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&rsquo;t wait to read and watch this summer. <ul> <li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/baskinsuns/">Sanjana Basker</a>&rsquo;s romance origin story: period pieces and <a href="https://bookshop.org/beta-search?keywords=Lisa+Kleypas">Lisa Kleypas</a>&rsquo;s historical romances.</li> <li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/eiffeltyler/">Tyler McCall</a>&rsquo;s romance origin story: <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-idea-of-you-a-novel-robinne-lee/df835849fd042109?ean=9781250353078&next=t">The Idea of You</a> by Robinne Lee (and Harry Styles fanfic) and <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/spoiler-alert-a-novel-olivia-dade/00d2c79df2f4fcc4?ean=9780063005549&next=t">Spoiler Alert</a> by Olivia Dade (related: <a href="https://www.jezebel.com/what-the-dip-in-this-romance-heroine-s-butt-meant-to-me-1845316730">this Jezebel article</a>).</li> <li aria-level="1">Four examples of romance at its best, from <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jenreadsromance/">Jen Prokop</a>, co-host of <a href="https://fatedmates.net/">the Fated Mates podcast</a>: <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-paris-match-kate-clayborn/b0922ea6eea23d4d?ean=9780593819371&next=t">The Paris Match</a> by Kate Clayborn, <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/heated-rivalry-now-streaming-on-crave-and-hbo-max-rachel-reid/d865861eb560a9c3?ean=9781335534637&next=t">Heated Rivalry</a> by Rachel Reid, and <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/indigo-beverly-jenkins/a6e840d72083fda2?ean=9781495368219&next=t">Indigo</a> and <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/forbidden-beverly-jenkins/4a3317622aaac393?ean=9780062389008&next=t">Forbidden</a> by Beverly Jenkins.</li> </ul> Summer releases Tyler and Sanj are hotly anticipating: <a href="https://deadline.com/2026/04/rivals-season-2-full-trailer-disney-premiere-date-may-15-1236710074/">Rivals Season 2</a> (May 15), <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/score-kennedy-ryan/9fd190fda57d8475?ean=9781538769652&next=t">Score</a> by Kennedy Ryan (May 19), <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/just-a-highland-fling-a-novel-naina-kumar/9e708364115ca821?ean=9798217094660&next=t">Just a Highland Fling</a> by Naina Kamar (July 21), <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/extracurricular-rachel-lynn-solomon/8fc15b10f1a93be8?ean=9798217188284&next=t">Extracurricular</a> by Rachel Lynn Solomon (July 14), <a href="https://a24films.com/films/the-invite">The Invite</a> movie (June 26), <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32332915/">I Want Your Sex</a> movie (July 31).See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

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Origin Stories, the Rules of Romance with Jen Prokop, and Summer’s Anticipation Index

Radio 831: A Romance Podcast

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