Radio 831: A Romance Podcast

Sanjana and Tyler recap RomCon, including one very memorable Magic Mike Live moment, before Mackenzie Newcomb of Bad Bitch Book Club joins to talk about the DNA of a great book club. Then Sanj and Tyler get into what they’ve been consuming lately, from (a ton of) serial-killer romance to the latest novellas from 831 Stories.

• RomCon recap: The big Magic Mike Live surprise; Sanjana’s Power, Pleasure, and Politics in Romance panel; and Tyler’s trope showdown, including an unexpectedly successful defense of the third-act breakup.
• Mackenzie Newcomb of Bad Bitch Book Club on what makes a romance great for discussion and why your book swap absolutely needs rules. Also mentioned: Kennedy Ryan’s Before I Let Go, Regina Black’s August Lane, Robinne Lee’s The Idea of You, and Hannah Bonam-Young’s Out on a Limb.
• What we’re consuming: The West Wing (which really only gestures at romance), Sara Whitney’s To All the Guys I Killed Before, Rebecca Kinkade’s Streams and Schemes series, Marlon James’s The Disappearers (see also: Marlon on reading habits), the latest 831 novellas (Never Lasting by Angela Bourassa, Encore Performance by Leila Sales, and First Famous Christmas by Carrie Wittmer!), and Lisa Kleypas’s Queen of Lombard Street.

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Sanjana and Tyler share their fall romance recommendations (no cozy reads in sight!) before Kylie Cheung joins to talk My Boyfriend, the Superhero and why Marvel movies could stand to be hornier. Plus: Listeners call in with their favorite sex scenes, from a gloriously awkward enemy hook-up to one featuring a “textile pervert.”

• Fall romance book recs: Kate Goldbeck’s You, Again, B.K. Borison’s Lovelight series, Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy. Movies/TV shows (classics!): You’ve Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally, Twilight, and Gossip Girl.
• Kylie Cheung on My Boyfriend, the Superhero (out Nov. 10), an erotic thriller about a criminology researcher who falls for a superhero and starts to wonder if he’s creating the dangers he keeps rescuing her from.
• Listener sex-scene picks: Joe Abercrombie’s Before They Are Hanged from The First Law trilogy for awkward enemy sex and Black Silk by Judy Cuevas/Judith Ivory for proof that sometimes buttoning up a sleeve can be pretty hot.

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At last: Sanjana and Tyler are talking Omegaverse. Sanj gives Tyler the quick and dirty on alphas, betas, and omegas, while acknowledging the loaded question of which one you think you are. Then Kate Stayman-London joins to talk See You Next Tuesday and writing an enemies-to-lovers romance in a no-Republicans setting. Plus: Sanj and Tyler saw Wicker and basically have no notes.

• Omegaverse 101, ft. Ali Hazelwood’s Bride, Lana Ferguson’s The Fake Mate, and Tyler and Sanj revealing their designations.
• Kate Stayman-London on See You Next Tuesday (out now!), her years working in politics, why the real fighting happens in primaries, and a plug for voting in the midterms. Also, check out her other seasonally relevant romances Fang Fiction and One to Watch, set in the world of a reality dating show.
• Wicker is based on a short story and stars Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, Peter Dinklage, Elizabeth Debicki, medieval village drama, and suggestive sound effects.

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It’s (still) a Monster Romance Extravaganza over here! But first, Sanjana and Tyler saw the Sense and Sensibility movie and, of course, have thoughts. Then Gracie Delgado joins for an extremely fun chat about sentient-object romance—love interests include twelve-foot skeletons and apartment doors—and explains why these inventive stories have serious things to say about desire. Then, Tyler completes her monster-romance homework with Morning Glory Milking Farm and, against all odds (this one is a doozy!), emerges ready for more.

• The latest Sense and Sensibility adaptation from Focus Features is out now!!
• Gracie Delgado, sentient-object romance expert, brings the recs: Unhinged by Vera Valentine (apartment door love interest), No Bones About It by Cassandra Elizzabeth (KU; hardware-store skeleton—related: Hot Frosty), Pounded in the Butt by My Own Butt by Chuck Tingle, and The Kyleverse series by Nicole Parker. 
• Morning Glory Milking Farm by C.M. Nascosta is this week’s homework. A follow-up mothman rec: Sweet Berries by the same author.

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Welcome to a Monster Romance Extravaganza! Kicking it off, Sanjana gives Tyler a crash course in the subgenre, explaining the allure of aliens and lake monsters—and why freakishness is part of the appeal. Then Villain Edit author Rosie Danan joins to talk vampires, reality TV, blood play, and finding tenderness in a non-human love interest. Plus: Sanj and Tyler react to SeaWorld’s "Just One More Chapter," a dark-romance scare zone we didn’t see coming.

• Monster Romance 101: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, Robert Eggers’s Nosferatu, Beauty and the Beast, R.M. Virtues’s Sing Me to Sleep (KU), Heather Guerre’s Demon Lover, and Lillian Lark’s Found by the Lake Monster.
• Rosie Danan is the author of ​ The Roommate, The Intimacy Experiment, Do Your Worst, Fan Service, All Wrapped Up in You (KU), and—coming soon—Villain Edit (out Dec. 8!), a paranormal rom-com about a reality TV producer trying to cast a reluctant vampire as the first supernatural lead of a dating show. Her paranormal touchstones: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, and The Mummy. There might also be an 831 book in her future…
• The scare-actor thirst economy: SeaWorld’s “Just One More Chapter,” Fryboy, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando, Chelsea Curto’s In the Dark, Holly June Smith’s Scary in Love (KU), and Navessa Allen’s Lights Out.

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Sanjana and Tyler reveal their dream romance adaptation slate, from non-Austen historicals to the paranormal franchises Hollywood is sleeping on. Then Once in a Timeline author Iman Hariri-Kia joins to talk about writing contemporary love stories that lean into influencers, apps, and the infinite scroll. Plus: a listener voicemail gets Sanj and Tyler chatting about reader expectations, publishing pressure, and who has the power to push romance somewhere unexpected.

• The adaptation wishlist: Lisa Kleypas’s Wallflowers series and Again the Magic, Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series (ft. Slave to Sensation), Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark, and Kennedy Ryan’s Score and Reel. 
• Thrilled to have Iman Hariri-Kia, whose Once in a Timeline (out Oct. 13!) takes inspiration from Groundhog Day and Palm Springs and follows an influencer trapped in her own timeline. Also mentioned: Iman’s Female Fantasy, The Most Famous Girl in the World, and A Hundred Other Girls, plus Donna Tartt’s The Secret History and Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries, Mediator, and All-American Girl series.

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Sanjana and Tyler dive into romance criticism, the newsletters keeping it alive, and why even a good hater should be devoted. Then Bad Words author Rioghnach Robinson joins to talk about turning book criticism into a whole (extremely compelling!) enemies-to-lovers plot. Plus: the best sex scenes Sanj and Tyler read this month, from Scandalized to a stalker romance involving a multi-tasking hockey stick.

• The Substack romance criticism reading list: Sanjana’s own Scratch Paper, the trio of newsletters from the Reformed Rakes podcast crew (Sawyer Upton’s The Loose Cravat, Beth Haymond’s Ministrations, and Emma Kearney’s Restorative Romance), and Andrea Martucci’s Shelf Love.
• Rioghnach Robinson’s adult romance debut, Bad Words, is out Oct. 6, and it’s enemies-to-lovers done right.
• This month’s best sex scenes: Scandalized by Lauren Billings (one half of Christina Lauren) and Midnight Message by Avina St. Graves (on KU).
• Also: Come hang with Sanj and Tyler at RomCon on Saturday, October 24, in Industry City, Brooklyn. Guests include Brooke Averick, Regina Black, Hannah Brown, Sarah MacLean, Casey McQuiston, Nikki Payne, and more!

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Our hosts Sanjana Basker and Tyler McCall are talking all things The Love Hypothesis with contemporary-romance queen Ali Hazelwood this week, from the book's leap from page to screen to what it's like to hand your characters over to Hollywood and become forever associated with one very famous fake-dating experiment. Plus: Ali's influences, thoughts on messy people behaving badly, and how her relationship with writing has changed since her debut became a phenomenon.

• Sanj and Tyler on The Love Hypothesis—Ali Hazelwood’s book and the Prime Video adaptation, out now!—including its Reylo/Star Wars roots and Lili Reinhart’s performance on-screen and during the press tour.
• Ali Hazelwood talks what it feels like to have her debut novel adapted (!!). A handful of the other books we love in her very deep catalog: Bride, Not in Love, and Problematic Summer Romance.
• Ali’s romance influences and taste in messy characters include Anna Maria Volkova’s Games and Sherry Thomas’s Not Quite a Husband and My Beautiful Enemy. Her author career inspo: Olivie Blake (she of The Atlas Six and many more).

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Sanjana and Tyler kick off the show imploring sports romance to look beyond hockey—and then Lily Herman joins to talk about why Formula 1 is perfect genre fodder. Plus: a VM from listener Danielle gets Sanj and Tyler into the tropes and choices that can turn them off a book, along with their DNF philosophies. Also, reminder: We love voicemails! Reach us at 833-831-LOVE. 

• The sports romance wishlist: more WNBA, ice dancing, and skiing, with mentions of Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid, Rooting Interest by Cat Disabato, Finding Her Edge on Netflix, Off Course by Julie Cook, and Can I Tell You Something? by Holly June Smith.
• Lily Herman—who hosts the podcast No Grip and writes the newsletter Engine Failure—on Formula 1 romance, from Drive to Survive and the Lewis Hamilton–Nico Rosberg rivalry to her recs Crash Test by Amy James and Faster by Andie J. Christopher.
• Hang with Sanj and Tyler in person at RomCon on Oct. 24 in Brooklyn.

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It's an all-Austen episode: Sanjana formally pitches The Other Bennet Sister, arguing the show works because it lets Mary Bennet stay a genuine weirdo instead of “yassifying” her. Then Nikki Payne joins to talk Jane Austen: her Clueless-into-Emma origin story, why Sense and Sensibility reads more like a philosophy argument than a romance, and her theory that you can always tell when the characters boned off-page. And: Mutual homework, as Sanj and Tyler both consumed Sense and Sensibility for the first time.

• Sanj pitches The Other Bennet Sister on BBC/BritBox (an adaptation of a novel by the same name by Janice Hadlow). 
• Nikki Payne is the author of Pride and Protest, Sex, Lies and Sensibility, The Princess and the P.I., and the upcoming The Pro and the Con.
• Two of Nikki’s favorite Austen retellings: Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin and Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal. 
• Mutual homework: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. Perhaps the audiobook narrated by Nicola Coughlan?

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Sanjana and Tyler bravely enter the Goodreads discourse: the good, the bad, the entertaining. Then Alexandra Romanoff—author of 831’s Big Fan, Square Waves, and Vacation Self trilogy—joins to talk about moving from YA to adult romance, writing sex across genres, and whether teenagers can really get a happily ever after. Plus: The books and movies our hosts are most excited for this fall.

• Alexandra Romanoff on writing YA to erotica to adult romance. Her YA books: Grace and the Fever, A Song to Take the World Apart, and Look. Her adult romances, for 831: Big Fan, Square Waves, and Vacation Self. (The complete three-book set!)
• Zan’s intimacy and YA pick: Our Shouts Echo by Jade Adia.
• The fall watch-and-read list: Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson, Damned If I Do by Alexandria Bellefleur, You’re the One That I Haunt by Katie Jung, Free Falling by Lyla Sage, Sunflower Season by Danica Nava, Verity, Wicker, and, of course, The Love Hypothesis.

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Sanjana and Tyler saw One Night Only, and, listener, they loved it. More on that before Business or Pleasure and Extracurricular author Rachel Lynn Solomon joins to talk about the fantasy and complications of celebrity romance. Plus: what our hosts read and watched in August (shoutout Scandal).

• The One Night Only verdict: Give yourself over to the premise, support theatrical rom-com releases, and acknowledge that—spoiler—they probably should have had sex.
• Rachel Lynn Solomon is the author of Business or Pleasure and Extracurricular, two fresh takes on celeb/norm romance.
• Sanj’s recent cultural consumption: Sterling Point, Scandal, and C.R. Jane’s The Wrong Player series. Tyler’s latest: Brooke Averick’s Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It, Ann Patchett’s Whistler, and Jenny Jackson’s The Shampoo Effect.

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Why is it that some celebrity romances feel genuine and others feel like fake news? Sanjana and Tyler dig into the authenticity of it all before UTA literary agent Ariele Fredman joins to chat about what romance publishers want right now and what may be coming next. Then, Sanj and Tyler crown their Q3 Internet Boyfriends.

• Celebrity romances mentioned: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, Matty Healy and Gabbriette, Dua Lipa and Callum Turner, and Tom Holland and Zendaya.
• Ariele Fredman on what’s trending in romance publishing, with a shout-out to I. V. Marie’s YA romantasy hit Ruinous Ends.
• Q3 Internet Boyfriend nominees: Dónal Finn (Young Sherlock, The Other Bennet Sister) and Mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani, with special acknowledgements for Irish accents and public officials willing to solve your dating problems.

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Sanjana airs a pet peeve—the "didn't feel realistic" critique—and she and Tyler make the case that exaggeration is one of romance's best tools. Then Adrie Rose, a former sex worker and editor of the book of essays I Hate My Job, joins to talk about how the genre handles sex workers (not well) despite being kind of obsessed with writing them. And: Sanj completes her Tyler-assigned homework and comes back thrilled by The Pairing by Casey McQuiston, and especially by the line "the Kierkegaard of cock."

• Adrie Rose edited and contributed to I Hate My Job and cohosts the Pages and Prejudice podcast. Her recs: the TV show Harlots, Kathryn Moon's Monster Smash Agency series, and Charlie Amen's Hawk & March.
• Sanjana's homework: The Pairing by Casey McQuiston.
• From Sanj: For more on “realism” vs. “truth” vs. “performance” vs. “artifice,” here’s an interesting bit of writing from Vicky of the Chicky Substack from a more film-crit angle.

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Bring the steam: Sanjana and Tyler advocate that sex scenes count as character work and that too many books miss that opportunity. Then Kate Goldbeck—the author of You, Again and Daddy Issues—stops by to talk about what it's actually like to write romance in an era of chronically online readers and, well, Threads. To close things out, Sanj and Tyler make the case for messier, sillier plots: well-executed cheating and unhinged premises, please.

• Our two closed-door book picks are YA: Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert and Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood.
• Kate Goldbeck is the author of You, Again and Daddy Issues, and her Substack is a great BTS look at being a romance writer right now.
• The wishlist for messier romance: the kind of emotional cheating brought to us by You’ve Got Mail and the sort of ridiculous set-ups Susan Elizabeth Phillips delivered with Nobody's Baby But Mine.

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Hear us out: An awkward sex scene can actually be better than a frictionless one. Take the examples Sanj and Tyler cite from Business or Pleasure and Act Your Age, Eve Brown! Then, Riss M. Neilson shares her experiences writing chronic illness and disability and delivering romance to characters who deserve love and steam. Plus, a what-we’ve-consumed-this-month roundup ending with a wildly bad Italian accent courtesy of a rewatch of The Wedding Planner.

• Most-memorable sex scene mentions: Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon and Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert.
• Riss M. Neilson is the author of A Love Like the Sun and The Bridge Back to You. Her rec: Reel by Kennedy Ryan.
• What we’ve consumed this month: The Invite, Lisa Kleypas’s The Wallflower series, Fossil Feud by Maggie North, Chase Me If You Can by Heather Francis, and The Wedding Planner.

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Why an Emily Henry interview now? Sanjana and Tyler dig into Bloomberg’s recent piece on the author, where she discusses Hollywood adaptations and delivers the all-timer line: “A lot of actors think that it’s less humiliating to pretend to be a Beatle than it is to pretend to be in love.” Then: Naina Kumar joins to talk about heyday rom-com movies as novelistic underpinnings—see her latest, Just a Highland Fling!—and our hosts launch the Yearner Hall of Fame. Congrats to Ethan Hawke and Hanif Abdurraqib!

• The Bloomberg Emily Henry interview.
• Naina Kumar’s Just a Highland Fling (out this week!), Say You’ll Be Mine, and Flirting with Disaster. Her rom-com Mount Rushmore: When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, Palm Springs, and While You Were Sleeping. Bonus: Kate & Leopold.
• Yearner Hall of Fame inductees: Ethan Hawke (his “the one who’s in love always wins” interview with Amelia Dimoldenberg) and poet/romantic/essayist Hanif Abdurraqib.

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Are you on the vertical-video bandwagon? Or perhaps you’ll be more persuaded by another phenomenon, the C-drama, once you’ve heard @tritney’s take on the Chinese romance boom that has finally hit America. (Of course, she brings her starter-pack picks for anyone who wants to see some of the best eye-acting in action.) Then: Sanjana assigns Tyler Sherry Thomas's Private Arrangements, and Tyler becomes a full historical-romance advocate, one devastating "you breathe, and I'll know it's you" line at a time.

• The ReelShort phenomenon and Nick Skonberg, vertical-vid star. Plus: Publishers Weekly on Harlequin microdramas.
• @tritney’s C-drama romance starter recommendations, all on Netflix: Pursuit of Jade, Love in the Clouds, Hidden Love, The First Frost, and the BL (boys’ love) classic The Untamed.
• Tyler's homework assignment: Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas.

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Sanjana and Tyler open by making the case that the World Cup is a 48-country meet-cute machine (see: kilted Scotsmen throwing women over their shoulders in Boston bars). Then KT Hoffman joins to talk baseball in romance: why the minor leagues are more romantic than the majors, why slow-burn and baseball are basically the same thing, and what it takes to write queer and trans joy into sports. And: Tyler and Sanjana watch Bull Durham and Fever Pitch back-to-back—and discover that one is proto-Challengers.

• KT Hoffman is the author of The Prospects, a queer and trans baseball romance set in the minor leagues. His recommended reads: You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian, The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson, and the baseball romances of KD Casey.
• The baseball movie homework: Bull Durham and Fever Pitch.

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Tyler and Sanjana kick things off this week with their take on Netflix’s Office Romance: The Brett Goldstein–Jennifer Lopez movie that features Betty Gilpin delivering one of the great rom-com best-friend performances in recent memory. Then Lyla Sage joins to talk about cowboy romance: fantasy vs. reality, writing about rural communities with actual texture in this political moment, and how atmosphere and landscape do the heavy lifting in her books. And, at last, Tyler assigns Sanjana The Idea of You by Robinne Lee, a romance-adjacent cult favorite that gives them much to discuss.

• On Office Romance (streaming on Netflix): what J.Lo brings to the rom-com that almost no one else can, why Betty Gilpin’s supporting role is the opposite of window dressing, and what Brett Goldstein’s whole body of work tells you about the kind of story he’s obsessed with telling.
• Lyla Sage is the author of the Rebel Blue Ranch series and the Sweetwater Peak duology, Soul Searching and the forthcoming Free Falling. Referenced: Never Marry a Cowboy by Lorraine Heath and Cowboys of California by Rebekah Weatherspoon.
• Sanj’s homework assignment: The Idea of You by Robinne Lee—consider this your “no HEA” warning!

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Sanjana takes the stand as the self-proclaimed number one age-gap defender, arguing that the trope is really about power, that demanding moral instruction from romance is a fundamentally conservative impulse, and that “reverse age-gap” is not a thing. Then debut novelist Anna Maria Volkova joins to talk about Games, her romance about an economics grad student and a Soviet-born Wall Street banker: why his Russianness specifically matters to the story, the Hollywood villain problem, and what it looks like when a man shaped by political catastrophe becomes romantically persuasive. And: Tyler and Sanjana do a month-in-media check-in that includes both Cancer Ward and Kennedy Ryan.

• On age gaps: why power is the whole point, when the trope works versus when shock replaces substance, and why the demand for capital-M Moral fiction is more conservative than it sounds.
• Anna Maria Volkova is the author of Games, a debut romance about desire, grief, and neoliberal capitalism (out June 30). Referenced: Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid.
• The month in reading: Score and Reel by Kennedy Ryan, Long Island Girls by Gabrielle Korn, Pool House by Mary H.K. Choi, In Every Possible Way by Alicia Thompson, The Very Definition of Love by Sophia Benoit, The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn, and Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught.

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Let’s dive into the BookTok discourse, shall we? Specifically, how algorithms work and why dismissing the community tends to say more about the dismisser than the community. Then debut romance novelist (and longtime cookbook author) Julia Turshen joins to talk about her 831 Stories novella Down to Earth, why food is the fastest way to put a reader in a room, the formula that cookbooks and romance novels quietly share, and what it means to write competency porn about a lesbian farmer without realizing that's what you're doing. And: Sanjana and Tyler each pitch a queer romance recommendation…and somehow both pick historicals.

• On BookTok: why thinking of it as a monolith is lazy, how algorithms reflect what you engage with (and not objective taste), and the misogyny baked into most think pieces about genre fiction.
• Julia Turshen is the author of numerous cookbooks including Small Victories and Simply Julia, and her debut sapphic romance, Down to Earth, is out this month from 831 Stories. Referenced: “I Found It: The Best Free Restaurant Bread in America” by Caity Weaver.
• The queer romance recommendations: Tyler picks An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera, and Sanjana picks The Companion by E.E. Ottoman. Honorable mentions: You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi and The Pairing by Casey McQuiston.

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Is it off-screen chemistry, or is it just good marketing? Hosts Sanjana Basker and Tyler McCall open with the Brett Goldstein and JLo Office Romance press tour—and what it means when a man manifests his lifelong crush into a co-starring role. Then scholar and author Nisha Sharma joins to talk about her research on dark romance and reproductive coercion, including how the genre’s relationship to consent has shifted alongside the political landscape, and whether dark romance could do better without losing what makes it so compelling. Plus: a listener voicemail sends Sanj and Tyler deep into Off Campus territory.

• Office Romance starring JLo and Brett Goldstein is streaming now on Netflix—clearly we’ll be discussing.
• Nisha Sharma, author of The Letters We Keep, is studying the intersection of law, politics, and culture in romance fiction. Her Substack post on dark romance and reproductive coercion tees up this episode’s conversation.
• A few dark romances for discussion: Lights Out by Navessa Allen, Brynn Weaver and Allie Oleander’s work, and Nobody’s Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
• It’s time for the Off Campus discourse! The correct answer to listener Lacey's question is Dean Di Laurentis.

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It's a New York state of mind on Radio 831. Hosts Sanjana Basker and Tyler McCall open with a conversation about publishing cadence in romance: Why readers want to be fed constantly, what category publishing and self-pub have to do with it, and what it actually means when an author takes their time. Then Tia Williams joins to talk about her new novel, The Missed Connection, and writing New York City as a character: the specificity of neighborhoods, the weight of gentrification, and why a character's apartment is never just an apartment. Plus: Sanj and Tyler name their favorite NYC romance novels and ask for listener recs set in Chicago, L.A., etc., etc.! To share yours, leave a message at 833-831-LOVE.

• Tia Williams is the author of the much-anticipated The Missed Connection (out June 9th!) as well as Seven Days in June, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde, and Audre & Bash Are Just Friends.
• Favorite NYC romances! You, Again by Kate Goldbeck from Tyler and Truly by Ruthie Knox from Sanj. Honorable mentions: One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn, Joanna Shupe's Gilded Age historicals, and Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone.

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Sanjana and Tyler open on a question that cuts across every romance subgenre: What does authenticity in world-building actually require, and when does getting it wrong take readers out of the story entirely? Sanj brings her Corn Laws knowledge and a therapist-in-training's eye; Tyler brings ten years of fashion editing and very strong opinions about brand-dropping. Then author and publisher Adriana Herrera joins to break down the Historical Trailblazers Romance Collection—the Kickstarter collaboration with Ali Hazelwood, the Fated Mates podcast, and Julia Whelan's Audiobrary to give five genre-defining historicals the special editions they deserve—and why mainstream publishing keeps selling historicals short. To close: Sanj and Tyler pitch their all-time summer reads and define what separates a summer book from an anytime book.

• On world-building authenticity: the fashion-brand problem, on-page therapy sessions, and why internal consistency matters more than strict historical accuracy.
• Adriana Herrera is the author of Las Leonas series and co-founder of AH² with Ali Hazelwood. The Historical Trailblazers Romance Collection features Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin, Magpie Lord by KJ Charles, Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase, Indigo by Beverly Jenkins, and Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas.
• Summer read picks: The Pairing by Casey McQuiston (Tyler), The Art of Scandal by Regina Black (Sanjana), Never Been Shipped by Alicia Thompson (bonus!).

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It's summer adaptation season, and hosts Sanjana Basker and Tyler McCall are taking stock: what Heated Rivalry got right, what People We Meet on Vacation got wrong, and what lessons studios are going to take from both. Then author Tarah DeWitt joins to break down the first episodes of Rivals Season 2, including: the moral complexity, the question of whether any sex scene can truly be called gratuitous, and what it means that Rupert Campbell-Black is, for the first time, trying to deny his nature. Plus: a quarterly Internet Boyfriend nomination round in which Sanjana makes a powerful case for Hannah Einbinder and Tyler lobbies hard for an underdog.

• On adaptations: the Heated Rivalry blueprint, the People We Meet on Vacation debate, and the Patrick Schwarzenegger Beach Read casting that has the fandom in shambles.
• Tarah DeWitt is the author of Funny Feelings, Rootbound, Savor It, The Co-op, and Left of Forever. Her next, Lost and Found, is out in August.
• Rivals Season 2 is streaming now on Hulu and is based on the bonkbusters by Dame Jilly Cooper.
• Internet Boyfriend nominees this quarter: Hannah Einbinder and Alden Ehrenreich.

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Welcome back to Radio 831, where hosts Sanjana Basker and Tyler McCall make the case that yearning isn’t just trending—it’s a defining orientation toward life. Then they chat with author Betty Corrello to dig into what Wuthering Heights is actually doing in the canon: Is it a love story, is it camp, and what has romance inherited from Cathy and Heathcliff anyway? Plus: Sanjana gives Tyler her first homework assignment, Lisa Kleypas's Again the Magic, and Tyler comes back a changed woman.

• On yearning: Allison P. Davis’s “A Year on Our Knees” for The Cut, the movie Pillion, and the idea that lit-fic assumes everyone is cynical and jaded ℅ Mel Thomas (aka @page.melt).
• Betty Corrello is here to talk her favorite classic novel Wuthering Heights—the latest adaptation of which is now streaming on HBO. Her last banger of a romance (written under BC Dolce) is My Italian Vampire, and her next, out this October, is Back for Seconds.
• Sanj’s backlist homework for Tyler: Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas.

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Welcome to Radio 831, where hosts Sanjana Basker and Tyler McCall share their romance origin stories and make the case for why romance is fiction's most underestimated genre. Then they sit down with Jen Prokop, co-host of the Fated Mates podcast, to break down what actually makes a romance a romance: the HEA, the theory of change, the unspoken rule that love has to make you better. Plus: what our hosts can’t wait to read and watch this summer.

• Sanjana Basker’s romance origin story: period pieces and Lisa Kleypas’s historical romances.
• Tyler McCall’s romance origin story: The Idea of You by Robinne Lee (and Harry Styles fanfic) and Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade (related: this Jezebel article).
• Four examples of romance at its best, from Jen Prokop, co-host of the Fated Mates podcast: The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn, Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid, and Indigo and Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins.

Summer releases Tyler and Sanj are hotly anticipating: Rivals Season 2 (May 15), Score by Kennedy Ryan (May 19), Just a Highland Fling by Naina Kamar (July 21), Extracurricular by Rachel Lynn Solomon (July 14), The Invite movie (June 26), I Want Your Sex movie (July 31).

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Everyone is talking about romance, and hosts Sanjana Basker and Tyler McCall are here to delve into why. Each week on Radio 831, they dig into the books, tropes, adaptations, drama, and discourse shaping the conversation, exploring what our obsession with love stories says about how we actually live. Expect genre deep-dives, expert discussions with authors and superfans, and strong opinions on everything from dark romance and age gaps to Wuthering Heights and certain Russian hockey players. Come back May 7 to tune in.

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It’s been about a year since we’ve been in your ears, and we’re so excited to share some news! Coming May 7, this feed will be the new home of the Radio 831 podcast: Your weekly dose of all things romance. It’s a production of iHeartPodcasts hosted by Sanjana Basker and Tyler McCall, two brilliant, funny, knowledgeable people we love having in our ears.

It’s a half-hour show that we like to think of as the SportsCenter of smut: the audio companion to our romantic fiction publishing company 831 Stories that delves into everything from why certain subgenres are having a moment—hello, cowboys!—to what’s happening in the Jane Austen Verse. 

Also, while we have you, we figured we’d take the opportunity to share some of the things that have made us wish we still had a podcast over these last 12 months. Butter bust, wild brand websites, an emotional phone call, and sausage-race innovation await!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.