Full Episode: Friday, September 6, 2024

Hey, I'm Ryan Reynolds. Recently, I asked Mint Mobile's legal team if big wireless companies

are allowed to raise prices due to inflation. They said yes. And then when I asked if raising

prices technically violates those onerous two-year contracts, they said, what the f**k are you

talking about, you insane Hollywood a**hole? So to recap, we're cutting the price of Mint

Unlimited from $30 a month to just $15 a month. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch.

$45 upfront payment equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three-month plan only.

Taxes and fees extra. Speeds lower above 40 gigabytes. See details.

This is Nightline. Tonight, modern love. Singles tired of swiping right and feeling down.

I feel so defeated right now. After the explosion of online dating apps,

now some are taking things offline. You're single. You're looking for somebody.

And old school. Matchmaking is old. It's old and it's new and it's making a comeback.

Can new tools like artificial intelligence,

help people find their match? Plus, John Legend opening up about his new music for kids and

families. I thought about all the things that I like to tell my kids and Chrissy likes to tell

our kids. The messages we like to share with them to inspire them, to motivate them, to comfort them.

His unusual source of inspiration. It's called Maybe, aka the Purple Monkey song.

And the essay he wrote as a teenager that he turned into reality. And screen sisters.

We started drinking a few hours ago. Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon in His Three Daughters,

a stripped down film getting powerful buzz. Stop it! I think it's the roles we play in our families

and how incapable we are of seeing the people who are right in front of us.

What these stars of huge hits like The Gilded Age and WandaVision say about the bare bones

apartment shoots. Nightline. We'll be right back.

It's the most consequential moment of this campaign. Now, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump,

face to face. The ABC News Presidential Debate, moderated by David Muir and Lindsay Davis.

Tuesday night, live on ABC and streaming on Hulu and Disney Plus.

Hey, moms. Looking for some lighthearted guidance on this crazy journey we call parenting?

Join me, Sabrina Kohlberg. And me, Andy Mitchell, for Pop Culture Moms,

where each of us is a part of a different world. And we're here to help you.

Each week, we talk about what we're watching. And examine our favorite pop culture moms

up close to try to pick up some parenting hacks along the way.

Come laugh, learn, and grow with us as we look for the best tips.

And maybe a few what not to do's from our favorite fictional moms.

From Good Morning America and ABC Audio.

Pop Culture Moms. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for joining us. Tonight, it might seem like everybody's on dating apps,

but some who are say it feels like nobody's there. Enter the matchmakers,

using new tools in their old school approach to finding their clients'

modern love. Here's ABC's Rina Roy making her Nightline debut.

There's this real recognition that something isn't working for a lot of people anymore.

If you ask single adults what dating is like right now,

I feel fatigued is probably a really good word.

They might say something like,

This is so hectic right now, and it's really hard to find a genuine connection.

I feel so defeated right now.

Call it burnout or fatigue, more and more singles say they're fed up,

especially when it comes to those apps.

It gets to a point where I'm like, okay, what are we meeting?

Are we pen pals?

Like, are you?

Are you in jail?

Like, I don't know.

Like, where are you?

Relationship experts say they're hardly alone.

What's different for dating in this moment is that the sheer volume of rejection and

disappointment is so much higher for daters than it has been in previous generations.

Between all the swipes, likes, taps, and DMs,

almost 80% of singles say they experienced some degree of emotional fatigue or burnout

when dating online.

They're disappointed.

They're frustrated.

And I think they're overwhelmed by choice.

Which is why a growing number of people are choosing to take their search for love offline.

Singles and dating events are seeing a 42% boost in attendance,

including the comeback of speed dating events and potential meet-cutes at run clubs.

Last time there were 30 people there, and look how many people there are now.

Even a pizza tour.

I'm really proud.

Prioritizing in-person connections.

Kind of just meeting people by chance.

I don't feel like I've felt this engaged about dating in years.

And so it's nice to be like, okay, there's a real way to meet people.

Meanwhile, some people are going even more old school.

Matchmaking is old.

Like, it's ancient wisdom and modern love blended together.

I'm Seema Taparia.

I'm Mumbai's top matchmaker.

Shows like Indian Matchmaking and Jewish Matchmaking reflecting a renaissance in the ancient art of matchmaking.

And are we getting anything right about love?

Aliza Ben Shalom is a professional shadkan, or matchmaker,

who's helped more than 200 couples down the aisle.

Her job, an old school one made famous in pop culture by Fiddler on the Roof.

An Orthodox Jew, Aliza doesn't own a television.

But that hasn't stopped her from helping singles find love in her hit Netflix show.

I've helped over 200 couples to get to the chuppah.

How do you take something old, modernize it,

so that it's appealing to the younger generations?

So, I love to take Jewish wisdom and put it in plain language.

A matchmaker really has three jobs.

The first job is to be an introducer and put people together.

The second job is to be a coach.

Walk the walk and talk the talk and help them through the process.

The third job is to be a closer.

A closer is the person that says,

yay, you're gonna get married, this is good.

Or like, I know you might love him, but it's never gonna work, you need to break up.

Since the show's success, Aliza has spent her days traveling the world.

On a mission, putting on live matchmaking shows.

Okay, everybody smile.

Alright, let's make matches.

We bring up two guys and two girls.

We grill them and get to know them.

No, he's actually nervous.

And then I throw it back to the audience.

You're matchmakers.

And I ask them, hey, who do you know for these people?

And who are you gonna set them up with?

That's what happens on dates.

You have to translate in your brain what people say.

You're single.

You're looking for somebody.

Okay, good.

Rabbi, lock the door because we're not leaving until we have matches, okay?

That is the rule.

That's right, we can go all night.

I got all night if you do.

So we're gonna start out with the basics.

Name, age, what you do.

I am 20 years old.

I'm a sophomore, I'm studying advertising.

And the main quality that I'm looking for in a man is emotional intelligence.

I mean, I just don't have time to play games.

After the show, I had a chance to jump into the hot seat.

Do you have any specific deal breakers?

Physical traits, anything that might be a deal breaker.

Yes, she knows.

Okay, I am specific about height.

She wants somebody really short.

And although I did get teased for my height preferences.

I'm 5'8", and I normally am wearing heels.

I get a lot of grief for that, so that's why I'm-

We're not giving you grief, we go like this, hmm, right?

I took away a valuable lesson, if not a date.

I find that we are all extremely similar.

We love our communities, we love our families.

And I think that we have many more similarities than we do differences.

I watched Indian matchmaking before we got into Jewish matchmaking.

And I was like, my gosh, it's the same.

Hi, I'm Seema Mami, I'm a matchmaker for many families.

Netflix's Indian matchmaking features Seema Aunty.

How are you?

Nice to meet you.

On the show, she tried helping Aparna Shewakramani find love.

I want someone who's right for me, someone who I can align with.

Though she didn't find her match, she says she trusts the process.

I think it has been the best way for me to meet people.

And in the South Asian community, matchmaking includes your friends, your aunties,

your random friend at a wedding who thinks she knows another random friend for you.

In the matchmaking world, it seems there is something for everyone.

At this conference in New York City,

more than 100 matchmakers are here to learn how to help clients

find their perfect match.

One of the things that's different between matchmakers today

and matchmakers a long time ago

is that matchmakers today know the science of relationships.

And they know what's important to long-term happy relationships.

Jada Harmon has been looking for that special someone over the past year.

I love someone who is ambitious, has goals for themselves, has hobbies.

Lately, she's shifted her strategy.

I am going on a first date with someone that I met in person.

And I'm actually feeling pretty excited.

As singles like Jada continue their search for love, IRL,

the major dating apps are experimenting with making artificial intelligence.

Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Heard talked about that on Bloomberg TV.

And then you don't have to talk to 600 people.

They will just scan all of San Francisco for you and say,

these are the three people you really ought to meet.

And so, you know, that's the power of AI.

But some relationship experts are skeptical for now.

No robot is going to be able to tell me who I'm attracted to.

There's absolutely no way that they're going to know whether I like that person's smell.

There's no way that they're going to know if I like that person's brain.

There's no way that I'm going to, that they're going to be able to predict

whether or not that's going to be a lasting connection for me.

In search of that lasting connection,

matchmaking services and platforms like Talkify

say they're taking a best of both worlds

approach.

Finding a match can potentially be a needle in a haystack kind of story.

And it's no different for matchmakers.

But because of the size of our database,

we do use AI to narrow down the pool.

The old school element of a human really understanding another human's emotions,

doing a vibe check, making sure that sort of like the off paper things match.

That's where we bring in humans matchmaking.

Whether it's working with a matchmaker,

going to that speed dating event,

or giving the apps one last try.

Experts say there's something to be gained in the journey,

not just the destination.

Dating can be this process of self-discovery as well.

And for some, that might mean ultimately choosing to be on their own.

I think there's been a big cultural shift

and people recognize that there is something to be said for a happy single person.

Jada agrees.

She says her time alone makes her appreciate the good dates.

I had a really good time.

It was really fun.

I definitely would see this person for a second date.

And I'm just feeling really happy and we'll see where things go.

Our thanks to Rena and welcome to the Nightline family.

When we come back, we're one on one with John Legend,

opening up about the L.O.V.E. that inspired his new album for kids and families.

Welcome back.

John Legend did plenty when he was young.

He played piano at the age of four,

was singing in church at seven,

and went off to college at 16.

The only surprise about the father for writing an album for families and kids might be,

what took him so long?

He sat down with ABC's Lindsay Davis.

Great to see you as always.

Give us a sense of who it's harder to write for.

The little people or the ordinary people?

Well, writing for this album,

you know, it's a children's album for children and families,

sing-alongs and lullabies.

It was really inspiring for me because I thought about all the things that I like to tell my kids

and Chrissy likes to tell our kids and the messages we like to share with them to inspire them,

to motivate them, to comfort them.

This is the first album I've ever written on my own without any co-writers

or anyone else writing with me.

And I wrote it at home,

inspired by my family,

and it felt really natural.

So not in the studio,

but right at the piano in your house and the kids are playing and running around.

The kids are around.

So I'm immediately being inspired by our life,

our life and the way we talk to them and,

you know, sharing those messages with everyone.

Did they say anything or do anything that you said,

I'm going to incorporate that into the song?

Well, one of my favorite songs on the album is called Always Come Back.

And it's something we tell our kids all the time because I have to leave a lot for work.

And this song was about,

you know, comforting them.

What made you decide in love to incorporate your wife,

Chrissy Teigen, Luna,

and also Miles, two of your kids?

Yeah, so the lead single for the album is L-O-V-E and it's like the anthem,

the theme song for the album.

I felt like it would be perfect for Luna and Miles and Chrissy to sing along with me on it.

This is the first time the kids,

have sung with me.

What made you decide,

you know what,

I'm going to actually go in this new direction.

Well, you know,

it started with a very practical thing,

me trying to learn one of Estee's favorite songs on her Fisher-Price

Kick and Play piano mat.

And so I went in the piano room and learned it.

And then Chrissy posted a video of me singing it to Estee.

And everyone was like,

John, you got to do more of this.

And I was like,

you know what,

I think,

I can write an entire album like this.

And I don't want to just cover classic songs.

I want to create new classics.

Switch gears for a moment and talk a little bit about many people saw you performing at the DNC.

You have this political activist side with your organization that you created, Free America.

Where does that come from?

Well, you know,

I was always inspired by artists who saw it as part of their mission,

as part of the definition of them being an artist,

to be citizens of the world,

who cared about what was going on in the world,

talked about it in their music,

but also addressed it outside of their music.

And I always cared about politics.

And when I was 15 years old,

inspired by people like Dr.

King,

but also by artists that I saw as leaders,

I wrote an essay and it was a Black History Month essay.

And it was sponsored by McDonald's,

this essay competition.

And they asked,

how do you plan to make black history?

And I said,

I plan to become a successful recording artist.

And use that success as a platform to help people in my community,

to lift other people up.

And I've been trying to live that aspiration since I was 15.

That's fantastic.

You know what's funny?

I wrote that essay too.

I don't remember what I wrote it about,

but I do remember writing that.

Well, you're doing it.

You're making history.

Thank you for uplifting us all.

So appreciate it.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Great to see you.

Our thanks to Lindsay.

John Legend's new album,

My Favorite Dream,

is out wherever you stream.

Your music.

When we come back,

we welcome Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon starring in a new film.

That's a little more like theater than the big-budget productions.

They're known for.

And finally tonight,

Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon,

known for some

really big projects.

Their latest though,

tells the story of a family coming together in a moment of impending tragedy.

His three daughters is compelling,

absorbing and premiering in select theaters tonight.

Welcome both to the show.

Thank you for having us.

Yeah.

Well, you two play sisters.

You hire young mothers caring for an ailing father on his deathbed.

What do you think are the big themes in the film?

Oh my goodness.

I think it's the roles we play in our families.

How it's very easy to default to those roles when we go home

and how incapable we are of seeing the people who are right in front of us.

There's a lot of tension and built up emotions.

I mean that feels like the starting place in the heart of the film

as well as what it means to preemptively grief for someone that's passing

and the roles we play.

And in a small cramped New York apartment on film,

it felt more like a theater piece in many ways.

I think audiences now love you in the gilded age.

What a vision.

The whole audience will be looking at you.

You are sweet.

How do you contrast that to what you are able to do here?

Well, I think the space, it does unfold like a theater piece

and that it's very language forward.

It's so tightly structured.

It's so beautifully and specifically written

and that's what makes it an extraordinary film.

And your performance is so naturalistic.

I mean again, my sons and I love you.

We think of you in WandaVision.

We think of you as a Marvel character.

But in this, it's very like spare and stripped down.

Were there a lot of rehearsals?

Yes, we had rehearsals.

We had about three days to figure out the rhythm

and the musicality of the language and how we all worked as a unit.

And I mentioned the apartment and the fact that it's shot on film.

I mean think of all these like,

Woody Allen movies where I'm like,

there's no New York apartment that looks like that.

There's something very realistic.

It's a rent-controlled apartment on the Lower East Side.

Is that right?

Yes.

And do you think the fact that it was shot on film,

like what did you take away when you went into those screening sessions?

When you're actively shooting on film,

you have to be very deliberate with how you're covering a scene.

And so it actually creates these limitations

and this structure of how you're going to shoot in a really freeing way.

So it was all incredibly intentional

and specific to how we were telling the story.

It sounds like a wonderful project to be a part of.

It was really special.

Lizzie Carey, thank you both for your thoughtful conversation,

for your thoughtful careers.

Appreciate you being here.

Thank you.

I appreciate it.

And that's Nightline for tonight.

You can watch all of our full episodes on Hulu.

We'll see you right back here Monday.

Thanks for staying up with us.

Good night, America.

Have a great weekend.