Just Trust Us on This Queer Historical Romance Ep, It Rules

Just Trust Us on This Queer Historical Romance Ep, It Rules

From Culture Study Podcast by Anne Helen Petersen

March 4, 2026 · 60 min · Episode 115

About this episode

The episode features a discussion on queer historical romance with guest Cat Sebastian, exploring the contrasts between historical and contemporary romance narratives.

When I first came up for the idea for the Culture Study Romance Book Club back in January, I knew I wanted every edition to have two books: one contemporary, and one historical. Part of this desire was selfish (I personally gravitate towards historicals) but I also wanted to explore the contrast between what you can do with a romance set in the past (with its particular confines) and one set in the present (with seemingly none, but actually so many). I also knew that I wanted to start with M/M romances (hi, Heated Rivalry) and that Melody had sung the very loud praises of renowned historical queer romance author Cat Sebastian's mid-century queer romance — particularly You Should Be So Lucky, which managed to combine baseball (one of Melody's true loves) with romance (Melody's secondary love). And listeners, I hope this is clear: when it comes to so many things, but romance in particular, I listen to Melody! And when Melody asked if we should try and get Cat on the pod, I said "obvi please try." AND THEN SHE MADE IT HAPPEN. This remains a total marvel of hosting a podcast: sometimes the people you admire so deeply... can also come on your pod. This is a long preamble to the…

People in this episode

Host: Anne Helen Petersen

Guest: Cat Sebastian

Topics covered

  • queer historical romance
  • M/M romance
  • book club
  • contrast between historical and contemporary romance
  • Cat Sebastian

Keywords

  • queer romance
  • historical romance
  • M/M
  • Cat Sebastian
  • romance book club

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Heated Rivalry, You Should Be So Lucky

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