Relationship recession: Why are fewer people coupling? episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 9, 2026 · 28 MIN

Relationship recession: Why are fewer people coupling?

from The Briefing Room · host BBC Radio 4

For previous generations, coupling was something only trains did. Then it became a word to describe the business of finding a partner. An important business for the future of the species. But today in the developed world - and even beyond - the data shows that coupling is significantly down. Increasingly, people are just not forming those relationships. There are all kinds of theories out there now about why this is happening, ranging from the intriguing to the improbable. So what do we know about this noncoupling and its implications? Guests:Dr Alice Evans, visiting Associate Professor at Stanford and author of the upcoming book The Great Gender Divergence John Burn-Murdoch, columnist and chief data reporter for the Financial Times Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Ben Carter and Kirsteen Knight Editor: Richard Vadon Sound engineer: Gareth Jones, Neil Churchill Production co-ordinator: Siobhan Reed, Maria OgundeleImage credit: Malte Mueller, Getty Images

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 9, 2026

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

Relationship recession: Why are fewer people coupling?

0:00 28:38

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of The Briefing Room?

This episode is 28 minutes long.

When was this The Briefing Room episode published?

This episode was published on July 9, 2026.

Can I download this The Briefing Room episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!