Living in the Age of Big Bets
This week, we learned how America got hooked on dopamine.
This Week on the Next Big Idea Podcast
What happens when everyone can bet on everything?
On a muggy spring day in 2018, the Supreme Court handed down a decision that transformed America. In a 6-3 ruling, the high court cleared the way for legal sports betting from coast to coast. Since then, all bets have been off: Americans have wagered more than $500 billion on sports. And now, thanks to prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, we're betting on everything — the weather, where the next US airstrike will land in Iran, whether Jesus Christ will return before 2027. McKay Coppins, a staff writer at The Atlantic, wanted to write about this brave new world of betting. He got more than he bargained for. His story — "My Year as a Degenerate Gambler" — is the cover of The Atlantic's April issue.
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Book Bite of the Week
How do you raise sane children in the age of screens?
Michaeleen Doucleff’s new book Dopamine Kids is a smart, practical reset for families who feel like screens (and ultraprocessed snacks) are running the house. Instead of treating the problem as a simple willpower battle, Doucleff argues that the fix isn’t deprivation so much as reintroducing real-world joy—more meaning, connection, and genuinely satisfying activities that make the brain less hungry for the low-grade rewards of devices. It’s a science-backed roadmap for taking back attention at home without turning parenting into a constant fight. Pick up a copy on Amazon or check out Michaeleen’s key insights on the Next Big Idea app.
This Week on the Next Big Idea Daily Podcast
Join us for a live chat with Nir Eyal today at 1:30PM ET. Click here to RSVP and get notified when we go live.
Could your beliefs be holding you back?
Beyond Belief starts with a provocative premise: what if the biggest thing holding most of us back is not a lack of discipline, talent, or information, but our own beliefs? In this science-backed guide, Nir Eyal and Julie Li unpack how we confuse facts, faith, and beliefs, and how that confusion quietly shapes our choices, our relationships, and our sense of what’s possible. The payoff is practical and empowering: a framework for updating limiting beliefs with better evidence, and for building the kind of “radical nuance” and intellectual humility that’s in short supply right now. Check out Nir’s summary on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, pick up a copy of the book on Amazon, or join our live chat today at 1:30PM.
This edition of Book of the Day is sponsored by Granola. Get three months free at granola.ai/idea.
🎉 Happy Publication Week! 🎉
The following Next Big Idea Club Must-Read authors got to celebrate the publication of their books this week — congratulations to them all! 📖 Join us in reading and discussing these new releases:
Rachel Zoffness, Tell Me Where It Hurts
Jonathan McNeill, The Algorithm