Whether it's an under the radar genre or a proper out there podcast, sometimes it's better when you get weird, especially when it comes to switching up your soft drink, introducing new Dr Pepper Zero

with the same blend of 23 unique flavors,

it tastes just as weird as regular Dr Pepper,

but with zero sugar and zero calories.

It's a taste you can't quite put your finger on.

Weird. But in a surprisingly good way, try more weird with Dr. Pepper's

Zero. Dating is awkward. I'm not sure there's another way around this. It's sort of

inherently uncomfortable to manufacture a connection with a stranger who you might kiss or never see again or spend the rest of your life

with.

It's pretty hard to nail that fine line of respectful intimacy with someone on your very first try.

But why does dating online feel so much more awkward?

We asked our listeners to share some of the craziest messages they'd received on a dating app.

One of the worst messages I've ever received on a dating app was...

I will always remember this dirty poem I got hit.

It said that does my eyes speak as much. The worst message I have ever gotten on a dating app he just asked if I would So that was a no. The messages we got weren't so crazy. They were just gross.

So instead... They were just gross.

So instead, I wanted to spark up some romance the old-fashioned way, by getting set up.

This week I asked my producers to play Matchmaker. I said, help me find two experts.

First, I was looking for somebody smart, funny, ambitious, with a great voice for radio, who could convince me that

dating apps are bad. Enter Mr. Wright.

I'm Eric Kleinenburg.

I'm a professor of sociology and the director of the Institute for Public Knowledge

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