A high-achieving friend falls in love and suddenly finds himself in rough emotional seas. In this Solo Thoughts episode, Peter McGraw explores why calm, optimized lives can make us successful – but not truly alive – and why passion, uncertainty, and even heartbreak may be the price of a psychologically rich life. — Listen […]
Peter McGraw
I host solo.
Lessons from the Hurt Business
Heavyweight boxer turned writer Ed Latimore joins Peter McGraw to talk about his new book, Hard Lessons from the Hurt Business—a raw meditation on violence, discipline, ego, addiction, and growth. Onwards! — Listen to Episode #262 here Lessons from the Hurt Business I met my guest on Twitter, now X, though we’ve never […]
The Psychology of Solitude
Alone isn’t lonely. Psychologist Robert Coplan, author of The Joy of Solitude, coined aloneliness—the distress of not getting enough time to yourself. Psychologist Thuy-vy Nguyen, co-author of Solitude: The Science and Power of Being Alone, discovered the “deactivation effect”—just fifteen minutes alone turns down the volume on your emotions. Peter McGraw talks to them […]
Family‑friendly workplaces are great − but ‘families of 1’ get ignored
This article was originally published at The Conversation. In 1960, 72% of adults were married, and over 90% would go on to marry. HR policies and management practices back then catered to nuclear families with a lone, male breadwinner. Today, dual-career couples and working mothers are common, largely due to the growth of women in the workforce in the second half of the […]
Aromanticism (Again)
In this re-released episode, Peter McGraw asks the question, “What if you never felt romantic love – and didn’t need to?” In this eye-opening favorite, Peter sits down with Jessalyn Dean, an aromantic relationship anarchist living a remarkable solo life. They unpack what it means to be aromantic, how Jessalyn got off the relationship […]
I Love You, Man (Again)
What happens when two charismatic creatives—and close friends—sit down with Peter McGraw to talk about friendship, love, and the Solo movement? This intimate, funny, and thoughtful conversation with Chester See and Darwyn Metzger explores what it means to live remarkably, forge deep male friendships, and question the default path. A fan favorite, this episode […]
Doing things alone is on the rise, and businesses should pay more attention to that – even on Valentine’s Day
This post was originally published at The Conversation. Every February, Valentine’s Day amplifies what single people already know – that public life is built for two. Restaurants roll out prix fixe menus for couples. Hotels promote “romantic getaway” packages designed for double occupancy. A table for one still invites the question, “Just you?” Yet there’s […]
Sick while Solo
Why are unmarried patients less likely to receive life-saving medical treatments? Peter McGraw talks to professor and author Joan DelFattore about how America’s healthcare system disadvantages those who are single or outside the nuclear family model. From TEDx talks to the New England Journal of Medicine, she’s sounding the alarm on a silent crisis. […]