Skip to content

Romantic Love, Solved

February 18, 2026 · 1 h 35 min

Show notes

We put love on trial — literally. Drew and I squared off in a full debate over whether romantic love is overrated. I made the case that love is basically your brain's con man, a neurochemical hijacking designed to make you delusional about deeply flawed people, and that the most intoxicating relationships are often the most toxic. Drew fought back with the evidence that love is the foundation of social infrastructure, physical health, and long-term happiness. By the end, we came to a gentlemen’s agreement: a framework that explains why we're all chasing the wrong kind of love, and what the right kind actually looks like.

CHAPTERS

Chapters

  • 00:00:00 Introduction
  • 00:02:21 Round 1: Love is the Brain's Conman
  • 00:23:33 Round 2: Love as Social Infrastructure
  • 00:43:48 Round 3: Love and Happiness
  • 01:05:29 Round 4: Why We're Drawn to People Who Hurt Us


⇨ Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: https://go.markmanson.net/cdi1xzha

⇨ Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get started at https://go.markmanson.net/217i5ys5

FOLLOW MARK

Mark's IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markmanson⁠

Solved IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/⁠

Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/markmanson⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/⁠

YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

All episodes of SOLVED with Mark Manson

Settings

Display

Language

Decides which stations you see first on the home page.

History

Recently played stations and episodes and your latest searches are only stored in this browser.

Notifications

A short notice when a podcast you follow has a new episode. Turn off single podcasts with the bell on their page.

Account

Save favorites – in the app and on the website.

Keyboard shortcuts

/
Open search
Space
Play or pause
← →
In the player: back 15 s, forward 30 s (episodes) · in a row: next tile
↑ ↓
In a row: target within the tile
Home / End
In a row: first or last tile
Esc
Close window or menu
?
This overview
Now playing

Go to station page

Play next

    Add episodes with “Play next” – they play after the current episode.