logo
episode-header-image
Yesterday
25m 11s

Romance novels are hotter and more Canad...

CBC
About this episode

The romance genre is booming in Canadian literature. From romantasy to sports smut to paranormal erotica, readers are flocking to romance-themed bookstores and Booktok to share their love for spice. Deborah Aarts and Nathan Maharaj join Elamin to discuss what’s driving the romance surge and how its popularity could be changing the way readers and publishers value the genre.


Plus, Ella Langley’s surprise hit song 'Choosin' Texas' was at the top of both the Billboard pop and country charts for months. Country music journalist Marissa Moss explains why song is dominant.

Up next
Apr 29
Ontario's crackdown on ticket reselling, and a new U.K. comedy takes aim at the World Cup
New legislation in Ontario makes it illegal to resell tickets to concerts and sporting events above their face value. The aim is to clamp down on a lucrative resale market blamed for high ticket costs. Billboard Canada reporter Richard Trapunski and public-policy analyst Vass Bed ... Show More
25m 10s
Apr 28
A tradwife influencer time travels to 1855 in Yesteryear, and Charli XCX says the dance floor is dead
'Yesteryear', the debut novel of Caro Claire Burke, follows a tradwife influencer who posts about her idyllic farm life to millions of followers. But when she wakes up in 1855, she learns what it's really like for women living in the past. Amil Niazi, author of 'Life After Ambiti ... Show More
25m 1s
Apr 27
How 'Michael' broke the box office but flattened his legacy
With the release of 'Michael', the biopic on the King of Pop, Elamin Abdelmahmoud is joined by Black pop expert Prof. Mark Anthony Neal, film critic Sarah-Tai Black and culture critic Jay Smooth to discuss how it handles the high, lows and controversies of Michael Jackson's legac ... Show More
25m 48s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2025
In the Mood for Love
Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode celebrate 25 years of In The Mood For Love - director Wong Kar Wai's acclaimed romantic drama starring Maggie Cheung as Mrs Chan and Tony Leung as Mr Chow - two neighbours in 1960s Hong Kong, bonded by a revelation about their respective spouses.Cri ... Show More
42m 24s
Oct 2024
Joan Chen - 'Dìdi'
The trailblazing Chinese actress reflects on childhood stardom in China, coming to America and starting from scratch, building a career in films like 'The Last Emperor' and 'Heaven & Earth' and, decades later, garnering some of the best reviews of her career — and Oscar buzz — fo ... Show More
1h 6m
Jun 2025
Joachim Trier: The making of Sentimental Value
We go behind the scenes with director Joachim Trier as he makes the follow-up to his international hit The Worst Person In The World. Producer Stephen Hughes gets exclusive access to the set of Sentimental Value, following the film from pre to post production. In a series of cand ... Show More
50m 22s
Aug 2025
How to Watch a Movie
<p>In the early days of the Hollywood studio system, producers exerted far greater creative control than any individual director. Then, in the mid-twentieth century, a group of young French critics issued a <em>cri du coeur</em> that gave rise to the figure of the auteur: visiona ... Show More
44m 9s
Jan 2018
Rachel Brosnahan - 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'
The newly-minted Golden Globe and Critics' Choice winner for best actress in a comedy series reflects on a childhood divided between acting and wrestling, her Emmy-nominated turn on Netflix's 'House of Cards' and landing the role of a lifetime — as a 1950s New York housewife-turn ... Show More
1h 12m
May 2024
George Miller, Miranda July, Orchestral Qawwali Project
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is the latest film from the writer director George Miller, 45 years after the first Mad Max film with Mel Gibson aired. He joins us to talk about where the vision for the film came from and how it's evolved, and about working with stars Anya Taylor-Joy and ... Show More
42m 22s
Jun 2018
Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett
Francine Stock meets Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett to discuss Ocean's 8 and their plans to tackle gender inequality in the film industry. Comedian Rosemary Fletcher argues that all-female reboots smack of women-only train carriages, and that women should have their own storie ... Show More
29m 44s
Apr 2025
Growing Up in Jaffa & Getting an Oscar Nomination as a Palestinian Director | Scandar Copti
In this episode of This is Not a Watermelon podcast, we're joined by Oscar-Nominated and award-winning Palestinian filmmaker, Scandar Copti. We dive into his childhood in Jaffa and growing up in a neighborhood with a rich and tumultuous history like Ajami, to his rise as an accla ... Show More
1h 9m
Mar 2025
Daniel Evans as Edward II, Laura Carreira's film On Falling, last night's Oscar winners
Sean Baker made Oscar history, becoming the first person to win four Academy Awards for directing, editing, writing and producing a single film, Anora. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh joins Samira to look at this year's Oscar winners and what they say about cinema today. The RSC's co-artisti ... Show More
42m 5s