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Bumble pickleball ad. COVID masks.

Charley Gallay/Getty Images; Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images

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Charley Gallay/Getty Images; Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images

Bumble pickleball ad. COVID masks.

Charley Gallay/Getty Images; Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images

This week, the dating app Bumble couldn’t stay out of the news. First, the company launched an anti-celibacy ad campaign, mocking abstinence and suggesting that women shouldn’t give up on dating apps. Then, at a tech summit, Bumble’s founder suggested that artificial intelligence could be the future of dating. Both efforts were met with backlash, and in an age where everyone seems irritated by dating, where can people turn? Shani Silver, author of Cheaper than therapy substack, and KCRW’s Myisha Battle, dating coach and host of How is your sex life? join the show to make sense of the mess.

Then, four years have passed since the start of the COVID pandemic. Much has changed, including attitudes toward public health. Brittany speaks with bioethicist Dr. Keisha S. Ray about how public health has collided with American culture—how we’re supposed to live among people with different risk tolerances—and what it all means for the next pandemic.

This episode was produced by Barton Girdwood and Liam McBain. It was edited by Jessica Placzek. Technical support came from Becky Brown. Our executive producer is Veralyn Williams. Our Vice President of Programming is Yolanda Sangweni.