There are millions of posts on TikTok all about ‘spicy books’ and someone who’s become famous for reviewing them is author and content creator Tierney Page.

In this ep, she chats about why she thinks there’s been a massive rise in people reading and posting about romantasy and smut, her fav tropes and genres and her journey to becoming an author. 

SHOW NOTES:

watch our romantasy ep with Esme Louise James here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXKoC94haC4

Tierney Page TikTok here - https://www.tiktok.com/@tierney.reads?lang=en

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.

Whether you have or haven’t read books like Heated Rivalry, A Court of Thorns and Roses or Fourth Wing, you can’t deny the rise in smutty literature. In 2025 romantasy and sports romance experienced triple-digit growth.

But there’s been some criticism around how DR and romantasy books often glamourise SA and are too accessible for young readers. In today’s episode Dee is joined by guest co-host Esme James, a sex historian and author, to discuss why we’re all so obsessed with fantasy smut. 

SHOW NOTES:

https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/article/2026/feb-2026/romance-revival-why-we-love-stories-about-love?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Why romance novels thrive on tiktok - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-27/why-romance-and-romantasy-novels-are-so-popular-on-tiktok/103198518?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Esme’s book! https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Esme-Louise-James/244716193

Dr Esme Louise James IG - https://www.instagram.com/esme.louisee/?hl=en

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.

Whether it’s drugs, alcohol, or gambling - addiction can be one of the hardest things to navigate in a relationship. In this episode we chat to clinical psychologist Donna Stambulich about her experience with amphetamine addiction, the impact it has on relationships and how to best support your partner or loved one. 

SHOW NOTES:

Lifeline - 13 11 14 

Donna Stambulich - https://nppsych.com.au/our-psychologists

Recode Me -  https://recode-me.com.au/

Episode with Luke Bateman on Gambling - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTl8Royc2rU&t=16s

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.

What’s the bet you or someone you know has been affected by gambling? Probably pretty high. Around 3 million Australians experience some sort of gambling harm each year. And 1.2 million Australians are affected by someone else's gambling. And it can have a real impact on your dating or love life. 

In today’s episode we speak with Luke Bateman, ex-NFL star turned author, about his past addiction and tips on reaching the other side. 

SHOW NOTES:

Lifeline - 13 11 14

Gambling Helpline - 1800 858 858

Gambling Help Online - https://www.gamblinghelponline.org.au/

Luke Bateman IG - https://www.instagram.com/lukebateman_/?hl=en

Luke Bateman Australian Story - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-27/turning-the-page-luke-bateman/106963436

Compulsive Gambling - https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/compulsive-gambling/symptoms-causes/syc-20355178

The Psychology of Gambling Addiction: https://equilibriapcs.com/the-psychology-of-gambling-addiction-why-the-brain-craves-the-bet/

Gambling Disorder Psychology: https://www.reachlink.com/advice/general/gambling-disorder-psychology/

Who has the right to tell queer stories and profit off them? That’s the main theme author Josh Silver explores in his latest book Fruit Fly. The book follows a writer who befriends a young gay addict so she can use his story to write a best seller. 

In this ep, Dee chats to Josh about his own story as an ex addict, the world of chem sex parties, and why it’s important to share perspectives of gay pain and trauma.

SHOW NOTES: 

Lifeline: 13 11 14

QLife: https://qlife.org.au/

Josh Silver IG: https://www.instagram.com/joshsilverauthor/?hl=en

Fruit Fly: https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/fruit-fly-9781836432395/

Melbourne event: https://www.wheelercentre.com/events-tickets/season-2026/josh-silver-fruit-fly

Brisbane event: https://bwf.org.au/2026/brisbane-writers-festival/josh-silver-fruit-fly

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.

Have you ever felt pressure to have a certain kind of sex? 

Sex positivity has been an incredible movement which has normalised and destigmatised adventurous, kinky and casual sex. But has that come at a cost? In this ep, we’re joined by guest co-host psychologist and sexologist Laura Lee to unpack whether sex positivity and hook up culture has created a new type of pressure and expectation to perform.

SHOW NOTES:

A women’s right to say ‘meh’ - https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/oct/10/sex-positivity-sexuality-ambivalence-feminism

How sex positivity lost its way: https://katemanne.substack.com/p/how-sex-positivity-lost-its-way

How Sexual information (CONT) : https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9825060/

5 ways to have better sex in a relationship - https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/experimentations/201710/5-ways-have-better-sex-in-relationship

Couples’ sexual communication and dimensions of sexual function: A meta-analysis

\https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6699928/

Fetish 101: Vanilla - https://www.hudapp.com/blog/fetish-101-vanilla

How the sexual revolution changed the world https://youtu.be/VdDERcyouWs?si=9icswXNioUtwZ3g0

The canadian journal of human sexuality https://utppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3138/cjhs.2017-0017

Surprise! We've got a Saturday Bonus ep for you! You probably heard all about Ben Ilobuchi's situationship troubles in this weeks episode. But did you hear the beef? Dee becomes The Grill's first guest to sear some rogue relationship-specific beefs like ghosting, the ick, and having to sleep in a bed with your partner. 

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.

If you’re dating, hooking up with, talking to, or seeing someone but you don’t know where things are going and you don’t know how to bring it up… Dating coach and author Erika Ettin has got you!

In this ep, she has some tough love for anyone in a situationship, and will help you have the exclusive/relationship chat. 

SHOW NOTES:

Situationship Ep: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17Qr9ovC2N0

Erika Ettin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alittlenudge/?hl=en

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.

Are you dating or hooking up with someone right now and you’re not really sure what’s going on? It feels like a relationship but you’ve never had the ‘exclusive chat’. 

You might be in a situationship… 

In this episode Dee is joined by guest co-host Ben Ilobuchi to unravel the relationship limbo. 

Show notes:

Deding and Describing Situationships: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378872949_Defining_and_Describing_Situationships_An_Exploratory_Investigation

World Health Org: https://www.who.int/news/item/02-09-2025-over-a-billion-people-living-with-mental-health-conditions-services-require-urgent-scale-up

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.

Have you noticed a pattern in your love life of ending things when a relationship starts to get serious? Or maybe you pick a fight, or ghost people or never commit to a second date. In this ep we chat to psychologist Dr Rebecca Ray about why we can sometimes self-sabotage and how to break that cycle.

SHOW NOTES:

Dr Rebecca Ray - https://rebeccaray.com.au/

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.

Whether it’s someone’s personality, physical attributes, career or aesthetic - sometimes we lean into a “type” of person who we’re attracted to and want to date. But can it ever be discriminatory, fetishisation or limiting to potential relationships? 

We hear your hot takes and discuss with special guest host Lauren French.