This post contains affiliate links for Bookshop.org where possible. It's a great way support our work! Children of the 70s, 80s, and 90s will always shudder when the words "A Very Special Episode" are mentioned, because nothing fun typically followed when our favorite sitcom got serious for a week or two. Mention the name Gordon Jump, or Mr. Horton, to devoted fans of Diff'rent Strokes and you'll see what I mean. And so here we are, with our very own Very Special Episode. Because the 2024 elections were not fun, or lighthearted, and we're both trying to cope by working through it. So! What follows is an hour long gabfest between Steve and Nicole about the election, about Edwin Meese (Steve really wanted to fit Edwin Meese in here), about the stark evidence of romance not being inherently progressive and feminist that many of us tend o ignore, and more. We do our best at the end to give some positive thoughts and advice, so you'll have to tell us if we succeeded. If you're not in a place to absorb election content right now, that's totally fine! Go back and listen to our chat with Beverly Jenkins, because no one gives hope and positivity like Ms. Bev. Make sure to follow us on Instagram and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode!  Got an idea or question? Email us: blackromancehistory@gmail.com Follow the hosts on the interwebs: Steve Ammidown Website: https://romancehistory.com/about/ Socials IG: @romancehistorian Bluesky: @stegan.bsky.social Nicole M. Jackson/Katrina Jackson Websites: https://www.katrinajacksonauthor.com https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/history/faculty-and-staff/nicole-jackson.html Socials: IG: @katjacksonbooks Mentioned in this Episode “Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography” (1986) https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/attorney-generals-commission-pornography-final-report Corey Alexander, Corey’s Book Corner Xan West, Eight Kinky Nights: An f/f Chanukah Romance  Alyssa Cole, Be Not Afraid Beverly Jenkins, Indigo Beverly Jenkins, Night Song Kit Rocha, Beyond Shame Romancing the Vote June Jordan, Directed by Desire: The Collected Poems of June Jordan Nikki Giovanni, Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid Nikki Giovanni, A Library Piper Huguley, The Preacher’s Promise: A Home to Millford College Novel Tyler Feder, Bodies Are Cool Suggested readings “Very Special Episode” https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/VerySpecialEpisode Avery Kreemer, “What’s Next for Redistricting Reform after Issue 1 Failure” https://www.daytondailynews.com/local/whats-next-for-redistricting-reform-in-ohio-after-issue-1s-failure/JQRIJXHTGVGTHP553CIWY2N4IY/ Anthony Comstock’s “Chastity” Laws https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-anthony-comstocks-chastity-laws/ Amy Werbel, Lust on Trial: Censorship and the Rise of American Obscenity in the Age of Anthony Comstock Katrina Jackson, “On spicy books, cartoon covers, and the disappearance of erotic romance,” https://www.katrinajacksonauthor.com/mefromscratch/onspicybooks Steve Ammidown, “Lest We Forget- Ann Wassall, Pamela Mancuso, and Nancy Richards-Akers,” https://romancehistory.com/2023/10/03/lest-we-forget/ Grace Byron, “Ghost Sex: On Amy Sohn and Anthony Comstock” https://observer.com/2021/08/the-man-who-hated-women-amy-sohn-anthony-comstock/ Nicole M. Jackson, “Black Love as Activism,” https://observer.com/2021/08/the-man-who-hated-women-amy-sohn-anthony-comstock/ Heather Andrea Williams, Self Taught: African American Education in Slavery and Freedom