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Taming the Molecule of More

A Step-by-Step Guide to Make Dopamine Work for You

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Taming the Molecule of More

By: Michael E. Long, Daniel Z. Lieberman MD - foreword
Narrated by: Michael E. Long
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About this listen

Featured on The Next Big Idea Club’s April 2025 Must-Read Books

Dopamine, “the molecule of more,” makes it easy to get stuck in a cycle of never being truly satisfied. It promises happiness, but can never deliver. That part is up to us.

A more fulfilling life begins with training your brain to overcome the dopamine chase—and it’s easier than you think.

From Michael E. Long, coauthor of the life-changing book The Molecule of More, comes this guide with practical solutions to the problem. Based on the latest neuroscience, it will teach you to overcome the most troubling aspect of our biological programming. You’ll learn to:

  • Stop being held captive to the lure of social media and gaming
  • Use multitasking in ways that increase your productivity—not hamper it
  • Avoid the pitfalls that plague dating life—or refresh interest in the romance you already have
  • Stop compulsive shopping, online and otherwise
  • Break the cycle of doomscrolling and crush your obsession with the news
  • Grow your creativity and call it up when you need it most

What if we could harness our struggles and our triumphs toward satisfaction for a lifetime? Taming the Molecule of More delivers a method to begin a more fulfilling life—right now.

©2025 by Michael E. Long. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Biological Sciences Emotions Neuroscience & Neuropsychology Personal Development Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Science Human Brain Mental Health
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If you've ever heard Mike Long speak you'll know how much fun it is to be in his company, so I bought this first as an audiobook. And yes, I enjoyed having his voice in my head, and I found the further insights into dopamine fascinating (if you haven't listened to his earlier book, The Molecule of More, that's well worth a listen too). But. Much to my surprise and delight this book offers far more than expected: there is a thoughtfulness and humanity to it that ultimately turns it into a book of considerable wisdom. So I bought it again - as a hardback book. Because, as good as the audiobook is, I want to be able to take in the book's thinking more deeply than the audio format allows (especially the closing chapters on creativity and, well, life). I've never done that before with a book. Definitely worth it.

So good I bought it twice

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There are a few introductory chapters which are pretty good. The book then descends into what feel like space-filling chapters offering superficial advice, introduced by an academic study to give a veneer of relevance. These are in large part patronising and assume a middle of the road American conservative viewpoint.

The author tries to extend narrow studies to conclusions like, „there might be some people on social media who are open minded, but for every one there are 10000 looking for a fight.“

„In this new age there are some people who are not monogamous, and that’s their right, BUT“ followed by ten minutes of advice only on how to be monogamous for ethical / moral / Christian reasons. Along the lines of "If you are a woman and want to stop having sex out of relationships because it makes you feel like a *****..."

„there is a solution to this - stop being a jerk.“

„and you should“ used until you want to throw the audiobook out the window.

„in 197x, America deregulated, meaning drugs companies could sell" [medicines as supplements without evidence]... "And that's a good thing."

"Do you masterbate too much?" Presented with the judgemental approach of a 1950s sunday school lesson.

The neo-liberal absolute deregulation appear repeatedly in different contexts, which is an opinion. What makes it painful to listen to is the author repeatedly preceding these sections with a single academic study and then telling the listener what they should think / what is right / what is good.

#bookreturned

Some good parts, padded out with patronising opinionated space-fillers from the author’s conservative American outlook.

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