I’ve tried and cannot appreciate the new host and format. The essay is the point and not interviewing actors. I’m trying to get used to the new format. I liked the original format which kept the podcast to the essence of the story read by various readers. Now sometimes the story isn’t even read! And I love the interviews with the authors, which are now replaced by celebrity interviews with a giggly Anna Martin, which are not enjoyable. And so many commercials now and a paywall! I’m already a Times subscriber but I’m just about ready to opt out of Modern Love. Bring back Meghna!

First time listener-came to listen to the Bridget Everette episode & LOVED it! I feel the same way she does about prioritizing friendships & could totally relate. Just love her & her series Somebody Somewhere!!

Still listen occasionally but the show has lost the charming simplicity that made it great. Now it is often confusing and the essays no longer feel central.

Please for the love of god read the freaking essay. I hate sitting through 20 mins of an episode having to wonder if an essay will even get read when that should be a requirement.

I’ve been a long time listener. The current show is only tangentially related the column. The Andrew Garfield episode, where he talked/cried over the essay, convinced me to unsubscribe.

I guess NYTimes wants listeners to instead read their stories and get subscriptions but we already pay for the content! Just read the stories first and then have your discussions! How are we supposed to know what the story is about without listening to it first and not everyone has the time to read the full assay. That’s why this podcast existed in the first place.

Why not just read the stories?

I listened to the episode w Andrew Garfield once and then immediately listened to it again for a second time. The chemistry and vulnerability. So fun. So good. One of my top 5 fave podcast episodes ever now

The

Love the podcast for the actual modern love stories, but all the chit chat on either end of the story is so dull. I’m here for the story, not the interview that Anna does or the review the editor does at the end. Get rid of the fat and keep the meat!

I used to love this show. I don’t even recognize it anymore.

Rooting for Anna & Andrew, the chemistry was too strong to ignore💪

Wow, this brought me so much peace, clarity and so much more to think about an explore. This conversation needs to be studied.

Bring back the regular people!

Feels like the story telling found in older seasons has disappeared in favor of being another press docket podcasts where disinterested and uninteresting celebrities share dispassionate and uninformed opinions in a forum where their only real reason for being there is financial incentive and their only qualification is you may recognize their name. It’s only worth listening to as the hosts often do a solid job turning lemons into lemonade, but would rather listen to them talk about a subject than have some sort

This podcast has become almost too cringey to listen to. Echoing others, yes the new format has a lot to do with it. But honestly, the cringe factor is what’s making me have to stop listening. It’s not about the stories any more. It’s about the interviewer/interviewees inserting their opinions over the stories as fact. The pieces stand for themselves! Celebs are out of touch. The stories no longer resonate with general audiences anymore with this format.

I was an avid listener of Modern Love. My favorite episodes are Not So Simple Math and In the Waiting Room of Estranged Spouses. Now that Lance Reddick is gone, this is one of my favorite ways to remember him. I tuned into a newer episode when I saw a post about Andrew Garfield. The first thing I learned was that they’re putting all of the archive behind The NY Times paywall. Please don’t do this. Those older episodes were produced in partnership with WBUR - a public radio station. Please put the newer/post-WBUR episodes behind the paywall. Leave the original podcast freely available to those who love the old format.

Anna Martin and Andrew Garfield should definitely be going on a date. That interview was pure vulnerability and chemistry 💯

Modern Love is so wonderful. I looked forward to every episode. Real stories told by the people who lived them…it was just perfect. I have no idea why they decided to drag a bunch of famous people into it. It’s cool that they’re still reading the stories of regular people, but it’s not the same. Turning this show into a publicity tour has completely ruined its magic. Please go back to interviewing the author, rather than some minor celebrity.

Not interested in loves 'stories' told by famous people. The average person's story of love and connection is the charm of this podcast. Who care what Emily Redichoski thinks.

Anna’s presentation style these past two years have seemed to miss the whole point of the stories. Myself and mother listened to them religiously for “love”. Additionally, the host’s new hyper-fixation on a long winded discussion and leading questions distracts and takes away from the whole point. Please bring back voice actors also for the reading of the stories.

Can we PLEASE get the old format back? I loved the real stories from unknown individuals read by them & loved when you brought them in person. This new format of public figures recounting, with all due respect to them, does not feel as organic.

I miss the love stories of ordinary people. Famous people stories are ubiquitous… I’m not going to listen to them. Please bring back the essays from people I can relate to.

This show used to be great, and thoughtful and empathic and cerebral, it gave you poetry and room to think. It’s current iteration of focusing on celeb interviews is such gross energy compared to what it was before, even the copy is written like an obnoxious YouTube thumbnail, and it all just detracts from the cool human experience it used to be.

I appreciate the longevity of this podcast & have heard so many inspiring essays. Unfortunately, I absolutely cannot listen to it now with the new format. I miss the emphasis being on the essay, the soft intro, the music and the celebrity reading it being almost hidden in it all. When I see the titles / pics listed now it kind of reminds me of TMZ.

When I say I eagerly wait for a new episode each week and there is nothing, absolutely nothing that will keep me from playing Modern love during my very long morning drive to work I do a disservice to my absolute fascination with this show. I have cried so many tears with all the love stories, being the hopeless romantic that I am. This show is absolutely magnificent! The recap through the stories from the past 20 years has been incredible. I can’t wait for what next season will bring. You guys make me believe in love again, in all forms of love ❤️

Gen Z has spoken: We don’t need celebrities to endorse true stories. In fact, we’d rather they didn’t. Thanks, love the stories, but real people please!

I used to love this podcast. I can’t stand the new format. My memory is they always had a celebrity read an essay. Sometimes they would have a brief exchange with the narrator/celebrity about the essay. then they would often check in with the author of the essay about the emotional place they were in when they submitted an essay and how the publication of the essay did or did not change their relationships or lives, and finally where they stand now. These long interviews with the celebrities instead of the authors are so incredibly boring, and the “insight” they give often has absolutely nothing to do with the essay and its intended message. And i am often thinking, this is the worst advice/interpretation i have ever heard 1 why are they asking these people? I am not a huge fan of the host and i hate the new format. It is too bad.

Brilliant show! Love all the Modern Love essays and formats. The careful and thoughtful choice to feature each, and every essay, the brilliant conversations about the essay, the amazing themes challenges, and life choices that are explored, each perspective brings a new point of view, refracting like a kaleidoscope. I look forward to each episode.

At least were hearing the whole essay now but why the celebrities? Again, you’re still trying to fix something that wasn’t broken. Listen to your (sometimes now former) listeners: bring back the simplicity of what you used to do. It was wonderful the way it was.

ILOVED HEARING **AUTHORS** TALK ABOUT THEIR PIECES. Reading all the other reviews I feel seen! I thought I was the only one that HATED this new format with celebrities. Turns out Everybody HATES this update. PLEASE BRING BACK THE AUTHORS!!! Some producer im sure saw podcasts with celebs trending. But that’s not why we LISTEN. I LOVE HEARING *AUTHORS* TALK ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES.

What the heck is this? It is not Modern Love. This format and host clearly doesn't get it. The essays alone are the pillar of Modern Love not telling stories about yourself as a host, but Anna somehow inserts her own life into every episode. Don't you have an editor? Is anyone at the NYT even paying attention? These interviews are grating and uninformed. The audible background utters of Anna's tones seem impatient and invasive on her guests. The simplicity of the old format was what made Modern Love so perfect. there was no ego or agenda from the host. I can only hope that someday we can enjoy this podcast again. As it is now, its unlistenable.

This is not it. What a loss. Used to be my fave. Unsubscribing now. Please release the essays first. It’s so much harder to connect to the interview portion episode (which is great), but it would be so much more meaningful if it was done AFTER the essay.

This podcast used to be about true stories from the Modern Love column. I’m disappointed in the new format.

I love hearing the authors read their stories and Anna ask the authors questions afterwards. I don’t understand how a musician, actor, writer’s opinion matters! I want to hear from real people. I love Anna’s interviews of real people…the stories that make Modern Love so beloved. This format is a huge miss.

Anna (((( please )))) stop! it amazes me how much Anna can talk about herself. you’ve let her turn this into a podcast about her. nearly every episode now begins with a story or experience about Anna. even her questions come across as self indulgent. here’s a person who truly loves hearing herself talk and interject her own life into everything. Anna manages to Zelig herself into nearly every essay. The essays should live on their own. Please, please leave your life and ego out of other peoples experiences and their essays. i just can’t listen anymore.

This show used to be excellent. Insightful, deep, emotional stories from a variety of storytellers about the major loves in their lives. It was meaningful. And it showed the true breadth of “love” as it’s experienced by different people. I don’t even know what this show is now. It seems to be a celebrity interview show, with the most irritating host ever doing the audio version of “active listening.” “Mm” and “aw”and “oh” have never been uttered as much on a podcast as they have on this one. This new show has no heart. Last week, an actor spent the episode talking about the experience of making a film almost no one saw. If I wanted to hear that, I’d watch Late Night with whoever-the-heck-hosts-now. I really hope they abandon this nonsense and get back to the heart of this show, the format and content that created their audience.

It’s just not good at all, in any way. You can stop making it, it’s OK.

I subscribed to the original podcast format. This is a completely new podcast and completely disappointing. It’s uninteresting and lacks the depth and creativity it once had. If you want to make a new podcast, make a new podcast - using the same name and rebranding doesn't keep listeners.

Miss the old format and essays. There’s enough content out there already centered around celebrity interviews.

What a disappointment. Anna destroyed a once really poignant podcast. I really could care less about her life and her annoying interviews. The initial format of the show was perfect. The constant rebranding as time went on made the show not better but worse. I realized once I became more fixated on Anna’s constant “Mmhhmmm”’s during interviews than the actual story itself…it was time to unfollow.

More essays. Less celebrities, please. It was wonderful before the change. I’m not here to listen to celebrity promotion.

What happened to the focus on the stories? I don't want to hear celebviews. Please go back to old format.

What happened to the Modern Love essays? Are we just doing celebrity interviews now? Very disappointing!

I decided to give Modern Love a listen after mostly listening to The Daily and the other NYT political shows. I’m a sucker for the subject and feeling of love. And just had to give it a listen, the poems read by the guests are so heartwarming and heartbreaking but they center around love and how it comes in many forms. Definitely recommend it for all who have given love and lost love.

Why are the essays not the main focus? They should he an afterthought of the episode.

Boycott all NYT products due to Genocidal Lies

This is the best show ever!

This podcast used to be one of my favorites but they keep changing the format and it’s not getting better. I like that they have brought back full essays, but it makes no sense that the essay comes after the author interview. Edit: Please stop saying “mmmmm” in response to everything.

I used to love this podcast and look forward to new episodes, but have been disappointed by the newer format and the pieces chosen. It is now like week-old leftovers-fine, but definitely not as good. Why is the interview always dropped before the actual article reading? Did we run out of actors who like this podcast for performative readings? Too much unnecessary narrative by new host, and just overall saddened by the turn of format