Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

Katie Wilbert, a screenwriter, comedian, and live performer, takes us behind the scenes of holiday rom-coms. She shares her journey from improv to made-for-TV romance, the whirlwind creation of A Vineyard Christmas, and the economics behind seasonal films. They explore earnestness, women’s emotional labor, cultural celebration, second-screen storytelling, and why a little cheese is essential.

Lea Vale, author of literary fiction and romance and NHPR’s Check This Out presenter, discusses writing Blue Sky Black, a dual-timeline romance set partly around 9/11. They explore confronting traumatic recent history through emotional intimacy, the protective power of a hopeful ending, building authentic survivors, and turning criticism into stronger writing. Vale also shares her path into romance, interview questions, and reading recommendations.

Amanda Diehl, a romance commentator and publishing-history enthusiast, joins a time-traveling tour of Romantic Times’ June 2007 ads and features. They revisit bizarre covers, cereal nostalgia, Kresley Cole’s paranormal breakthrough, Lee Child’s luxury recommendations, Harlequin’s “real men” casting call, and Brenda Novak’s diabetes auction. The conversation also tackles the magazine’s troubling homophobia, queer romance coverage, genre respectability, and the culture wars hiding in reader letters.

Jodi McAlister, Australian romance author, professor, and scholar of popular romance, discusses A Study in Sparkling. They explore devastating divorce, age gaps, academia, marriage of convenience, and the meticulous wine research behind a sommelier hero. Jodi also previews older leads and early sex, teaches Regency romance, and shares research into 1980s bonkbusters and erotic audio drama.

A time-traveling tour through 2007 romance reviews delivers taxidermy, shoe obsession, quilting competitions, werecats, NASCAR, and a truly unforgettable character name. Sarah and Amanda revisit bizarre covers, questionable plots, generous ratings, chick lit chaos, paranormal romance’s rise, and the fine line between erotic romance and books that simply contain a lot of sex.

Adib Khorram, the queer Iranian-American author behind Darius the Great Is Not Okay, discusses Isn’t He Romantic, the finale of his queer Iranian-American romance trilogy. They explore fake dating, sex toys, audiobook narrators, and the evolution of m/m romance. The conversation also tackles aging and ageism, queer intergenerational community, kickball as joyful reclamation, fashion, BookTok, and writing with loving accountability.

Travel back to February 2012 for Anastasia obsessions, Barbara Cartland hats, historical pettiness, and the bygone craft of romance conferences. Then comes an extended tour of outrageous romance covers featuring leather-pants bulges, photoshopped nudity, chaotic ménage compositions, uncanny models, and early-2010s torso aesthetics. Along the way, the conversation explores genre labels, romance history, and what makes a satisfying romantic fantasy.

Lucy Wilson-Tagoe, a Ghanaian American bestselling romance author writing as Dylan Allen, discusses To Catch a Sinner, her mystery-romance about art repatriation and cultural ownership. She shares why a new pen name became a personal rebirth, how Ghanaian heritage shaped her identity, and the romances, soap operas, and Black authors that inspired her. Plus: a hopeful, richly imagined Washington, D.C.

A time-traveling tour through September 2012 romance reviews, featuring suspiciously terrible men, historical paranormal drama, teen heroes allowed to be messy, and a zombie fantasy with a Nazi wizard. Along the way: Garth Brooks favorites, karaoke staples, carnival murder mysteries, hot dog toys, and a bizarre detour into books bound in human skin.

Jess Rothschild is a podcaster and journalist, one of the founding writers at Autostraddle, and her latest project is a documentary podcast called Finding Fire Island, about the history of Fire Island, Cherry Grove, and the Pines. Her prior work includes The Cult of Soul Cycle, and I love BOTH of these productions. Jess has been writing online longer than I have, and we talk about internet history, the process of making a podcast documentary, and what it’s like to have all your neighbors tell their most juicy, gossipy stories to you. For work. Finding Fire Island is a unique historical record, and I hope you’ll listen or watch. Please be advised that you can’t talk about gay history in the US without talking about the AIDS epidemic and the loss of so many people, so this episode is a little poignant at times. You can find Jess Rothschild on Instagram @JessXNYC.Links ahoy!Finding Fire IslandThe Cult of Body and SoulHulu – Black Twitter: A People’s HistoryHot Takes and Deep Dives – Jess’s podcastCaitlin Whyte – Jess’s Sound DesignerThemAutostraddleDads & Daddies Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.