THE SCARCITY BRAIN

A new big idea book from the author of THE COMFORT CRISIS that offers a mix of scientific narrative and investigative journalism, revealing why humans are hardwired to crave more and how that drive is now putting us and our planet in peril, and what we can all learn from the extraordinary individuals and cultures that have found satisfaction and sustainability living with less.

Are we hardwired to crave more? From food and stuff to information and influence, why can't we ever get enough? Blending science narrative and investigative journalism, Michael Easter explores how our hardwired "scarcity brain" is making us sick and miserable-- and how we can, instead, use it as a new approach to positive habit-building for better results.

Our world is filled with an overload of choices and information. From more food, more material goods, and more information, we've developed a scarcity brain built on craving more. The fix for scarcity brain isn't just about buying less or spending less time on the internet, it's learning to use what we already have to enhance our lives - making it enough.

Easter's solution to scarcity brain begins with tapping into, what he calls, our built in "scarcity loop" tendencies in order to build better habits and break away from low-reward cravings. Initially brought to light by the gambling industry, a scarcity loop feeds on our attraction to experiences that make use of Opportunity, Random Rewards, and Quick Repeatability (i.e. slot machines). Now, scarcity loops are embedded into many of the technologies we use today that have daily impacts on our lives, from health trackers to dating apps. Instead of getting hooked further, Easter believes that we can leverage the scarcity loop for good and use it to build and reinforce healthy choices allowing us to feel good with enough, and appreciate our lives to the fullest.

Through his interactions with ground-breaking innovators and leading scientists also exploring the built-to-crave mindset, Easter has gained incredible insight, which included understanding the essential difference between less and enough from a survivalist star of the reality show "Naked and Afraid", learning how to channel being alone into a productivity hack from artisanal coffee-making Benedictine monks, finding out what we've gotten wrong about addiction from Iraq's chief psychiatrist, and discovering how to tap into our exploration gene from an astronaut onboard the International Space Station.

SCARCITY BRAIN is ultimately about training our brains to experience our surroundings in a new, more satisfying way. Since our publication of The Comfort Crisis, Easter has doubled his platform and grown his audience and media connections. He has great reach in the podcast community and is set to launch his own podcast later this year.

Michael Easter is a contributing editor at Men's Health magazine, a columnist for Outside magazine, and a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Michael Easter is a contributing editor at Men's Health magazine, columnist for Outside magazine, and professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His work has appeared in more than sixty countries and can also be found in Men's Journal, New York, Vice, Scientific American, Esquire, and others.