It’s likely you have at least one “guilty pleasure.” Maybe it’s romance novels. Or reality TV… Playing video games… or getting swept into obscure corners of TikTok. Neuroscientists say the pleasure response helps us survive as a species. So why do we feel embarrassed by some of the things we love the most? Even if you don't have these negative emotions, experiencing – and studying – pleasure is not as straightforward as it might seem. For a long time, neuroscientists thought the concept of "pleasure" referred to a singular system in the brain. But as research into the subject grew, scientists realized that pleasure is really a cycle of "wanting" and "liking" – each with separate neural mechanisms. Today on the show, producer Rachel Carlson explores this cycle with researchers, who weigh in on the science of pleasure. Even the kind that makes us feel guilty.
Read more of Rachel’s story on guilty pleasures.
Interested in more brain science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.
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The Best One Yet - 🐉 “Pickachu hates AI” — Nintendo’s Pokemon surprise. Quince’s $10B dupe. Rivian’s Valley of Death. +Red Carpet secret
Nintendo surged 18% in 2 weeks thanks to 30-year old Pokemon… and it hates AI.
Quince just hit a valuation twice as good as Skims… thanks to caviar, candles, and caviar?
Rivian is taking orders for the R2… which has to disrupt Rivian, and save Rivian.
And the Academy Awards have a shocking plan for last night’s Red Carpet… Destroy it.
$NTDOY $RIVN $DUPE
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Strict Scrutiny - Make America Grift Again
Leah, Melissa and Kate go on Corruption Watch to catch up on all the sketchy things happening in the judicial and executive branches. Then, they cover some recent oral arguments and opinions from The Court before bringing you a conversation from last week’s live show in LA with Representative Jimmy Gomez of California’s 34th Congressional District.
Favorite things:
- Kate: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans; Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir; Vladimir on Netflix (adaptation of the book by Julia May Jonas)
- Leah: Kacey Musgraves, “Dry Spell”; Judge Young’s opinion denying a stay of the remedies he ordered in response to the federal government’s illegal targeting of students & noncitizens based on pro-Palestinian speech; Sonja Starr & Genevieve Lakier, The War on DEI as a Project of Constitutional Subversion
Melissa: The Devil is Busy on HBO Max; Good Woman: A Reckoning by Savala Nolan; Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette on Hulu and Disney+
Preorder Melissa’s book, The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader
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Buy Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes
Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky
NPR's Book of the Day - ‘The Correspondent’ is an epistolary novel, but can letters tell the whole story?
Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent became a runaway hit for its exploration of a life told through letters. When readers meet Sybil Van Antwerp she’s in her 70s, and she takes readers on a journey through her various correspondences — which include names as revered as Joan Didion and Ann Patchett. But Sybil isn’t telling us everything, and her clever prose might hide as much as it reveals. In today’s episode, author Virginia Evans joins Here and Now’s Robin Young to discuss the value of correspondence, and how the book’s success has changed the letter-writing industry itself.
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The Indicator from Planet Money - Can anything save the news biz?
If you were in the business of making a bunch of money in 2026, you probably wouldn’t pick journalism. From social media to AI, the attention economy has upended the economic calculus for delivering news. But some entrepreneurs are looking to buck the trend.
Today on the show, we examine what the success of two startups could mean for the future of journalism.
Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour.
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A brief history of NPR funding
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Today on the show, we examine what the success of two startups could mean for the future of journalism.
Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour.
Related episodes:
A brief history of NPR funding
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:
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Global News Podcast - The big winners at the Oscars
One Battle After Another wins best picture at the 98th Oscars, while Jessie Buckley wins best actress for her role in Hamnet, and Michael B. Jordan best actor for Sinners. Other winners include Frankenstein and Sentimental Value, while Amy Madigan takes home an Academy Award for best supporting actress and KPop Demon Hunters wins best Animated Feature Film.
Also: Donald Trump widens his calls for other countries to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine tells the BBC he's left the country. Ukraine's president accuses Hungary of trying to force Kyiv to re-open a Russian pipeline transporting oil. Thousands gather in Mexico to attempt a new Guinness World Record for the largest-ever football lesson, and we look at the revival of the Dull Men's Club.
The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight.
Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment.
Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk
Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3361: Ravens in Thin Air
Episode: 3361 The versatile, intelligent, Raven has much to teach us. Today, ravens in thin air.
It Could Happen Here - Shipping Security in the Strait of Hormuz
James and Gare talk about the world of private maritime security, pirates, and the strait of Hormuz.
Sources:
https://www.register-iri.com/wp-content/uploads/MN-2-011-39.pdf
https://en.mercopress.com/2009/04/26/cruise-ship-melody-fended-off-a-pirate-attack
https://abcnews.com/Business/International/pirates-attack-us-flagged-maersk-alabama/story?id=9114429
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
array(3) { [0]=> string(150) "https://www.omnycontent.com/d/programs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/78d30acb-8463-4c40-a5ae-ae2d0145c9ff/image.jpg?t=1751824393&size=Large" [1]=> string(10) "image/jpeg" [2]=> int(0) }The World in Brief from The Economist - America’s energy secretary claims Iran war “likely” to end soon; American and Chinese officials meet, and more
Chris Wright, America’s energy secretary, said the war against Iran is “likely” to end within a few weeks.
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The Economics of Everyday Things - 22. Cadavers – Part 1
In the first of two episodes, Zachary Crockett digs into the strange and discomfiting history of cadavers, and the industry that has emerged around them. This episode was originally published on October 22nd, 2023.
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