The Mating Grounds Podcast

One of the least attractive things a guy can be is crazy. While most guys are not crazy, very few guys pay much attention to their mental health, and they should. In this episode, Tucker and Geoff discuss why mental health matters, what the indicators of mental health are, and how you can improve in these areas to display the traits that women find attractive.

This week, we talk to Rachael Grazioplene, a PhD student at the University of Minnesota who's research focuses on individual differences, primarily openness traits related to creativity and intelligence, and the effects of environmental and genetic factors on this. In this episode we discuss what guys do wrong in dating, what guys do right, what traits women find attractive, and how you can develop those traits.   

Friendly conversation with a woman is not that different than flirting with her; flirting is just a subtle extension of normal conversation to gauge sexual interest. Once you have the right perspective, you can start flirting with any woman you are interested in. In this episode, Tucker, Geoff, and Carin explain how to flirt with a woman, and give lots of tips for how you can improve at flirting.

Guys often have the wrong idea about what's attractive to women. Women aren't exclusively attracted to masculine traits, and are generally attracted to more feminine faces than guys think they are, especially for longer term relationships. In this episode, Tucker, Geoff, and Carin explain how psychology research is often misunderstood by journalists, bloggers, and the manosphere, leading to incorrect views about what women what, and also give some advice on dealing with whatever physical flaws you think you have.

Shame can be crippling, and if you want to form relationships, you need to be comfortable with who you are. In this episode, Tucker, Geoff, and Nils tell you what you need to know to deal with shame, transform the way you view yourself, and become more comfortable in social situations.

Women care a lot about style and aesthetics because it signals other important traits such as intelligence, social ability, and resources. It's very easy to become better than most guys in this area, and in this episode Tucker and Geoff tell you some simple things you can do to improve your aesthetic sense and become more attractive to women.  

Our guest today is Jake Seliger, novelist and writer. Jake has gone from being very unsuccessful with women to very successful, and has lots of actionable advice. In this episode, Tucker and Jake discuss where to find women, how to ask them out, how to know when a girl likes you, and what you can do to make yourself more attractive to women.

Relationships with co-workers can succeed, you just need to approach it correctly. The key thing is to avoid reputational damage and legal disaster. In this episode, Tucker, Geoff, and Nils tell you everything you need to know to intelligently and effectively pursue a relationship with a co-worker.

Tinder is a great way to match up with interested girls, but what do you do after the match? You meet the woman in person, and the best first date is meeting is a social situation that is low stress with a short time commitment. Tucker, Geoff, and Nils explain the best way to go about this, and also tell you how to find girls who are looking for the same thing you are on Tinder.

Falling in love too fast is a common issue guys have, but if you have this problem and don't fix it, eventually you'll end up in a toxic relationship. In today's episode, Tucker, Geoff, and Nils explain the exact steps you need to take to have healthy relationships, starting with recognizing you have a problem, managing your emotions, and building intimate non-romantic relationships.

How much money do you need to be attractive to women? This is a question lots of guys ask, because they think having money is what women want, and for a good reason: consumerist culture has taught you that your value, your identity as a person, and your sexual ability is tied to the things you buy. The problem is that all of the actual empirical data says the opposite--women don't actually care that much about wealth (and when they do, it's in only specific situations). In today's episode, Tucker and Geoff discuss how much money you really need, and what actually matters to women.

Today’s guest is Dr. Heather Berlin, acclaimed researcher and neuroscientist, and Dr. Berlin and Tucker discuss exactly how guys can develop and retain good habits both in dating and in life. Dr. Berlin also talks about what it’s like to be an intelligent, beautiful, successful woman dating in New York City and the things she sees that guys do right and wrong.

A lot of guys think that once they have a girlfriend, all other women must immediately become unattractive to them, or they're morally bankrupt. That's not only silly, it's unnatural and unhealthy--for both partners. But on the other hand, if you have an intense desire to actually be with other women, you should examine whether your relationship is right for you. In this Q&A, Geoff, Nils & Tucker unpack all the issues that surround the "flirting with other women while in a relationship" question.

What's the difference between being assertive and aggressive? Assertiveness is attractive to women, aggressiveness is repellent to them, and it's extremely important to understand where the line is. In today’s Q&A, Tucker, Nils, and Carin explain what the difference is and what you need to know to find the right assertiveness balance to be attractive to girls.

Guys often think "small talk" is a meaningless waste of their time and don't understand why women want to engage in it. Small talk is not meaningless; like many things in mating, the real purpose is not what the surface meaning appears to be. Small talk is actually a critical part of a woman's assessment of a man, and in today’s Q&A, Tucker, Nils, and Carin explain why small talk is important, and give some tips to get better at it.

Should you be a nice guy or an asshole? This is the eternal question, and not only does the conventional wisdom (be the nice guy) get it wrong, but so does the contrarian position (just be an asshole). In this episode, Tucker and Geoff explain the science behind nice guy vs. asshole, what you should do, what women actually respond to, and how to do it in your life.

Our guest today is one of the manosphere's most influential and prominent thinkers: Jack Donovan, author of "The Way of Men." Most of our interviews are about how men can do better with women; this one is not like that at all. In this episode, we talk about his (excellent) book, about masculinity, and about other male-centered issues. If you’re interested in that stuff, you’ll love this discussion, but if you just want actionable information relating to women, you probably want to skip this one.  

This is a question lots of young guys have: how do you turn a casual relationship into something more? Tucker, Nils, and Carin walk you through the steps to take a girl from casual to serious relationship.

You cannot change anyone, and trying to do that is a recipe for disaster. In this Q&A, a guy asks for advice on a specific situation, but instead, Tucker, Nils & Carin identify the larger issue--a guy trying to change a girl--and explain why this doesn't work, and how to avoid it, and what you should do if you find yourself trying to do this.

Male bisexuality is hard to deal with; both for men, and women. In this episode, a Mating Grounds listener asks how and when to be open about being bisexual, and Tucker, Geoff, and Carin talk through what options he has for addressing this fact with women.