The future of this complex emotion is still being written, but its history can offer interesting insights on our present day.

“ Everybody fundamentally wants to be loved…to feel like they belong,” says historian Fay Bound Alberti. “But many people don’t find that, or they think  about romantic love as the answer to all of their problems.” As a result, many of us end up feeling something else entirely: loneliness. Recent scientific research has described loneliness as a “modern epidemic,” an experience that can pose a threat to our health. While there is truth to these claims, they risk simplifying the complexity of this experience.

For this year’s Valentine’s Day episode of the Magazine podcast we speak to Professor Fay Bound Alberti, author of A Biography of Loneliness. She guides us through the history of this emotion—its roots in the modern era and the ways it has been depicted in the work of artists. The podcast also revisits last year’s conversation with Dr. Stephanie Cacioppo; alongside Professor Alberti, she offers strategies for reframing our perceptions of love and loneliness.

Access a transcript of the conversation at https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/1184