The Agony and the Ecstasy: Race and the Future of the Love Story | 30th Anniversary Capsule

Dec 31, 2025

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In 2019 a well known romance writer began tweeting about other writers in her community and concerns about racism. It led to a huge reckoning within an organization called the Romance Writers of America. And although the online debate seemed to be isolated to a specific community of romance writers and their fans, it was really a microcosm of what's been happening all over the US. In this episode we learn all about romance novels and how newer writers are changing the norms of the genre, and giving it a political power it's never had before. And, we talk about what it means for organizations to change as they grapple with questions of race.

This episode, originally released in June 2022, is part of the Making Contact Anniversary Capsule: celebrating 30 years of social justice journalism. The miniseries takes us from protests on the streets of Seattle to an Indiana family fighting for their daughter's gender affirming care. It explores a racial reckoning in the world of romance writers, and tells the story of border walls from Gaza to Arizona. These shows embody how Making Contact has been digging into the story beneath the story since 1994.

Featuring:

- Jayashree Kamble; professor of English Literature at La Guardia Community College

- Reagan Jackson; co-executive director, Young Women Empowered, also a romance reader and fan

- Contance Grady; Senior Culture Reporter for Vox

- Elise Staples, member of a romance reading book club through meetup.com

Credits:

**Making Contact Team**

- Episode Host: Salima Hamirani

- Producers: Salima Hamirani, Anita Johnson, Lucy Kang, Amy Gastelum

- Executive Director: Jina Chung

- Engineer: [Jeff Emtman](https://jeffemtman.com/)

- Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonorain

**Music**:

- Johnny Ripper - Overout

- Johnny Ripper - Sfhk (mental breakdown)

- Johnny Ripper - Untitled (waking up)

- Johnny Ripper - In a Dream

- Dance of the Seahorse - Gideon Freudman

- Pictures of the Floating World - Waves

- Bio Unit - Subterannean

- Ketsa - you asked

Learn More:

Making Contact is an award-winning, nationally syndicated radio show and podcast featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world.