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From Chili-Eating Contests To Ultramarathons, Why Do We Seek Pain For Pleasure? (Rebroadcast)
A competitor takes part in a chili pepper-eating competition in Lijiang, southwest China's Yunnan province.
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47:10
If you’ve ever burnt your hand on a stove and someone told you it’s “all in your head,” they’re technically not wrong. Our sensory receptors communicate with the brain to create the sensation of pain.
But if pain is… painful, why do some of us seek it out?
To find out, journalist Leigh Cowart interviewed ultramarathoners, spice aficionados, lovers (practitioners) of BDSM, and other pain-seekers about why they do what they do.
From their book Hurts So Good:
“At its core, masochism is about choosing pain on purpose, for a reason. And often, in my experience, that reason is to feel bad to feel better. I believe that this phenomenon — the engineering of situations in which one suffers in order to secure guaranteed relief — is worthy of a tender, hilarious, heartfelt-examination. I would know: I am an inveterate, high-sensation-seeking masochist. I am a science reporter. And I have some f***ing questions.”
We talk about the link between pain and pleasure — and hear your stories and questions about pain on purpose.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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