In the 54th episode of Rabbit Hole of Research, a special Valentine’s episode, Joe, Nick, and Georgia are joined by guest Joe Compton, independent author, filmmaker, and creator of Go Indie Now, for an exploration of love in all its forms.
What is love, really? Strip away the poetry and you’re left with chemistry: dopamine, oxytocin, vasopressin, and endorphins firing neural circuits in predictable patterns. But if love is just biology, why does it feel transcendent? Why does it reorganize our priorities, rewrite our memories, and convince otherwise rational minds to abandon safety and logic?
The conversation journeys through the evolutionary roots of attachment behavior, the ancient Greek’s categories of love, and the murky intersection of love and consent. From the honeymoon phase to long-term bonding, from fandoms and idol worship to AI companions and body horror.
Along the way, they discuss indie artists’ authentic connections with fans versus the detachment of stadium-filling superstars, debate whether we could bottle love like a drug, and share their favorite love stories in film (spoiler: tissues recommended). They also tackle the darker side: obsessive love, one-sided attachments, and why horror might understand love better than rom-coms.
Perfect for Valentine’s season, or any time you want to question what love’s really got to do with it.
Follow Joe Compton on YouTube: Go Indie Now
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Link to RHR Joe on Joe Compton’s 21 Grams 06 Feb 2026:
Check out what the RHR crew is creating:
Joe:
Red Line: Chicago Horror Stories Anthology featuring a new story by Joe!
Joe’s Sci-fi physiological thriller Novel: Will You Still Love Me If I Become Someone Else?
Essay by Joe: From Beyond Press: Specific Knowledge: Jotham Austin, II, PhD on Transformations in Fiction
Joe explores how many calories it would take to transform into monsters across sci-fi and horror—think 222 Big Macs and tubs of Cherry Garcia.
It’s Science for Weirdos
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We want to Hear From You (leave a comment):
If you could experience that “honeymoon phase” forever, constant dopamine hits and butterflies, would you choose it, or is there something valuable in moving past it into long-term love?
If someone invented a real love potion (full consent aside), would you take it to fall in love, or would knowing it’s “just chemistry” ruin the whole thing?
Joe Compton asked: can you prove you love someone? How would you try?
Drop your thoughts in the comments. We read them all, and your ideas often shape future episodes.
Future Episodes & Events
Episode 55 – Medicine of the Future: From Fantasy to Patient Care
Guest: Davis Ashura
Exploring how science fiction inspires real medical innovation and what the future of patient care might look like.
Episode 56 – The Science of Chatbots & Human Connection
Guests: Lily & Generoso
Diving into AI communication, computational science, and how chatbots are reshaping human interaction with MIT scientist-turned-writer Lily and illustrator/filmmaker Generoso.
Episode 57 – Planetary Defense: Saving Earth from Other Worldly Impact
Guest: Charles Blue
Examining the science and strategies behind protecting Earth from asteroids, comets, and cosmic threats.
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Show Notes & Fun facts
Books, Movies, TV & Comics Mentioned:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Contact (favorite line about proving love)
500 Days of Summer (2009)
50 First Dates
Severance (Apple TV+ series)
Her
Ex Machina
Minority Report
The Matrix
Breaking Bad (referenced for Vince Gilligan’s writing style)
The Fly (Jeff Goldblum body horror)
Cabin in the Woods
Evil Dead
Shrek (love potion subplot)
Up (first 15 minutes)
Annie Hall
Terms of Endearment
Harold and Maude
My Girl (1991)
Gilmore Girls
The Thing (John Carpenter)
Ray Bradbury (author, inspiration mentioned)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg)
Musical Artists & Bands Mentioned:
Tina Turner - “What’s Love Got to Do with It”
The Bacon Brothers (Kevin Bacon’s band)
Squirrel Nut Zippers
Dale Watson (Americana/country artist)
Turnstile (band that invites audience on stage)
The Cult
Fun Facts:
Love predates humanity by 300 million years - Proto-attachment behavior first appeared in birds like albatrosses and swans, which can mate for life and exhibit territory defense.
The “Honeymoon Phase” has a biological timer - That intense infatuation love typically lasts 12-18 months. After that, relationships must build on something beyond the initial hormone rush.
Dunbar’s Number limits intimate connections - Humans can maintain approximately 150 stable, intimate relationships. Beyond that, connections become superficial, which explains why massive Instagram followings feel different than genuine fan interactions.
Ancient Greeks had six categories of love:
Eros: Passionate, romantic, sexual desire
Philia: Deep friendship, brotherly love
Storge: Familial affection, natural bond
Agape: Unconditional, selfless, divine love
Pragma: Long-standing, practical love
Philautia: Self-love (healthy vs. narcissistic)
Oxytocin isn’t just the “love hormone” - It’s released during childbirth AND after orgasm to create bonding and trust. But because it’s not a choice, you can bond to harmful people or situations, your brain doesn’t distinguish between healthy and unhealthy attachments.
Episode Highlights
00:00 Welcome and Introductions Joe, Nick, and Georgia welcome listeners from the basement studio and introduce special guest Joe Compton.
00:24 Special Guest: Joe Compton “I’m an independent author, independent filmmaker, and I run a network called Go Indie Now, which supports independent artists of all art forms.”
01:37 The Science of Love “Love is chemistry. Hormones like dopamine, vasopressin, endorphins causing neural circuits to fire in predictable patterns.”
03:20 Evolutionary Roots of Love “Probably earliest evolutionary about 300 million years ago, you start seeing proto attachment behavior in birds like albatrosses, swans.”
07:26 Different Types of Love “In ancient Greece they had about six or so love categories: eros, philia, storge, agape, pragma, and philautia.”
11:45 Love and Attachment “The dopamine hit, that’s the first kind of reward. Oxytocin is released during certain natural times, like during childbirth and after an orgasm.”
18:09 Love in Sci-Fi and Media “In sci-fi, that would be like Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, where you go in and how do we remove this attachment to this person?”
28:10 AI and the Future of Love “AI is programmed to be very pleasing to its human counterparts. As she became aware in Ex Machina, it became aware that to their advantage.”
30:36 Perception and Stress Hormones “In our modern day, we get the same kind of fight and flight over things that really aren’t that bad or dangerous, but we get those same hormones.”
31:37 Concert Experiences and Audience Connection “The bigger bands tend to disconnect—they learn how to engage the audience, but doing it as an exercise and not as a truth to themselves.”
33:13 Indie Artists and Social Media “Everybody has to connect with their audience now. Social media has become such a big part of the machine itself.”
35:44 Personal Connections and Fan Interactions “Dunbar’s number—you can have up to like 150 stable relationships that you can be intimate with. And then after that it falls apart.”
42:39 Love in Horror and Romance “Horror, somewhat may get love a little more correct than rom-coms and romance kind of stories—it’s just love, that empathy, it just doesn’t end.”
47:37 Valentine’s Day Traditions “Flowers are the sexual reproductive organs of the plant. So that’s what you’re giving.”
51:44 Favorite Love Stories in Movies Nick: “The one that makes me cry every time is the first 15 minutes of Up.” Georgia: “Harold and Maude.” Joe: “My Girl.”
54:36 Conclusion and Final Thoughts “We all crave that feeling in some way. The word itself leads to many different ideas of what it is, but ultimately the feeling is what we all aim for.”
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