Radio 831: A Romance Podcast

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.