Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

Amanda and I are back, deep diving into romance and pop culture history with issue 1997 of Romantic Times Magazine. The cover reads Love, Lust, Laugh, and we’ve got some vintage books to talk about. Then we talk about what books we’re most looking forward to right now, and what we’re currently reading.

In two weeks we will be back with the ads & features, and you know a magazine from the 90s has the most excellent collection of cover art.

And if you like video episodes, this episode is available in video format for everyone on Sunday at our You Tube channel.

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Major Trigger Warning in this episode: At 20:24 we have a brief conversation about an author featured in the magazine who was the victim of a family annihilation. Immediately following, the book I discuss contains mentions of child loss, infertility, and infidelity. Skip ahead 2 and a half minutes.

We also mentioned:
Amanda’s TBR Takedown board game: “Gamify Your TBR”
Greenland sharks!
Solved HaBO: “She Served as Head of Her Father’s Army”
Romance History with Steve Ammidown: “Lest We Forget” (trigger warning: family annihilation)

If you or someone you know is in danger from domestic or intimate partner violence, The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1.800.799.7233, or you can text START to 88788.

Music: purple-planet.com
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My guest this week is Julia Quinn and we are talking about, of course, JQ Editions, a new subscription service creating special limited editions of historical romances. I’ve been writing about this since it was announced, and so I got to ask all my questions – and some of yours.

Along the way we talk about the historical romance genre, administrative mayhem, and the practicalities of creating special editions of beloved books. Plus you get to hear my reaction when Julia shares some of the 2027 titles.

Thank you to Verity, Sue, and Alanna for the questions!

You can find Julia Quinn on her website, JuliaQuinn.com, and on Instagram @JuliaQuinnAuthor, and on Facebook at AuthorJuliaQuinn.

You can find out more about JQ Editions at JQEditions.com.

We also mentioned:
Germ and Worm - a travel health podcast
Every Library
Jeni's Ice Cream: Bridgerton Collection!
Julia Quinn on The Today Show
Episode with former romance author and CDC specialist Dr. Jennifer McQuiston
122. Ponies, Ebola, and Historical Romance: An Interview with Jennifer McQuiston
171. Once More with Ebola and Romance: An Interview Jennifer McQuiston
...

Do you like to listen to your favorite podcasts on YouTube?

Find our latest episodes at on YouTube @SmartPodcastTrashyBooks - and please subscribe. I had to start the channel over.

Music: purple-planet.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kayleigh Donaldson is back! She is the guest on some of the most popular episodes, and I know what that is: she’s brilliant. We recorded this just before the Oscar nominations were announced, so Kayleigh is making (some pretty accurate!) predictions about Oscar nominations, and explaining what makes this year’s group of films so interesting.

Along the way we also talk about vintage Hollywood gossip, character actors who go weird gremlin, and the way actors shape public narrative with their project choices, their fashion, and their cosmetic procedures. And also – Scotland made the World Cup – woohoo!
I love talking to people who think about their favorite aspects of popular culture the way I think about romance fiction, and I already know you love when Kayleigh is a guest. Don’t worry, she will be back.

Technical note: we had some connectivity issues and delay during the recording, so I don’t have a full video episode for this one, though I do have clips, so watch for them on social media. You might hear some muddy audio, and I apologize. Please know I did all the things I could.

CW/TW: At about 2 minutes in, we talk about Elizabeth Taylor’s abusive first husband. We also talk about body and beauty standards in Hollywood.

Patreon folks, you have an extended episode inside your Patreon feed with a whole extra hour of discussion about the Beckhams, the industry of celebrity children, and more.

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You can find Kayleigh Donaldson at her website, KayleighDonaldson.com, on Bluesky, and on Pajiba.com. You can also sign up for her (excellent) newsletter, Gossip Reading Club.

We also mentioned:
The New Yorker: “Amanda Seyfried’s Epiphanies”
Reddit: Sydney Sweeney and Scooter Braun in Central Park
Reddit: Sydney Sweeney and Christy Martin in Sports Illustrated
Tom and Lorenzo: Sydney Sweeney’s hair on Jimmy Fallon
The New York Times: Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom on the “Enduring Invisible Power of Blondeness” (Archive link)
The Wrap: Kayleigh reviews All’s Fair
The List: Bradley Cooper’s Face and Resulting Rumors
The Wall Street Journal: Club Chalamet/Simone Cromer profile
Wikipedia: The Leveson Inquiry

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Candy recapped Heated Rivalry, and is that enough? No, of course not. We had MANY things we wanted to exclaim at each other about, so why not podcast about it?

We’re going to talk about the show, the acting, the adaptation, and the fact that this show could never have been made in the US. Jacob Tierney is a genius, and we have many a rabbit hole of research to explore.

If you’ve been thinking about this show nonstop, come hang out.

You can find Candy Tan @beautifulduckweed on Bluesky and on Tumblr.

And you can find the podcast with video on YouTube!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s never too late for Holiday Wishes, right? We had such a record number of interviews for the Holiday Wishes episodes this year, and I truly love doing them. Thank you.

But many of you asked about Amanda’s recs and wishes, so to wind up our holiday extravaganza, Amanda and I are talking about the books that we loved in 2025, our wishes for everyone in 2026, and of course we talk about a LOT of other things. One of Amanda’s favorites was about a songwriter and so we discussed our music tastes, which, total surprise, are entirely different. We also look back at the most popular content on SBTB in 2025, and what posts and podcasts had the most engagement.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Smart Podcast Trashy Books YouTube Channel!

We also mentioned:
YouTube: Electric Callboy – “Elevator Operator”
Webtoon: Villains are Destined to Die
Podcast: The Sticky Bun Boys
IG Reel: “Dating Grok”
SBTB: Unhinged Bingo!

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