The Digital Period

This is the first episode of Season 2 of the Digital Period. This season is about dating apps. In this first episode Judith Zoë explores what happens when vulnerability meets algorithms. She shares her personal experience using dating apps and introduces the central theme of Season 2: vulnerability, not just as a risk, but as a potential source of connection in digital spaces.

In the second episode of this season Judith Zoë interviews dr. Jessica Pidoux, a post-doc researcher at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland and director of the Swiss NGO personal data. We met on valentines day during the symposium Feelings Inc. organised by Privacy Salon without any preparation. Judith also speaks with a woman who shares her personal experience using dating apps. She explains how they met her felt watched an why she needed to taking breaks now and then to protect her well-being. 

In the third episode of this season, Judith Zoë speaks with dr. Gianclaudio Malgieri, associate professor of law and technology at Leiden University and co-director of the Brussels Privacy Hub. Gianclaudio is one of the leading thinkers on data protection and vulnerability. We talk about power, intersectionality and how dating app design could contribute to empathy and affinity.  The episode also features a personal story from someone navigating Grindr, first as a closeted 16 year old and later as a confident adult who has learned how to set boundaries.

What really happens to our data when we use dating apps?In this episode, Judith Zoë speaks with Lisa Steinfeld, a data protection lawyer at NOYB, the European Center for Digital Rights. They discuss how companies like Grindr and Bumble process intimate user data, and what it means for our privacy and autonomy.Lisa explains the legal cases NOYB has filed including the successful complaint against Grindr and a new one against Bumble. Together, they explore how users can reclaim power over their data and what collective action can look like in the digital dating world.

In this episode, Judith Zoë speaks with Carlota Memba Aguado, a researcher from the Free University Amsterdam about how dating apps reflect and reinforce structural inequalities and what responsibilities companies have to acknowledge and reduce bias in design. 

In this episode, Judith Zoë talks to Thomas Crul, lead matchmaking engineer at Breeze. Breeze is an innovative dating app that understands innovation is not just technical, but also about your business model, design, and communication.
After discovering that their algorithm might be disadvantaging certain groups, the team at Breeze decided to take responsibility. Instead of ignoring the issue, they’re actively figuring out how to counter algorithmic bias, through engineering, thoughtful design, and transparent communication. In this conversation Thomas opens up about the steps they have taken and openly reflects on his role as an engineer.

In this episode, Judith Zoë talks to Lindsay Ferris, assistant professor and former UX researcher at OK Cupid, about the design of dating apps and how they influence and affect queer people. Lindsay's academic insights are beautifully illustrated by the dater of the episode, who explains how dating apps became a place of romantic and sexual liberation.

In the last episode of this season, Judith Zoë shares what she has learned about vulnerability, dating apps and algorithmic love. 
The episode explores how vulnerbaility is related to connection and how this relation is shaped and sometimes distorted by technology. What happens when algorithms mediate intimacy? Can love be optimized? And what does real love ask of us today?