Radio 831: A Romance Podcast

Епизоде

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  Let Mary Bennet Be a Freak, Nikki Payne on Austen's Imprint on Romance, and Sense and Sensibility Double Homework 10.09.2026 32мин

  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.
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  The State of Goodreads, Alexandra Romanoff on YA vs. Adult Romance, and Our Fall Romance Forecast 03.09.2026 32мин

  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.
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  The Sex Purge Movie Is Actually Good, Rachel Lynn Solomon on Celebrity Romance, and What We Consumed This Month 27.08.2026 31мин

  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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  The State of Celebrity Romance, Lit Agent Ariele Fredman on What’s Next in Romance, and Our Q3 Internet Boyfriends 20.08.2026 30мин

  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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  "Realistic" Is the Wrong Word, Adrie Rose on Sex Workers in Romance, and The Pairing Homework 13.08.2026 31мин

  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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Open-Door vs. Closed-Door Romance, Kate Goldbeck on Writing Under Reader Surveillance, and a Case for Cheating 06.08.2026 33мин

  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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  The Case for Bad Sex Scenes, Riss M. Neilson on Disability in Romance, and What We’ve Consumed This Month 30.07.2026 33мин

  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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  A Close Reading of an Emily Henry Profile, Naina Kumar on Rom-Com DNA, and the Yearner Hall of Fame 23.07.2026 32мин

  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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  ReelShort Romance, Tritney on C-Dramas and the Bathtub Loophole, and Sherry Thomas Homework 16.07.2026 30мин

  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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  World Cup as Meet-Cute Fodder, KT Hoffman on Romance and Baseball, and a Bull Durham and Fever Pitch Doubleheader 09.07.2026 31мин

  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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Office Romance Recap, Lyla Sage on Cowboys and Small-Town Romances, and The Idea of You Reading Assignment 02.07.2026 31мин

  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! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  In Defense of Age Gaps, Anna Maria Volkova on Games and the Russian MC, and What We've Been Reading 25.06.2026 32мин

  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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  BookTok Thoughts, Julia Turshen on Cookbooks and Romance, and Pride Picks 18.06.2026 32мин

  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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  The J.Lo-Brett Goldstein Situation, the Dark Romance Conundrum with Nisha Sharma, and Our Thoughts on Off Campus 11.06.2026 32мин

  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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Publishing Cadence, NYC Romance with Tia Williams, and Favorite Books Set in the City 04.06.2026 30мин

  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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Romance World-Building, Adriana Herrera on Historical Trailblazers, and All-Time Summer Reads 28.05.2026 30мин

  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!). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Romance Adaptations, Rivals Season 2 with Tarah DeWitt, and Internet Boyfriend Nominations 21.05.2026 31мин

  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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Yearning, Wuthering Heights with Betty Corrello, and a Backlist Reading Assignment 14.05.2026 31мин

  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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Origin Stories, the Rules of Romance with Jen Prokop, and Summer’s Anticipation Index 07.05.2026 30мин

  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).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Welcome to Radio 831: A Romance Podcast 30.04.2026 2мин

  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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.