Feature: Why our desire for pleasure has become big business

Everyone has at least one bad habit. You can blame stress or anxiety, but Dr David Courtwright thinks capitalism has a lot to answer for. It's a system that's really good at making us want things we don't really need like ultra-processed food or social media. Dr Courtwright is an historian of drugs and addiction. He argues that our desire for pleasure has become a business model. Industries are exploiting the way our brains seek reward to keep us coming back for more even when we know it's not good for us. His book is The Age of Addiction: How Bad Habits Became Big Business. [picture id="4JJEE2G_David_Courtwright_Headshot_731x1024_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]