The Hopeless Romantic

Jul 03 2018 38 ep. 67 mins 172

The Hopeless Romantic Podcast artwork

Amanda Jean delights in wrestling manuscripts for her day job, worships at the altar of tropes, and has never met a villain or sexy alien she doesn’t like. Austin Chant writes books about gay magic and toxic masculinity, likes his queer stories with a slice of anguish, and kinda wants to be a pirate. Together, they discuss queer romance fiction and the broader world of queer media.

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Episode 40: Thanks for Coming to Our TED Talk

Jul 03 2018 72 mins

**Content warning: This episode contains spoilers for the movie *Annihilation* (as well as some spoilers for the book it's based on). The ending is in no way spoiled, but some plot elements are laid out. There are also spoilers for *The Picture of Dorian Gray*. Also, suicide is mentioned.** After two and a half years, forty episodes, many arguments with Skype, and lots of Overwatc

Episode 39: What's in a Pen Name?

Jun 12 2018 76 mins

**Content warning:** This episode mentions the *Killing Stalking* manhwa, discusses problematic elements of dramas (such as non-consensual grabbing, stalking, kidnapping, and misogynistic behavior), mentions drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana, fictional suicide in *Orphan Black*, underage relationships with regards to *Queer as Folk*, microaggressions and exclusionary behavior

Episode 38: Problematic Gay Stuff

May 29 2018 77 mins

**Content warnings: This episode references potentially triggering topics, including abusive relationships, gaslighting, murder, cannibalism, sexual assault, violence, incest, Real Person Fan Fiction, and age differences--a lot of triggers that constitute "dark" or "problematic" fiction. While we don't dwell on many of these subjects, they are referenced, and people may want to pro

Episode 37: Meet Nasty

May 15 2018 69 mins

**Content warning: This contains a trigger warning for a dead dog in Killing Eve and also mentions mild spoilers for the endings of *Time Was* and *Person of Interest*.** After repeated technical failure, Brooklyn Wallace finally manages to chat with Austin and Amanda about her upcoming black F/F romance *Sugar and Ice*. Predictably, the group is sidetracked by Cockygate, bad 1920

Episode 36: Chekhov's War

Apr 10 2018 74 mins

**Content warning: We discuss (though not in any detail) Amanda's current ear infection and a staph ear infection Austin had a few years back, as well as general health/medical stuff. Skip to 9:38 if this is a potential trigger or squick for you. There are also some spoilers for *The Ring/Ringu* and the video game *Until Dawn.*** (First off, apologies for Austin sounding like he r

Episode 35: The State of Things

Mar 27 2018 63 mins

**Content warning: This episode references sexual abuse and harassment, and generally a lot of toxic behavior and boundary crossing. None of it is explicit, but please take care of yourself if you might be triggered.** Austin and Amanda get serious and address racism, gatekeeping, abuse, amateurism, and other broken elements in queer publishing. Another major problem discussed is

Episode 34: Manic Pixie Scottish Banana

Mar 13 2018 71 mins

At the top of the episode, Austin and Amanda briefly address the ongoing revelations of misconduct and abuse within queer publishing. We stand with authors. Austin and Amanda go digging for comedy gold in ancient Harlequin blurbs, then get serious and talk about how damn hard beginnings can be. Amanda talks about what she typically finds missing in beginnings as an acquisitions ed

Episode 33: If I'm Wrong, @ Me

Feb 27 2018 70 mins

**This episode contains spoilers for God's Own Country.** Celebrate Valentine’s Day two weeks late with the always-prepared THR! Amanda recommends a podcast and tells a story about how she wins friends and influences people, which is followed by the hosts struggling to contain laughter over romance titles generated by a neural network (the punishment for laughter is blurbing sai

Episode 32: Waiting for My Emotions to Run Out

Feb 13 2018 72 mins

**Warning for very mild spoilers for The Adventure Zone podcast. We warn in-episode and it's nothing earth shattering.** Austin and Amanda reminisce about their experiences at Read With Pride, which recently announced its end, and try to describe the Lynchian quality of the Seattle Public Library's fourth floor. There's also discussion of New Adult stories and how aromantic and as

Episode 31: A Peach by Any Other Name

Jan 30 2018 75 mins

**Content warning: part of this episode discusses a fictional relationship between a 17-year-old and a 24-year-old.** THR returns with a semi-revamped format! Austin and Amanda talk about the future of the show, delve into some of the realities of freelancing from their own experiences, and spend the last two-thirds of the episode talking about *Call Me By Your Name* and their wil