Smutty profits: Why Canada should invest in its hopeless romantics episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 30, 2026 · 26 MIN

Smutty profits: Why Canada should invest in its hopeless romantics

from The Big Story · host Maria Kestane, Deborah Aarts

If you've felt compelled to pick up a steamy, smutty book throughout the last few months, you wouldn't have been the first - and you probably won't be the last. It's no doubt romance novels are having their moment, and besides the books themselves, readers and consumers alike are going beyond the pages and diving into their respective worlds. Host Maria Kestane speaks to Deborah Aarts, a freelance business writer about how Canadians are opting to invest in community, and how the recent boom in romance novels could teach other traditional media how to meet consumers where they're at. You can read Deborah's article here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/rob-magazine/article-the-swoon-boom-meet-the-business-savvy-smut-mongers-of-the-great-hot/#comments We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at [email protected] Or @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

If you've felt compelled to pick up a steamy, smutty book throughout the last few months, you wouldn't have been the first - and you probably won't be the last. It's no doubt romance novels are having their moment, and besides the books themselves, readers and consumers alike are going beyond the pages and diving into their respective worlds. Host Maria Kestane speaks to Deborah Aarts, a freelance business writer about how Canadians are opting to invest in community, and how the recent boom in romance novels could teach other traditional media how to meet consumers where they're at.

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Smutty profits: Why Canada should invest in its hopeless romantics

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This episode was published on April 30, 2026.

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If you've felt compelled to pick up a steamy, smutty book throughout the last few months, you wouldn't have been the first - and you probably won't be the last. It's no doubt romance novels are having their moment, and besides the books themselves,...

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