Are Humans Naturally Monogamous?

Do you think humans are biologically wired for one partner? Or have we been socially conditioned into monogamy? We deep dive into the science and history of human relationships to figure out whether pairing with one person for life is our natural state of being, or if we’re actually biologically predisposed to be non-monogamous.

SHOW NOTES:

Our biology wants us untethered. So why does society place so much emphasis on monogamy?:

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-barash-why-humans-choose-monogamy-20160320-story.html

Monogamous Animal Study - where humans rank:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/dec/10/humans-rank-among-leading-monogamous-mammals-study-finds

PODCAST: Science Vs - True Love: Is Monogamy Unnatural? 

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1gm9BvCWsHhXN2erbvNXiv

PODCAST: Lives Well Lived w/ Anna Machin: Monogamy Is Unnatural

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3WyhifKm70RhzlLUChN8S3

BOOK: Esther Perel - Mating In Captivity

BOOK: Sex At Dawn - Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá

BOOK: Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution - Cat Bohannon 

VIDEO: Helen Fisher + Chris Ryan + Esther Perel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMji-YE1qVA

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.