Generational Divides with Nick Gillespie: Are We Overcomplicating Love and Sex?

Open to Debate

Education, Society & Culture, News

4.6 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 17 July 2026

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS

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Summary

Forget "happily ever after." As marriage and birth rates fall, young adults have less sex, and assumptions about love and commitment are being challenged. In this episode of “Generational Divides,” Reason editor-at-large Nick Gillespie brings together a Gen X-er, a Millennial, and a Gen Z-er to debate these questions about intimacy and love in the 21st century: Should Gen Z have more sex? Is monogamy overrated? Should people have more babies? For Gen X: James J. Sexton, Divorce Lawyer and Author of "How to Stay in Love" For Millennials: Carolyn Gorman, Fellow at the Manhattan Institute For Gen Z: Malavika Kannan, Author and Writer of the "Quarter Life Crisis" Substack Nick Gillespie, Editor-at-Large at Reason, is the guest moderator. Join the conversation on Substack—share your perspective on this episode and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for curated insights from our debaters, moderators, and staff. Follow us on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and TikTok to stay connected with our mission and ongoing debates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:30.8	Welcome to Open to Debate, everybody. I'm John Donvan. Today we're having another conversation
0:34.7	in our series called Generational Divides, hosted by Nick Gillespie, editor-at-large of Reason Magazine.
0:40.9	This time, Nick is welcoming guests from three different generations to discuss sex and relationships.
0:46.8	This conversation is made possible by a generous grant from Liberty Ears Foundation, and a quick note, this program does discuss sex and may not be suitable for all listeners.
0:55.1	Nick, take it away. This is open to debate. I'm Nick Gillespie. Welcome to our series called
1:00.4	generational divides. Today, we're bringing together people of different ages, a Gen Xer, a
1:06.6	millennial, and a Zoomer to discuss sex and relationships. It's such a big part of our lives, but we can still be awkward and avoid talking about it.
1:15.6	Dating and sexual norms in the U.S. have come a long way since our Puritan ancestors.
1:20.6	Early courtship was strategic, formal, and typically didn't prioritize romantic love.
1:26.6	The concept of dating wasn't even really invented until the late 19th century.
1:31.6	Going steady, came about in the 1950s. Then there were the sexual revolutions of the 1960s and 70s.
1:38.4	Now there's hookup culture, love bombing, and situation ships. Over time, romance has broadened to become less rigid, more inclusive,
1:47.6	but always really confusing. You might remember your grandparents telling you how they met.
1:53.3	It may have seemed so simple, so I'm complicated by dating apps. In fact, my grandparents,
1:59.7	one set of my grandparents, had an arranged marriage.
2:02.7	So do older generations have it all figured out or have the kids stumbled onto something?
2:08.8	Today, we want to hear what different generations think about dating trends, our changing attitudes
	...

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