The Great RomCon?

We have talked a lot on this podcast about platforms, social media and apps, but is it the devices themselves that we use to access them that are the problem? The titular smartphone, the first-generation iPhone in 2007 was primarily marketed with the tagline "Apple reinvents the phone". Today, that small slab of glass in your pocket has swallowed dozens of technologies that once filled our homes, desks and pockets. It is, by almost any measure, one of the greatest consumer technologies ever invented. And yet, for something designed to connect us, many people have never felt more distracted, anxious or alone.To discuss this with me, today's guest is Dr Kaitlyn Regehr, Associate Professor at UCL and author of 'Smartphone Nation: Why We're All Addicted to Screens and What Your Family Can Do About It', whose research is focused on digital and AI literacy. She has informed legislation on online safety, most recently feeding into the Online Safety Act, and she has provided consultation in the House of Lords, and to Members of Parliament, the Metropolitan Police, the Children’s Commissioner, the Scottish Government and Prevent. Dr Regehr is committed to the public dissemination of algorithmic and AI literacy through broadcasting and writing.Produced by the Bloomsbury Institute London.

Human attraction, the elusive spark or personal chemistry you have with some people (but not others), has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years. We assess available metrics in person: body language, eye contact, confidence - all these tiny signals that help us work out whether someone is attractive, trustworthy, dangerous, charismatic, boorish, pompous, intelligent or completely insufferable.Then, in the space of about fifteen years, we collectively decided to move dating onto apps where most of that information disappeared. Now attraction often begins with six photos, a vaguely ironic reference to Hawaiian pizza, and the strategy of delayed replies.So, how are we actually navigating this strange new environment? Are dating apps helping us identify compatible partners more efficiently, or are they distorting this natural in-person attraction process entirely? Looking to explore this with me is today’s guest, Dr Claire Hart, an Associate Professor at the University of Southampton whose work explores attraction, relationships and the psychology of human connection in digital environments. Dr Hart’s research is in quantitative social and personality psychology, such as looking at: narcissism, empathy and bullying.Produced by the Bloomsbury Institute London.

Communication has been going through a revolution. Originally, humans evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to communicate face-to-face: tone of voice, eye contact, body language, nervous laughter, pheromones: all the cues and signals that will be read by our subconscious to help us understand one another. Then, within the past twenty years, we collectively decided to move large parts of our social and romantic lives onto glowing rectangles in our hands: the original iPhone was launched in January 2007.Now we flirt through text messages, argue via WhatsApp, dump each other over email and fall in love through curated online profiles. Entire relationships can rise and collapse because of misunderstanding caused by punctuation - is that passive-aggressive full stop?So what exactly is technology doing to the way we communicate? Are dating apps and social media helping us express ourselves better to more people, or flattening human interaction into something more performative and transactional? To discuss this, I speak to Prof Sophie Scott, a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL. Sophie studies the neurobiology of speech perception: how our brains process the information in speech and voices, and how our brains control the production of our voice.Produced by the Bloomsbury Institute London.

Innovation and technology have reshaped almost every aspect of our romantic and sexual lives: from how we flirt, to how we perform desirability (even male strippers wear tool belts), to how we understand what counts as “normal” intimacy. If you watch the film Kinsey, about his famous US sex study in the 1948 and 1953 in America, all anyone wants to know of the researchers is, “Am I normal?” We are 'On Tech and Sexual Politics' here on this podcast, but as platforms tighten their rules around sexual content, and governments introduce sweeping legislation like the Online Safety Act, the politics of pleasure have become more visible than ever.I discuss this with Dr Hanne Stegeman, a researcher at the University of Exeter whose work examines how people navigate sexuality in digital spaces. Dr Stegeman is especially interested in how people experience intimacy on the internet. Her work is concerned with the digital spaces people use to express intimate feelings, share sexual content, or learn about sexuality.Produced by the Bloomsbury Institute London.

This is a recording of our inaugural The Great RomCon? real-life event in London. Our budding singles and AI enthusiasts were in for a singles night with a difference: bonding over a fireside discussion with AI expert, Dr Antonio Weiss.We turned the tables and let AI prompt the conversation for once, where Dr Weiss discussed his further insights from his book 'AI Demystified': AI is disrupting businesses and workplaces, but what will it do to our relationships?Event held at the Conduit Club, London.

"Why don’t you like me?" No, not the beginning line of a progressive one-woman show, but one of many questions that we may ask ourselves about our friends, colleagues and lovers. If we have the time (and money), we may even pay someone to listen to us, in the form of talking therapy, in an effort to better understand ourselves and other people. Therapy has now gone mainstream - but what does that actually mean for how we understand ourselves, our relationships, and the digital world we now live in?In this episode, we are speaking to Dr Aaron Balick, a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, author, psychological consultant, honorary senior lecturer at The Department for Psychoanalytic and Psychosocial Studies at the University of Essex, and cultural theorist and one of the UK’s most thoughtful voices on how psychological ideas shape everyday life. Aaron’s work has long examined what happens when therapy leaves the consulting room and enters the public sphere: from the rise of therapy-speak, to the boom in online counselling, to the way digital culture reshapes our expectations of intimacy. He is a speaker, writes for GQ, and has written three books: ‘The Psychodynamics of Social Networking’ in 2013 and 'The Little Book of Calm' in 2018.Produced by the Bloomsbury Institute London.

Artificial intelligence has moved from a niche technical field to a force shaping how we work, communicate and even participate in democracy. As governments and organisations increasingly rely on automated systems in the name of efficiency and convenience, questions about trust, transparency and public understanding have become impossible to ignore. What does it mean for everyday life when decisions that affect us are mediated by technologies most people (including the people who created them) don’t fully understand?In this episode, I speak to Dr Susan Oman, Senior Lecturer in Data, AI and Society at the University of Sheffield. Susan’s research explores how data and evidence operate in practice, and what this means for policy areas such as well‑being, loneliness, inequality and class. Together we unpack the public’s uneasy relationship with AI, and the democratic implications of experiments like the AI avatar launched by Mark Sewards MP. From dystopian parallels to the realities of digital public engagement, Susan offers a grounded and nuanced perspective on what happens when technology starts to stand in for human judgement and understanding.Produced by the Bloomsbury Institute London.

Technology has transformed almost every aspect of modern romance, but for many disabled people, the digital world can be both a gateway to connection and a barrier to it. Dating apps promise opportunity, yet often overlook the needs of those who rely on them most. At the same time, our online lives have reshaped how we think about infidelity, financial imbalance, and even the boundaries of flirting.To explore these questions, I speak to writer and broadcaster Rob Crossan, who has spent over two decades covering travel, culture and disability affairs. Drawing on his personal experiences as a visually impaired man navigating the dating world, Rob offers a candid and funny account of how technology can help, and hinder, the search for intimacy. They discuss everything from accessibility failures in app design, to the emotional politics of digital temptation, to why going analogue sometimes feels like the only option when looking for love.Produced by the Bloomsbury Institute London.

Gossip, since our pre-tribal dawn, has been a useful way of regulating social standings and ensuring community cohesion. In the online social media and dating app sphere, however, all this has changed, with men and women responding to this new age differently. Some women are finding online spaces becoming increasingly misogynistic and threatening, with some men finding themselves excluded and frustrated.Today’s guest, Dr Jenny van Hooff, is a sociologist at Manchester University specialising in personal life and contemporary intimacies. Dr van Hooff’s research explores the dynamics of couple relationships, love, commitment, infidelity, and break-ups across different stages of life, including examining the significance of friendships and the experiences of dating app users.She co-directs the Contemporary Intimacies, Sexualities, and Genders Research Group, an interdisciplinary network that investigates the evolving landscape of personal relationships and intimacies. The Research Group challenges how we think about intimate relationships, gender relations, eroticism and sexuality to advance social justice. Jenny’s current projects focus on midlife intimacy, relationship breakdown, and digital dating practices. Dr van Hooff wrote a 2013 book entitled: Modern Couples?: Continuity and Change in Heterosexual.In the episode we reference the books The Value of Others and Cold Intimacies: The Making of Emotional Capitalism. Produced by the Bloomsbury Institute London.

‘There is undoubtedly a huge amount of hype that surrounds this latest development in AI. The remarkable ambition of Sam Altman and others to create artificial general intelligence may or may not come to pass. Depending on who you listen to, it is either going to destroy the world, take your job or be your best friend (or even lover).’That was a quote from the book ‘AI Demystified’. Today’s guest, Dr Antonio Weiss, helpfully wrote that book and is here to talk about it. Antonio is an award-winning technology expert and best-selling author. He has advised the Office for Artificial Intelligence, the UK Space Agency and NHS AI Lab, the Government Digital Service, and other pioneering organisations on AI adoption and digital transformation. He was previously Senior Advisor on Digital, Data & Technology to the Office of the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.Antonio is the author of four other books: Key Business Solution (2023), The Practical Guide to Digital Transformation (2022), Management Consultancy and the British State (2019), 101 Business Ideas That Will Change The Way You Work (2013). He is also an Affiliated Researcher at the University of Cambridge's Digital State programme and the co-founder of Thomas Clipper, which has featured in GQ, The Guardian and The Telegraph. He holds a PhD from Birkbeck, University of London.Produced by the Bloomsbury Institute London.