The comedy podcast is being made into a TV special on HBO, and there’s a whole lucrative industry dedicated to more serious takes on erotic fiction John and Allie, the Los Angeles-based producers and hosts of the podcast Swingercast, describe themselves as “a happily married couple having the time of our lives”. Swingercast, which sees the couple document their swinging experiences, is a typical example of the boom in erotic podcasts. An area of interest that has translated from the book market, where the Romance Writers of America reported in 2013 that sales of romantic novels amounted to $1.08bn (£835m). Between 2010 and 2015, 39.8m physical erotica and romance books were sold in the UK alone. Add to this the rise in erotic e-books (EL James’s Fifty Shades of Grey started out as an e-book) – the popularity of which might be down to readers’ preference to be discreet when indulging their passions while commuting. Though romantic books have been around for a long time – ancient Greece had romantic tales, and what we now think of as the popular romance novel appeared as far back as the 18th and 19th centuries – erotica fans are now slipping on the headphones to get their thrills. There’s a wide spectrum of erotic podcasts – sexy, educational, philosophical – with different focuses. Bawdy Storytelling, for instance, features real-life sexual stories from listeners; the more straight-laced advice pod, Savage Lovecast (disappointing, given the name); the “anti-slut shaming podcast”, Guys We F****d, with one episode featuring Amanda Knox, of all people. Continue reading...
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