02 - Tracking the king of romance audiobooks with Anna Merlan

Joe Arden had a pretty good thing going. As the voice of dozens of romance novel hunks, he commanded the adoration of listeners and high prices from authors looking to put his voice to their fantasies. Fans called him “the king of fuck.”Then a sexting scandal turned that audience against him. It’s a story that involves BookTok, smut, and a man who built a following while never showing his face. Anna Merlan is here this week to go down the Joe Arden rabbit hole with us. She wrote about Arden’s fall for Business Insider. This is how tape worksElection pilledDoing business as your personaStar Wars as romance novelWe explain Bad Dragon to AnnaSome recommendations for German language prestige TVJoe Arden, the king of smut, built a career seducing women with his voice. Then, a sexting scandal turned BookTok against himFlight Attendant / Romance Book YouTuberThe Herbalism Community Is at War With Itself Over Abuse AllegationsFear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72The Seattle Kraken embraced thirsty ‘BookTok’ hockey romance videos. It backfired.Recommendation that Emily forgot to shout-out during the podcast: Two romance novels written by former VICE editor Chloe Angyal.Theme music by Janus Rose Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.