Hot and Bothered

Hot and Bothered is all about the power of romance culture. We analyze romance novels and movies to better imagine our own happy endings. Episodes release weekly on Tuesdays.

CURRENT SEASON: Jane Austen’s Persuasion

For Season 6, Hot and Bothered is returning to its roots with a classic romance: Jane Austen's Persuasion. Many readers consider Persuasion Austen's most romantic novel. As a podcast obsessed with romance (and Austen), it was only a matter of time before we answered its siren call.

Joining Vanessa Zoltan this season is her longtime mentor, Harvard Divinity School Professor Dr. Stephanie Paulsell. Together, they'll read Persuasion one chapter at a time, asking what Austen's timeless novel can teach us about grief, beauty, aging, and—of course—love.

 SEASON 5: Hot and Bothered (Movie Edition)

For our fifth season of the show, we turned our attention to romantic films. The season began with ten episodes on How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, an iconic film of the early 2000s rom-com oeuvre. Following those episodes, Vanessa was joined by beloved academic and podcaster Hannah McGregor to dig into the canon of romantic films, from Titanic to Twilight to When Harry Met Sally, (just to name a few). We asked every movie “what does this believe about love?” And “do we agree?”

SEASON 4: Live from Pemberley

In Live from Pemberley, we continue our deep-dive into the classic texts of romance literature. This season we take a close look at the most famous Romance novel of all time: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Every episode, Vanessa Zoltan and Lauren Sandler read through the book, talk with experts, and ask themselves the question ‘is this still a story for our time?’

SEASON 3: On Eyre

Vanessa Zoltan and journalist Lauren Sandler embark on the English class you always deserved, diving deep into Jane Eyre through the themes of power and desire. Discussions range from ideas of class and colonialism to sex and gender as Lauren and Vanessa explore the roles of oppression and inequality, empowerment and rebellion in the text. 

SEASON 2: Twilight in Quarantine

You may remember BFFs Vanessa & Julia from their all-star advice giving in Hot and Bothered Season 1. In this COVID-19 quarantine they got on the phone three times a week to read and talk about Twilight. On Twilight in Quarantine, they worked their way through the Twilight saga one chapter at a time, giving brilliant well-informed advice to Stephenie Meyer’s characters along the way. Advice like: “maybe you shouldn’t kidnap people.”

SEASON 1: Writing Romance

Season one of Hot and Bothered followed ten first-time romance writers as they tried to write their own romance novels. Each episode explored a particular romance trope and why we love it so much. Along the way, Julia Quinn, wri...