Smart Girl Dumb Questions Are We Really Having Less Sex? with Dr. Justin Garcia
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Sep 5, 2025 Dr. Justin Garcia, an evolutionary biologist and Kinsey Institute director, explains the biology and history of love, sex, and mating. He discusses cross-cultural kissing, shaky-bridge arousal, orgasm puzzles (including pig-farming studies), internet-era dating overload, pandas and panda porn, and how trust and rituals shape lasting pair bonds.
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Love Activates Dopamine Addiction Circuits
- Falling in love lights up the brain's VTA, a dopamine hotspot, showing love is a biological drive.
- Romantic rejection activates similar neural circuitry to drug withdrawal, which explains intense breakup pain.
More Choice, Less In-Person Commitment
- The internet massively expands mate choice but creates choice overload and dating burnout.
- Apps increase connections but make translating matches into in-person relationships harder.
Arousal Gets Misread As Chemistry
- Misattribution of arousal shows physical excitement can be misread as attraction, like on a shaky bridge.
- Context shapes whether anxiety-like physiology becomes romantic chemistry or panic.
