Episode two of our Katabasis deep dive is finally here! For some reason, we start the first of our spoiler-filled episodes with a sports metaphor before grumbling about Alice and Peter as academic types with whom we are quite familiar (and spoiler alert, we don’t like them).

We also consider Kuang’s construction of hell as a university–but with the pretty clear argument that salvation is definitely not a dissertation.

As a bit of a content warning, Katabasis deals with abuse and suicidal ideation. Because these themes are pretty central to the novel, we won’t be able to provide specific timecodes for when it comes up in our own discussion, but wanted to make sure you know going in.

What's Sparking Joy this episode: N.Flying & Heyley Williams

Episode was recorded October 19, 2025

Show Notes:

• Support us on Ko-Fi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/sexlovelitpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• Listen to our Joy Sparked: SLL Song Recs playlist: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/playlist/50MNBI1kYKdJgxh8CzEJF1?si=d9df62854c684557⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Check out the Under Review Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/under-review/id1616708064

Other lit mentioned this episode: Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Under Review Podcast

On Future SLL Episodes: Isekai and Transmigration

Don't forget to subscribe to Sex. Love. Literature! You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SexLoveLitPodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠; on Instagram , Tumblr, and BlueSky @SexLoveLitPodcast. Support us on Ko-fi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/sexlovelitpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Our cover art is by Charcooll (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/charcooll/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). The SLL Theme music is “Pluck It Up” by Dan Henig. What’s Sparking Joy BGM is "Candy-Coloured Sky" by Catmosphere | https://soundcloud.com/ctmsphr;Released by Paper Crane Collective; Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com; Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US.

Sex. Love. Literature. is a pop culture podcast that relishes the romantic, the sexy, and the scandalous in media. Join pop culture scholars (and besties) Ayanni and Corinne as they deep dive into why the “sex-stuff” in media matters. Main episodes drop the last Friday of the month.

After a long wait, we're really excited that Yumi's Cells Season 3 is finally here! In this mini-episode (a return of La Petit's perhaps?), we briefly chat about the Kdrama, what our prime cell would be, and what we're excited to see this season.

(You can watch Yumi's Cells on Viki!)

Show Notes:

• Support us on Ko-Fi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/sexlovelitpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• Listen to our Joy Sparked: SLL Song Recs playlist: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/playlist/50MNBI1kYKdJgxh8CzEJF1?si=d9df62854c684557⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Other lit mentioned this episode: Inside Out, Cells at Work

Don't forget to subscribe to Sex. Love. Literature! You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SexLoveLitPodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠; on Instagram , Tumblr, and BlueSky @SexLoveLitPodcast. Support us on Ko-fi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/sexlovelitpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Our cover art is by Charcooll (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/charcooll/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). The SLL Theme music is “Pluck It Up” by Dan Henig. What’s Sparking Joy BGM is "Candy-Coloured Sky" by Catmosphere | https://soundcloud.com/ctmsphr;Released by Paper Crane Collective; Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com; Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US.

Sex. Love. Literature. is a pop culture podcast that relishes the romantic, the sexy, and the scandalous in media. Join pop culture scholars (and besties) Ayanni and Corinne as they deep dive into why the “sex-stuff” in media matters. Main episodes drop the last Friday of the month.

Hi y'all! We're popping in here to give you all a quick update about why we've on an impromptu hiatus since October (hint: it's Ayanni's fault lol, but you might not guess why 👀) and provide an update on the rest of our Katabasis conversation, plus the great chat we had with Liliana from Tea and Soju Podcast (https://open.spotify.com/show/26MG5cR9if00QcJrZgTNmq) about Transmigration & Isekai as a genre.

As a treat, we do a rapid fire round of What's Sparking Joy for us in the moment. To no one's surprise, it's a lot of CDramas, anime, and KPop.

See y'all again soon!!

Show Notes:

• Support us on Ko-Fi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/sexlovelitpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• Listen to our Joy Sparked: SLL Song Recs playlist: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/playlist/50MNBI1kYKdJgxh8CzEJF1?si=d9df62854c684557⁠⁠⁠⁠

Don't forget to subscribe to Sex. Love. Literature! You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SexLoveLitPodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠; on Instagram , Tumblr, and BlueSky @SexLoveLitPodcast. Support us on Ko-fi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/sexlovelitpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Our cover art is by Charcooll (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/charcooll/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). The SLL Theme music is “Pluck It Up” by Dan Henig. What’s Sparking Joy BGM is "Candy-Coloured Sky" by Catmosphere | https://soundcloud.com/ctmsphr;Released by Paper Crane Collective; Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com; Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US.

Sex. Love. Literature. is a pop culture podcast that relishes the romantic, the sexy, and the scandalous in media. Join pop culture scholars (and besties) Ayanni and Corinne as they deep dive into why the “sex-stuff” in media matters. Main episodes drop the last Friday of the month.

Happy Halloween!! This episode, we join Alice and Peter, two PhD Students in Magick studies, as they journey to hell to save their advisor in R.F. Kuang’s new fantasy novel Katabasis. We start off spoiler free in this first of three episodes with our initial reactions, thoughts on pretentiousness in relation to academic prestige and precarity, and who we ultimately think this book is for.

As a bit of a content warning, Katabasis deals with abuse and suicidal ideation. Because these themes are pretty central to the novel, we won’t be able to provide specific timecodes for when it comes up in our own discussion, but wanted to make sure you know going in.

What's Sparking Joy this episode: Silent Hill f and Love in the Cloud

Episode was recorded October 19, 2025

Show Notes:

• Support us on Ko-Fi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/sexlovelitpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Listen to Corinne on Afternoona Asks: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/till-the-end-of-the-moon-deep-dive/id1698849342?i=1000729479718
• A little about the concerns around Lewis Carroll: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/articles/understanding-concerns-about-lewis-carroll/
• Listen to our Joy Sparked: SLL Song Recs playlist: ⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/playlist/50MNBI1kYKdJgxh8CzEJF1?si=d9df62854c684557⁠⁠⁠
• Listen to our episode on Hadestown: https://www.sexlovelitpodcast.com/ep40-hadestown/https://www.sexlovelitpodcast.com/ep40-hadestown/

Other lit mentioned this episode: His Dark Materials, Hadestown, The Wasteland by T S Elliot, Dante's Inferno, Alice in Wonderland, The Stormlight Archive, Witch Hat Atelier, A Discovery of Witches

On Future SLL Episodes: Isekai and Transmigration, Trope Spotlight: Forced Proximity, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Don't forget to subscribe to Sex. Love. Literature! You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SexLoveLitPodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠; on Instagram , Tumblr, and BlueSky @SexLoveLitPodcast. Support us on Ko-fi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/sexlovelitpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Our cover art is by Charcooll (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/charcooll/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). The SLL Theme music is “Pluck It Up” by Dan Henig. What’s Sparking Joy BGM is "Candy-Coloured Sky" by Catmosphere | https://soundcloud.com/ctmsphr;Released by Paper Crane Collective; Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com; Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US.

Sex. Love. Literature. is a pop culture podcast that relishes the romantic, the sexy, and the scandalous in media. Join pop culture scholars (and besties) Ayanni and Corinne as they deep dive into why the “sex-stuff” in media matters. Main episodes drop the last Friday of the month.

Welcome to the second half of our discussion on the Hulu dramedy, Dying for Sex.

In this episode, we get into the details about Molly’s sexual escapades as well as the other important relationships that balance out her life, especially with her friend and caretaker Nikki.

Content warning: Dying for Sex deals with terminal illness and trauma related to sexual assault. Because these themes are so woven into the show, we won’t be able to provide specific time codes for when they come up in our own discussion, but wanted to make sure you know going in.

What's Sparking Joy this episode: Twin and Like Jennie by Jennie, Saving Flowers by Rina Sawayama and salute

Episode was recorded April 20th, 2025

Show Notes:

• Support us on Ko-Fi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/sexlovelitpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠

• Listen to our Joy Sparked: SLL Song Recs playlist: ⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/playlist/50MNBI1kYKdJgxh8CzEJF1?si=d9df62854c684557⁠⁠⁠
• Alumna Q&A: Mgbechi Ugonna Erondu: https://alumni.medicine.uiowa.edu/news/2025/04/alumna-qa-mgbechi-ugonna-erondu-17md

Other lit mentioned this episode: Hit the Spot (Fanta G Spot), A Fault in Our Stars

On Future SLL Episodes: Trope Spotlight: Forced Proximity, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Don't forget to subscribe to Sex. Love. Literature! You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SexLoveLitPodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠; on Instagram , Tumblr, and BlueSky @SexLoveLitPodcast. Support us on Ko-fi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/sexlovelitpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Our cover art is by Charcooll (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/charcooll/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). The SLL Theme music is “Pluck It Up” by Dan Henig. What’s Sparking Joy BGM is "Candy-Coloured Sky" by Catmosphere | https://soundcloud.com/ctmsphr;Released by Paper Crane Collective; Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com; Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US.

Sex. Love. Literature. is a pop culture podcast that relishes the romantic, the sexy, and the scandalous in media. Join pop culture scholars (and besties) Ayanni and Corinne as they deep dive into why the “sex-stuff” in media matters. Main episodes drop the last Friday of the month.

BLACKPINK was in our area and we couldn't _not_ tell y'all all about it. Sharing the same recording space for the first time, we chat about everything we loved about being part of the sea of Blinks to sing with, dance to, and cheer on Lisa, Jennie, Jisoo, and Rosé.

Note: We used a different set up this time, so the sound is a little less crisp than we'd like 😩 but still worth it to record together 💛Episode was recorded July 27th, 2025

Show Notes:

• ​Support us on Ko-Fi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/sexlovelitpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ​Listen to our Joy Sparked: SLL Song Recs playlist: ⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/playlist/50MNBI1kYKdJgxh8CzEJF1?si=d9df62854c684557⁠⁠⁠

On Future SLL Episodes: Dying for Sex part 2 (on Hulu), Trope Spotlight: Forced Proximity, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Don't forget to subscribe to Sex. Love. Literature! You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SexLoveLitPodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠; on Instagram , Tumblr, and BlueSky @SexLoveLitPodcast. Support us on Ko-fi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/sexlovelitpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Our cover art is by Charcooll (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/charcooll/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). The SLL Theme music is “Pluck It Up” by Dan Henig. What’s Sparking Joy BGM is "Candy-Coloured Sky" by Catmosphere | https://soundcloud.com/ctmsphr;Released by Paper Crane Collective; Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com; Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US.

Sex. Love. Literature. is a pop culture podcast that relishes the romantic, the sexy, and the scandalous in media. Join pop culture scholars (and besties) Ayanni and Corinne as they deep dive into why the “sex-stuff” in media matters. Main episodes drop the last Friday of the month.

Back after a mini, unexpected hiatus, we’ve got a new hot-and-ready episode for you!

Prepare yourselves because we’re about to get deep in our feelings as we begin our discussion on the show Dying for Sex starring Michelle Williams, Jenny Slate, and Rob Delaney.

In this first of two episodes, we start off with our initial, non-spoilery reactions, think about how the show works from a genre and form perspective, and maybe rant a little about why one of the characters really sucks.

Content warning: Dying for Sex deals with terminal illness and trauma related to SA. Because these themes are so woven into the show, we won’t be able to provide specific timecodes for when they come up in our own discussion, but wanted to make sure you know going in.

What's Sparking Joy this episode: Sinners and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (Crunchyroll, Netflix)

Episode was recorded April 20th, 2025

Show Notes:

• Support us on Ko-Fi: ⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/sexlovelitpodcast⁠⁠
• The Dying for Sex Podcast: wondery.fm/DyingForSex

• Listen to our Joy Sparked: SLL Song Recs playlist: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/playlist/50MNBI1kYKdJgxh8CzEJF1?si=d9df62854c684557⁠

Other lit mentioned this episode: Lost You Forever, The Fault in Our Stars, Fanta G Spot (Hit the Spot) K-drama

Check out SLL Live in 2025:

• July 2025 - RomantiConn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.romanticonn.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

On Future SLL Episodes: Dying for Sex part 2 (on Hulu), Trope Spotlight: Forced Proximity, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Don't forget to subscribe to Sex. Love. Literature! You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SexLoveLitPodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠; on Instagram , Tumblr, and BlueSky @SexLoveLitPodcast. Support us on Ko-fi: ⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/sexlovelitpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠

Our cover art is by Charcooll (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/charcooll/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). The SLL Theme music is “Pluck It Up” by Dan Henig. What’s Sparking Joy BGM is "Candy-Coloured Sky" by Catmosphere | https://soundcloud.com/ctmsphr;Released by Paper Crane Collective; Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com; Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US.

Sex. Love. Literature. is a pop culture podcast that relishes the romantic, the sexy, and the scandalous in media. Join pop culture scholars (and besties) Ayanni and Corinne as they deep dive into why the “sex-stuff” in media matters. Main episodes drop the last Friday of the month.