Summary
What happens in your brain when Cupid’s arrow strikes? As a teenager, Alison developed an intense crush on George Harrison from the Beatles. But, she wants to know, why do we develop these feelings for pop stars we’ve never actually met? And what potent swirl of neurochemistry drives those fierce emotions?
With neuroscientist Dr. Dean Burnett and evolutionary anthropologist Dr. Anna Machin as their guides, Hannah and Dara investigate everything from the brain’s chemical fireworks during a crush to the evolutionary perks of love and bonding. Along the way, they dissect teenage infatuations, lifelong love affairs with football teams, and why love can feel as addictive as heroin.
There’s even a guest appearance from two cute rodents: the monogamous prairie voles and their more, shall we say, commitment-phobic cousins, the montane voles, who gave us early clues about the role of the ‘cuddle’ hormone oxytocin.
Whether you're a hopeless romantic or a hard-nosed skeptic, prepare to fall head over heels for the science of love.
Contributors:
Dr Anna Machin - evolutionary anthropologist and author of Why We Love Dr Dean Burnett - honorary research fellow at Cardiff Psychology School, author of The Idiot Brain and The Happy Brain. Carmine Pariante - Professor of Biological Psychiatry at King’s College London
Producer: Ilan Goodman Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Audio Production
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're about to listen to a BBC podcast, but this is about something else you might enjoy. |
| 0:05.4 | My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:10.8 | The BBC has an incredible musical heritage and culture and as a music lover, I love being part of that. |
| 0:17.5 | With music on sounds, we offer collections and mixes for everything, from workouts to |
| 0:22.4 | helping you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all put |
| 0:28.3 | together by people who know their stuff. So if you want some expertly curated music in your life, |
| 0:35.0 | check out BBC Sounds. |
| 0:41.2 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:45.0 | You're about to listen to a brand new episode of Curious Cases. |
| 0:47.9 | Shows are going to be released weekly, wherever you get your podcast. |
| 0:52.7 | But if you're in the UK, you can listen to the latest episodes first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:56.7 | I'm Hannah Frye. |
| 0:57.9 | And I'm Dara O'Brien. |
| 0:59.5 | And this is Curious Cases. |
| 1:01.6 | The show will we take your quirkiest questions? |
| 1:03.1 | Your crudziest conundrums. |
| 1:04.0 | And then we solve them. |
| 1:05.5 | With the power of science. |
| 1:06.5 | I mean, do we always solve them? |
| 1:08.5 | I mean, the hit rate's pretty low. |
| 1:10.2 | But it is with science. It is with science. |
| 1:15.8 | We're going to do an episode on love today. |
... |
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