Obsession
What's the best way to navigate the friendzone? Why do people gossip? What kind of love is this anyway?
· 58 min
The podcast
Love Factually
with Paul Eastwick & Eli Finkel
Fact-checking Hollywood…one rom com at a time
How do people manage their belief that the world is just? Is true love effortless? Are we sometimes willing to make a sacrifice for our partner even if it pushes them away? Inspired by Tom Hooper's (2012) melodramatic interpretation of the Les Misérables stage musical, Paul, Eli, and Dr. Vanessa Bohns sing, cry, and fight for the revolution.
Recently
All 76 episodesSense and Sensibility
Does infatuation bring out the attachment anxiety in all of us? Will marrying a man of ill-repute will make you miserable? How did Jane Austen so spectacularly capture her cultural moment?
· 47 min
Second Anniversary Show!
with Laurie Santos, Justin Lehmiller + 5 more
Paul and Eli host a party for the second anniversary of Love Factually. Seven friends of the podcast hop on to chat with us about movies we missed and takes we fumbled from the past year. Then, Paul and Eli count down their top five movies of Year 2—the movies that best aligned with the scientific evidence base.
· 81 min
Fact-checking Hollywood…one rom com at a time
Movies teach us about love and romance. Sometimes they get it right. Sometimes they get it wrong. We’ll use the science to sort it out.
Meet the hosts
Press
As seen in The New York Times
Love Factually featured in The New York Times' roundup of podcasts helping listeners make sense of relationships, health, and well-being.
Read the story here →
Finally, a cure for the madness: a podcast about romantic movies that applies science to nonsense and differentiates truth from myth. Every Hollywood romance should come with a warning to listen to these two psychologists…
This podcast is a gift to everyone who loves rom coms (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t). It’s sophisticated, smart, hilarious, and best of all: evidence-based. I can’t wait for more episodes!
Selected media coverage
- New York Times: 8 Wellness Podcasts to Add to Your Queue
- Paul onWrong Answers Only: Valentine’s Dayedition
- WGN Morning News: “Love Factually” podcast analyzes romantic films through a scientific lens.
- The Sex and Psychology Podcast: Paul and Eli chat with Dr. Justin Lehmiller
- Inc.com: A Pair of Psychologists Mined Rom-Coms for Relationship Lessons
- New York Post: What Rom-coms Teach us about Real-Life Relationships
- APS Observer: Exploring the Science of Co-creating Relationships
- Kellogg Insight: What Romantic Comedies Can Teach Us about Communication
- eDialogue: SPSP Members Examine Romantic Movies Through the Lens of Psychology in New Podcast
- Podcast The Newsletter
- UC Davis Magazine: Do Rom-Coms Depict Realistic Relationships?
- The Daily Northwestern: Psychology Prof. Eli Finkel on Diving into the Science of Relationships
Listen wherever you get your podcasts
New episodes every other Monday.