The Science of Love (Episode 2)
The Science of Happiness
PRX and Greater Good Science Center
4.5 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 12 February 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Guest host Geena Davis helps us explore how the love we feel —for our partners, friends, family, even our four legged companions—shapes our brains, bodies, and lives.
Summary: On this episode of The Science of Love with Geena Davis, we delve into the many forms of love, and experts share research on how small daily actions, physical touch, and emotional attentiveness strengthen relationships, while evolutionary and neuroscience studies reveal why these bonds matter. We also explore practical strategies for cultivating deeper connections and understanding the biological and psychological roots of love.
Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.
Related The Science of Happiness episodes:
The Science of Love Series: https://bit.ly/TheScienceofLove
The Science of Love, with Geena Davis (Episode 1): https://tinyurl.com/bfave5wd
How 7 Days Can Transform Your Relationship: https://tinyurl.com/bdh2ezhr
Today’s Guests:
DANIEL LEVITIN is a neuroscientist, musician, and bestselling author of the books, Music as Medicine: How We Can Harness Its Therapeutic Power and I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music As Medicine.
Follow Daniel Levitin on IG: https://www.instagram.com/daniellevitinofficial
JOHN GOTTMAN is a psychologist and the co-founder of The Gottman Institute.
JULIE GOTTMAN is a clinical psychologist and co-founder of The Gottman Institute and President of The Gottman Institute and co-founder of Affective Software, Inc.
Learn more about John and Julie Gottman here: https://www.gottman.com/
JUSTIN GARCIA is an evolutionary biologist and international authority on the science of sex and relationships.
Learn more about Justin Garcia here: https://tinyurl.com/2c39cs6r
ANNA MACHIN is a British evolutionary anthropologist at the Department of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University, England and author of the book Why We Love: The Definitive Guide to Our Most Fundamental Need.
Learn more about Anna Machin here: https://annamachin.com/
MARISA G. FRANCO is a psychologist and professor at The University of Maryland and author of the book “Platonic: How The Science of Attachment Can Help You Make – and Keep – Friends.”
Learn more about Marisa G. Franco here: https://drmarisagfranco.com/
Message us or leave a comment on Instagram @scienceofhappinesspod. E-mail us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Funding for this special was provided by the John Templeton Foundation, as part of the Greater Good Science Center's Spreading Love Through the Media initiative.
Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/4b52azja
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is the Science of Happiness. I'm Dachar Keltner. Welcome to episode two of our Science of Love |
| 0:06.3 | series. Today, Gina Davis returns as our host, taking us deeper into the science of why we love |
| 0:13.5 | and the many ways love shows up in our lives. Tomorrow, we explore how love and grief are intertwined, |
| 0:20.5 | our deep bond with the natural world, |
| 0:23.3 | and the ways love connects us to our communities and the world around us. |
| 0:27.6 | I want to be love for you, just you, and nobody else but you. |
| 0:36.6 | I want to be love for you. |
| 0:40.3 | Love. |
| 0:43.8 | What is love? |
| 0:45.8 | Love is this neurobiological state of being. |
| 0:50.4 | To me, love is somebody caring enough to find out and remember all of the niche sort of |
| 0:56.8 | little details about you. Loving someone or something is finding them so excellent and desirable |
| 1:05.3 | that you want to make them part of who you are. When you're describing the way love is, you're not going to come up with |
| 1:12.2 | an Aristotelian definition like you would for a triangle. I'm Gina Davis. Welcome to the Science of |
| 1:18.8 | Love, a special by the Science of Happiness podcast. In our last episode, we began exploring |
| 1:24.3 | the science of love, how it evolved, and how it shapes our closest bonds. |
| 1:29.7 | We heard about love between parents and children, romantic partners, and even the ways love affects our microbiome. |
| 1:37.3 | Today, we continue that journey, exploring how to keep romance alive, what sex has to do with it, |
| 1:50.5 | and also the love we feel for our friends, our families, and our four-legged companions. |
| 1:53.9 | The Science of Love after this break. I'm Jimi. Welcome back to the Science of Love, a special by the Science of Happiness podcast. |
| 2:10.6 | Falling in love can feel easy, but staying in love? That takes ongoing effort. Fortunately, there's a science |
| 2:20.7 | to it. After 50 years of studying tens of thousands of couples, researchers Julie and John Gottman |
... |
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