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.