Zoe interviews Rob Brooks, an evolutionary biologist at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Rob's research interests encompass the evolution of mate selection, the drawbacks of physical attractiveness, sexual conflict, the mechanisms behind aging in animals, and the complex relationship among sex, diet, obesity, and mortality.

His most recent publication, "Artificial Intimacy: Virtual Friends, Digital Lovers, and Algorithmic Matchmakers" (2021), positions him as an authoritative voice on the impact of online dating applications, AI chatbots, and virtual reality pornography on human behavior, both now and in the foreseeable future.

‎Quillette Cetera: AI Girlfriends Are Good For Society: Evolutionary Biologist Rob Brooks on Artificial Intimacy and Mating Economics on Apple Podcasts

‎Show Quillette Cetera, Ep AI Girlfriends Are Good For Society: Evolutionary Biologist Rob Brooks on Artificial Intimacy and Mating Economics - 26 Oct 2023

Apple Podcasts

Involuntarily Celibate: Explanations and Practical Solutions to a Dangerous Phenomenon

Of the 50 plus shades of online anger, one fascinates me more than the rest: the anger of the Incel. Beneath the euphemistic portmanteau of “involuntary” and “celibate” lurks a sinister mass of self-loathing men. They know they are unattractive, and in online forums they blame women. The Incels spe…

QuilletteRob Brooks