EPISODE · Jun 17, 2026 · 11 MIN
Showing up as a goblin on the first date / Your phone is a FOMO machine / Perfectionists are miserable and there are more of them than ever
from News Sidequest
USA Today reports that "goblintimacy" — showing up on a first date as your actual, unpolished, slightly chaotic self — is having a moment, and the relationship experts quoted are surprisingly divided on whether it's a good idea. Also: a Semmelweis University study finds one in three young adults are heavy smartphone users primarily because of FOMO — fear of missing out — and the psychological mechanism behind it is more interesting than the name suggests. And a London School of Economics meta-analysis of 82,000 college students across 35 years finds that perfectionism has climbed steadily since 1989 — and phones aren't the cause. Economic anxiety is. Plus the CIA gold heist, bees on a United flight, the Idaho flaming torch juggler, and mixed emotions during a Weird Al song. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Showing up as a goblin on the first date / Your phone is a FOMO machine / Perfectionists are miserable and there are more of them than ever
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