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Becky Ripley and Sophie Ward take a cold hard look at the psychology of the seven deadly sins. Gluttony is on the menu today. Why do we crave what we crave?

Becky Ripley and Sophie Ward take a cold hard look at the psychology behind each of the seven deadly sins, in the order established by Pope Gregory the Great: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and lazy old sloth. Why have we evolved these ugly emotions? What鈥檚 going on in the brain and the body when we feel them? And how best can we live alongside them - in ourselves and with others?

Gluttony is on the menu today. On one hand, the odd bit of indulgence isn't such a bad thing. Eat, drink, and be merry. But sometimes we overdo it. We crave, we binge, we short circuit our dopamine reward systems, and before we know it, we can't stop.

But why do we crave? Can we control our cravings? And when does a little bit of binging become too much?

To guide us through this mess is evolutionary anthropologist Dr Anna Machin from the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, food writer Mark Schatzker, author of 'Steak', 'The Dorito Effect' and 'The End of Craving', Dr Andrew Moynihan from the Department of Psychology at the University of Limerick, and writer AK Blakemore, author of 'The Glutton'.

Producer: Becky Ripley

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Christmas Day 2023 17:28

Broadcasts

  • Tue 19 Dec 2023 11:00
  • Christmas Day 2023 17:28