Radio 831: A Romance Podcast

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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