Radio 831: A Romance Podcast

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.
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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?
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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.
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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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