Primal Dating: What Modern Romance Gets Wrong Tim Ash

Dating in 2026 feels broken. The apps promise infinite choice, rom-coms on our screens promise “the one”, and yet frustration, ghosting, and mismatched expectations seem to be more normal than anything actually working out. This week, Tim Ash, author of Primal Dating, joins us as we explore why dating in the modern world feels so unstable and why many of today’s relationship struggles aren’t personal failures, but predictable outcomes of our ancient instincts clashing with modern environments and expectations. Topics [0:00] Introduction and Speed Round with Tim Ash [7:52] Behavioral tendencies and evolutionary psychology [18:09] The role of life stages in dating [26:17] The impact of cultural norms on dating [30:51] The economic of dating [35:48] The role of tech in dating [48:33] The importance of empathy in dating [56:58] Music talk with Tim and Tim [1:00:45] Grooving Session: Modern dating for primordial (?) minds ©2026 Behavioral Grooves Links About Tim Primal Dating by Tim Ash and Dr. Limor Gottlieb Join us on Substack! Join the Behavioral Grooves community

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Primal Dating: What Modern Romance Gets Wrong Tim Ash is an episode from Behavioral Grooves Podcast by Kurt Nelson, PhD and Tim Houlihan.

This episode is 81:22 long.

This episode was published on Feb 16, 2026.

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