We've all been there: You sit down for one episode of a reality TV show, and six hours later you're sitting guiltily on the couch, blinking the screen-induced crust off your eyeballs.
Okay. Maybe you haven't been there like our team has. But it's likely you have at least one guilty pleasure, whether it's playing video games, reading romance novels or getting swept into obscure corners of TikTok. It turns out that experiencing – and studying – pleasure is not as straightforward as it might seem. And yet, pleasure is quite literally key to the survival of humanity. So today on the show, we explore the pleasure cycle: What it is, where it lives in the brain and how to have a healthier relationship with the things that make us feel good.
Want more on the brain? Email us the neuroscience you want us to talk about at shortwave@npr.org! (Also please email us if you would like to gush about any of the books you've been loving — romantasy or otherwise!)
The Clifford family was as prepared as possible to welcome Terrance the octopus. But there was one thing they missed: she was pregnant. And then she laid a whole lot of eggs.
A new report by Children and Screens rounds up the changes spurred by the U.K.'s Age Appropriate Design Code, which went into effect in 2020. Similar laws are being considered in the U.S.
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Newspapers are losing the battle against smartphones as the place to learn the news, but one woman has found a way to bridge the divide and bring the print to the people.
Senators who attended a classified intelligence briefing focused on TikTok's influence say the public should get the same information. There's bipartisan support for a vote on a House bill on the app.
They have been dubbed "cubicle comedians" — and some of the top creators raking in the views and likes are Black. For Black humor experts, that's no coincidence.
The House has voted overwhelmingly to ban TikTok if its Chinese owners don't sell it. So now the future of the wildly popular social media platform is in the hands of the Senate.
Mnuchin said he's in touch with other investors to try to buy the popular social media app as lawmakers are seeking to force its Chinese owners to sell the business.
The House is gearing up for a Wednesday vote on legislation that could lead to a ban on one of the most widely used apps in the world, with an estimated 170 million users in the United States alone.
House Republicans move ahead with a bill that would require Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban in the U.S. even as former President Donald Trump voices opposition to the effort.
Alabama GOP Sen. Katie Britt and Texas Rep. Mónica De La Cruz delivered rebuttals to Biden's speech focusing on immigration, crime, inflation and national security.
The White House supports a bipartisan bill that would ban TikTok unless its Chinese parent company sells it. It's a popular app with young voters, who the Biden campaign is working to woo.
Lindsay Lohan and other celebrities were tricked into calling for the ouster of Moldova's president. It's the latest example of the Cameo app being used for an apparent political propaganda operation.
