The Unmistakable Creative Podcast Daniel Lieberman: Dopamine, Desire, and Why Enough is Never Enough
Oct 2, 2025
Dr. Daniel Lieberman, psychiatrist and author of *The Molecule of More*, dives into the neuroscience of dopamine and its impact on our desires. He reveals how our cravings for the unattainable can lead to dissatisfaction and impulsive decisions. Lieberman contrasts infatuation with true love, examines why people cheat, and discusses how drugs hijack our dopamine systems. He also emphasizes the importance of mindfulness and offers strategies like dopamine detox to cultivate genuine satisfaction and balance in our lives.
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From Jung To Med School
- Lieberman recounts how a mentor told him to go to medical school to study the brain biologically.
- That advice redirected him from Jungian analysis toward psychiatry and neuroscience.
Achieving Tenure Freed Him To Write
- Lieberman describes reaching full professor and feeling liberated from the promotion treadmill.
- That freedom motivated him to write a book intended for a wide audience rather than more narrow academic papers.
Dopamine Is The Future-Seeking Chemical
- Dopamine manages desires for things outside arm's reach and drives future-focused thinking.
- Its purpose is to maximize future resources by creating motivation, perseverance, and abstract planning.
