Does life feel a little flat lately? Like the things that used to excite you just don't hit the same way anymore? You're not imagining it, and you're definitely not alone.

In this episode, we get into something most of us feel but rarely name: dopamine overload. What happens when your brain gets so flooded with cheap, artificial stimulation that real life starts to feel underwhelming by comparison? Turns out, quite a lot.

We pull from journalist Johann Hari's eye-opening research in Stolen Focus on how our phones were literally engineered to keep us hooked, borrowing from the same psychology used in slot machines. That constant emotional ping-pong between a meme, a news headline, and a notification is quietly rewiring how we experience everything.

In addition to neuroscience, we also sit with what C.S. Lewis, the Psalms, and the concept of Sabbath have to say about attention, wonder, and why God built rest into the weekly rhythm of human existence long before burnout was a buzzword.

If you've been feeling disconnected, restless, or weirdly bored despite being constantly entertained, this one's for you.

In this episode:

• Why dopamine is the wanting chemical (not the pleasure one) and why that distinction changes everything
• The slot machine mechanic hiding inside your Instagram feed
• What the Desert Fathers knew about silence that neuroscience is only now catching up to
• Four practical ways to reclaim your attention and actually feel alive again

"The world will never starve for want of wonders, only for want of wonder." — G.K. Chesterton

Put the phone down. Press play. 🤍 🎧