They bring their own personal dating experiences and their deep research to a funny and fascinating Zoom conversation with Alec

They conclude that our sense that we can measure and control the "numbers game" makes us less happy and perhaps less likely to find true love.

The writers talked to historians and sociologists to analyze the use of concepts like “market value” and “supply and demand” in thinking about romance.

Alec discovered their jointly written article, The ‘Dating Market’ Is Getting Worse, published in February, 2020, and knew he had to talk to them

Writers Kaitlyn Tiffany and Ashley Fetters may be the country’s most astute observers of modern romance. Fetters even wrote the definitive history of Tinder.

In his early 20’s, Hughes traveled to Vietnam as a conscientious objector, and ultimately opened a shelter for street children called the Shoeshine Boys Project.

Dick Hughes, Alec’s second guest, thought he was going to enter the priesthood as a young man, but decided to study theater.

His play, Memorial Day, tells the story of a Vietnam veteran on the verge of suicide over a Memorial Day holiday

Delate, Alec’s first guest, served in Vietnam after high school. He has performed on stage, in movies and on TV, and he’s also a playwright.

Today, Alec speaks with two colleagues he’s known for a long time, Brian Delate and Dick Hughes -- both actors whose lives were touched by the Vietnam War.