagram to masturbation machines — prey on our primitive brains, we can find ways to overcome the unhealthy dependencies that prevent us from leading balanced lives.
(This episode originally aired in December 2021.)
Host: Rufus Griscom
Guest: Anna Lembke
Executive Producer: Caleb Bissinger
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