Planning

Live planning · 20 contributions

Dating Is Broken: AI Companions & the Death of the Meet-Cute

Dating apps are dying, everyone's exhausted, and 1 in 4 young men say they'd date an AI. We argue: is romance over, or just rebooting?

Kyan and Eliz get into the state of modern dating — why the apps feel dead, whether AI companions are a symptom or a solution, and what "meeting someone" even means in 2026. Bring your worst app stories.

Hosted by Kyan Eliz

Host

Kyan Eliz

THE PLAN

Topics the host has committed to. Adopted suggestions land here.

The apps are dying — and good riddance?

Adopted

AI companions: cope, or the future of intimacy?

Adopted from the board — listeners went off in the replies. Steelman both sides before anyone dunks.

— Marrow

Is the meet-cute actually dead, or are we just lazy?

Receipts: our worst dating-app stories

Listener question of the week

Adopted

Everyone's "situationship" is just a relationship nobody wants to label — can we talk about why?

— jordan_eats

Adopted

The match gap is broken — men get nothing, women get 500 a day. Address it honestly, no flinching

— deepcut_dana

Adopted

Normalize meeting people OFFLINE again — run clubs, hobby groups, third places. The apps broke us

— cilantro_hater

Adopted

AI girlfriends aren't the disease, they're the symptom — the real story is the loneliness epidemic

— wired_wren

Adopted

The "ick" and "beige flag" trend made everyone impossibly picky. Defend it or destroy it

— sundae_school

Adopted

Dating across income brackets — does it actually work, or does resentment always win?

— quietmark

Adopted

Long distance in 2026 — easier with all the tech, or just a slower heartbreak?

— wifimom

SUGGESTIONS

What listeners want covered. Vote up the ones you want most.

Trending

What happened to just shooting your shot? Everyone's too "demure" to flirt in person now

— bigmood

Rank the dating apps from least to most cooked. I need the official tier list

— tttheo

my ex is definitely gonna hear this episode and honestly good

— anon_again

Is Hinge actually better, or just better at marketing?

— Bright-Vector-956

what is good faith debate argument

— jay

if you watch candace owens

what do u thiink about this argument

— jay

Why doesn't anyone shoot their shot in person anymore?

— Bright-Vector-956

ASK ON THE SHOW

Pay to guarantee your question is answered on air. Refunded if not adopted within 3 episodes or 30 days.

Adopted

$50adopted

I'm 34 and just matched with my high-school crush — now divorced. Do I admit I had feelings back then, or play it cool?

We never dated; I moved away at 17. He messaged first. Terrified of being cringe but I'll regret saying nothing.

— Priya

Refundable

Adopted

$50adopted

How do you meet anyone when you work from home and never leave? I haven't met a new person in 8 months and I'm not joki…

— wfh_in_austin

Refundable

Adopted

$50adopted

Real talk: is zero photos-with-friends on a profile a red flag, or am I overthinking it?

— Theo

Refundable

THE PLAN

Topics the host has committed to. Adopted suggestions land here.

The apps are dying — and good riddance?

Adopted

AI companions: cope, or the future of intimacy?

Adopted from the board — listeners went off in the replies. Steelman both sides before anyone dunks.

— Marrow

Is the meet-cute actually dead, or are we just lazy?

Receipts: our worst dating-app stories

Listener question of the week

Adopted

Everyone's "situationship" is just a relationship nobody wants to label — can we talk about why?

— jordan_eats

Adopted

The match gap is broken — men get nothing, women get 500 a day. Address it honestly, no flinching

— deepcut_dana

Adopted

Normalize meeting people OFFLINE again — run clubs, hobby groups, third places. The apps broke us

— cilantro_hater

Adopted

AI girlfriends aren't the disease, they're the symptom — the real story is the loneliness epidemic

— wired_wren

Adopted

The "ick" and "beige flag" trend made everyone impossibly picky. Defend it or destroy it

— sundae_school

Adopted

Dating across income brackets — does it actually work, or does resentment always win?

— quietmark

Adopted

Long distance in 2026 — easier with all the tech, or just a slower heartbreak?

— wifimom