Anna Machin

Anna is a doctor of evolutionary anthropology, a writer and broadcaster. She is world renowned for her work in the science and anthropology of close human relationships.

She is a pioneer of fatherhood science and is unique in her approach to the study of human love combining studies, techniques, and explanations from both the biological and social sciences. She spent over 12 years at the University of Oxford within the Social and Evolutionary Neuroscience Research Group (SENRG), led by Professor Robin Dunbar, focusing in particular on fatherhood and the genetics and neurobiology of love. She is fascinated by the full spectrum of human love and has carried out studies exploring romantic, friendship, parental, religious, and parasocial love. She is currently working with a team to explore the impact of AI on the future of love.

Machin is passionate about public engagement in science. She has written two popular science books – "Life of Dad" (2018) and "Why We Love" (2022) – and has worked with broadcasters in the UK and abroad including the BBC, ABC in Australia, NPR and Hulu in the USA, Arte in France and ZDF in Germany. She has written for the New York Times, The Guardian, The Observer, The i and New Scientist magazine, among others. She is the presenter of the How We Are Wired podcast which is funded by The Bertarelli Foundation.

People who work with Machin often comment on her enthusiasm for her subject and her ability to talk about science, and the experience of being human, in an entertaining, energetic and relatable way.

Machin lives in rural Buckinghamshire, England with her husband, two daughters, 3 dogs, and a menagerie of small animals.