What if a dating app matched you with a dead body?
About this episode
This episode explores a dating app that matches users with dead bodies, discussing human behavior and modern dating technology.
What if a dating app could optimize human connection, even after death? In this episode of Science Quickly, books and culture editor Bri Kane speaks with author Sarah Pierce about her debut novel For Human Use, a darkly comic thriller centered on a dating app that matches users with dead bodies. Pierce discusses dating apps, human behavior and the search for meaningful connection. Together, they explore what modern dating technology can and can’t offer and what our reactions to a truly bizarre innovation reveal about human behavior. Recommended Reading: For Human Use. Sarah G. Pierce. Run for It, 2026 E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Allison Rodgers and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Marielle Issa and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: Bri Kane
Guest: Sarah Pierce
Topics covered
- dating apps
- human connection
- death
- modern technology
- human behavior
- thriller
Keywords
- dating app
- human connection
- dead bodies
- Sarah Pierce
- For Human Use
- thriller
- modern dating
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Scientific American
Books & works: For Human Use
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