Love
PS Picks: A Podcast Heavyweight
PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.
Viewfinder: A Valentine's Day Sale in the Ivory Coast
A boy poses with a pillow shaped like lips on sale for Valentine's Day in Yopougon, Ivory Coast, on February 13th, 2018.
We Need a Hashtag That Celebrates What Actually Goes on in LGBT Clubs
#LoveIsLove has united members and supporters of the LGBT community after Orlando. But what happens when the plurality of the rainbow gets collapsed into a single image of two men kissing?
Lessons From Tinder's In-House Love Doctor
What our profile pictures and swipe-rights can tell us about human behavior, according to sociologist Jessica Carbino.
How Your Relationships Affect Your Health
A new study examines the lasting impacts of social isolation on key health indicators including blood pressure and inflammation.
The Sexiest 'Pacific Standard' Stories of 2015
In which we put on a little Barry White for you.
Single and Loving It, for Some
Researchers find that people who work to avoid conflicts are just as happy single—in fact, they're happier than other singles.
The Chemical Feedback Loop That Makes You Love Your Dog
It makes your canine love you too.
The Object Clues in Your Lover's Bedroom
Should the discovery of a handgun, a noose, or Nazi dolls be a deal breaker? Strange bedroom artifacts reveal character and background, but they might also spur flawed interpretations.
Valentine's Day Validation
Is there another holiday as perennially divisive as Valentine's Day? We've compiled stories on love and lust that will fit whatever mood you happen to be in this year.
My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward
We met at 18. We wed at 24. At 27, I checked my wife into a psych ward—for the first time. How mental illness re-shapes a marriage.
Why Your Friends Won’t Dump Their Awful Significant Others
Forget how friends, family, and others feel. People even tend to view their partners more favorably than their partners view themselves.
Grief: Reframing the Way We Think About Love and Loss
It’s not exactly true that everyone grieves in their own way. It’s a universal experience, which is good, because that can help us to better understand the mourning among us.
Happier Wives Spend Time Synced in Sleep With Husbands
Coordinated snooze time is the signal of a stable marriage, a new study suggests.
The Feminization of Love and Masculinization of Sex
Do men pretend like they're not into Valentine's Day—or any other love-related things—because of the way society pressures them to avoid "girly" things in our culture?
Valentine’s Day in India: Youth Rebellion Against Traditional Society
In India, where many kids are hungry to share their love with one another, February 14 is an opportunity to openly oppose their conservative parents' values.
Is It Possible to Degrade and Exploit Your At-Home Sexbot?
As artificial intelligence advances and our toys become more and more like us, we must consider the ethics of extracting pleasure from the machines.
Marriage May Calm a Criminal Impulse in Men
Likewise, divorce can send past offenders back into lives of crime.
Who's Happier on Valentine's Day? The Single or the Hitched?
How we feel about romance has everything to do with the relationship we’re currently in (or not in).
Contemplating Crushes: A Scholarly Look at Love
For Valentine's Day, a roundup of recent research on romance and relationships.
Marry You? Let Me Consult My Brain Scan
Just in time for Valentine's Day, new research from China suggests information taken from fMRI scans may predict whether a new romantic relationship will last.
Oxytocin Levels Predict Longevity of Love Affairs
New research links levels of the “cuddle hormone” with falling, and staying, in love.
Long-Term Love Not Just a Fairy Tale
A new study finds nearly three-quarters of Americans remain “very in love” after a decade of marriage.
Flowers Make Women More Receptive to Romance
A French researcher finds flowers really do put women in a romantic mood.