Amy & Tommy's scrappy DIY podcast production catches up with them—this was the first episode in which they desperately needed an intern! At least to remind them of last episode's "cornerstones of romantic love." But do not fear! Here are all FOUR cornerstones of romantic love that have emerged over the last two episodes:

• Talk talk talking. Keep the channel OPEN.
• Treat the relationship as a third thing.
• Authenticity. Get to know yourself and express it as purely as you can.
• Repair. It's never too late. 

All this from the final episode of Season 1 of Heated Rivalry (sigh). 

Mentioned in this episode: 

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

Game Changer by Rachel Reid

Heated Rivalry on HBO+

The Addams Family musical

Chala Hunter, Intimacy Coordinator for "Heated Rivalry"

All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks

Colin Storrie on Saturday Night Live

Magic Mike

Louis CK telling the Magic Mike joke that Tommy tells way better!

Original Music:

Song: Tippy Canoe

Artist: Ian and The Deep Sheets

Album: Ball Simon

Send a text

Don't miss the good stuff! Click here to get on the list for our monthly newsletter (or subscribe directly on Substack) which includes book reviews, date night ideas, and more juicy tidbits from the bed and beyond!

Work From Bed Friday is a podcast hosted by Amy Hoffmann and Tommy Borden, a committed couple of 30+ years. Funny, spicy, and insightful, they discuss marriage, sex, and connection through the lens of contemporary books and media. Every Friday. From bed.

What are the secrets to enduring romantic love? Amy & Tommy look for guidance from bell hooks in Chapter 10 of All About Love, but find little there. They offer up their own ideas though, and yearn for a long-term study along the lines of Magnificent Sex that survey people who self-identify as having magnificent romance. Great idea, right? 

Thank goodness "Heated Rivalry" is showing us some juicy romantic love!

All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks

Magnificent Sex by Peggy J. Kleinplatz, Ph. D and A. Dana Ménard, Ph.D

Heated Rivalry

Tom Selleck was a USC Sigma Chi

Come As You Are by Emily Nagowski, Ph. D

Original Music:

Song: In Jerusalem

Artist: Rick Real and The Warmth

Album: You Too, October

Send a text

Don't miss the good stuff! Click here to get on the list for our monthly newsletter (or subscribe directly on Substack) which includes book reviews, date night ideas, and more juicy tidbits from the bed and beyond!

Work From Bed Friday is a podcast hosted by Amy Hoffmann and Tommy Borden, a committed couple of 30+ years. Funny, spicy, and insightful, they discuss marriage, sex, and connection through the lens of contemporary books and media. Every Friday. From bed.

Amy & Tommy had waaaaay too much to say about Episode 5 of Heated Rivalry. So much, in fact, that they had to make this monster episode into two parts: this episode focuses on Heated Rivalry (typically just the weekly Titillating Tidbit) and their discussion Chapter 10 of All About Love will drop as a separate episode next week. In the meantime, they giddily discuss the romance, the love, the coming out of the penultimate episode of Season 1 of Heated Rivalry.

Heated Rivalry

Gus Kenworthy in the New Yorker 

Gus Kenworthy Wikipedia

"Good Medicine" by Sheila Heti 

Mechanical Elves

Stonewall Uprising

Original Music:

Song: How Does One Point to Everything?

Artist: Rick Real and The Warmth

Album: USA #1

Send a text

Don't miss the good stuff! Click here to get on the list for our monthly newsletter (or subscribe directly on Substack) which includes book reviews, date night ideas, and more juicy tidbits from the bed and beyond!

Work From Bed Friday is a podcast hosted by Amy Hoffmann and Tommy Borden, a committed couple of 30+ years. Funny, spicy, and insightful, they discuss marriage, sex, and connection through the lens of contemporary books and media. Every Friday. From bed.

Amy & Tommy's obsession with Ilya & Shane may be overshadowing their deep dive into All About Love by bell hooks. But they push on, overlaying this seminal text over the cultural reality of 2026. After all, love is love. And apparently, sex is sex. And always hot. Except when it's not. Listen to the end for a look into the Olympics and "Crotchgate."

Heated Rivalry, Episode 4

All About Love by bell hooks 

Magnificent Sex by Peggy J. Kleinplatz, Ph.D. and A. Dana Ménard, Ph.D.

Cafe Jacqueline in San Francisco (oh no! She closed last year.)

Wendy MacNaughton

9 to 5

Crotchgate

Original Music:

Song: George Floyd Rose

Artist: Rick Real and The Warmth

Album: USA #1

Send a text

Don't miss the good stuff! Click here to get on the list for our monthly newsletter (or subscribe directly on Substack) which includes book reviews, date night ideas, and more juicy tidbits from the bed and beyond!

Work From Bed Friday is a podcast hosted by Amy Hoffmann and Tommy Borden, a committed couple of 30+ years. Funny, spicy, and insightful, they discuss marriage, sex, and connection through the lens of contemporary books and media. Every Friday. From bed.

Who knew that watching hot hockey romances in Heated Rivalry would be a fitting companion for Chapter 8 of All About Love by bell hooks?? So many parallels! Also, some welcome spice for the deep dives into love and community. Amy & Tommy discuss the cultural primacy of the nuclear family and its erosion of our ability to love. It's not as contradictory as it seems: we place so much importance on finding and keeping romantic love, often at the expense of the community and friendships where we practice, learn, teach, and spread love. Also, Bad Bunny.

Heated Rivalry

Game Changer by Rachel Reid

YouTube: Conor Storrie and Hudson Williams

All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks

Bad Bunny's Superbowl messaging

Original Music:

Song: Monkey Dance

Artist: Ian and The Deep Sheets

Album: Ball Simon

Send a text

Don't miss the good stuff! Click here to get on the list for our monthly newsletter (or subscribe directly on Substack) which includes book reviews, date night ideas, and more juicy tidbits from the bed and beyond!

Work From Bed Friday is a podcast hosted by Amy Hoffmann and Tommy Borden, a committed couple of 30+ years. Funny, spicy, and insightful, they discuss marriage, sex, and connection through the lens of contemporary books and media. Every Friday. From bed.

It's another love sandwich: spicy analysis of the viral hockey lovestory/softporn series, "Heated Rivalry" on one slice, a reader lovenote on the other slice, and the meat?  Deep talk about Chapter 7 of All About Love by bell hooks: greed and the ways in which love cannot thrive or even exist in a world driven by greed. Whoa. Amy & Tommy knock the dated examples while being legit blown away by the resonance with our present moment. Listen, enjoy and chime in!

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode 2 of "Heated Rivalry"

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks

Journey of the Heart: The Path of Conscious Love by John Welwood

Original Music:

Song: USA #1

Artist: Rick Real and The Warmth

Album: USA #1

Send a text

Don't miss the good stuff! Click here to get on the list for our monthly newsletter (or subscribe directly on Substack) which includes book reviews, date night ideas, and more juicy tidbits from the bed and beyond!

Work From Bed Friday is a podcast hosted by Amy Hoffmann and Tommy Borden, a committed couple of 30+ years. Funny, spicy, and insightful, they discuss marriage, sex, and connection through the lens of contemporary books and media. Every Friday. From bed.

As our country navigates this this very difficult moment, the words of bell hooks resonate in their prescience. She understood the road that we were, and are traveling. How do we practice a love ethic as a society? How can we stand strong in a love ethic while disinformation, disregard for basic human rights, and a general lack of love abound? 

It helps to talk about it. And also to watch a viral hockey love story. Join us!

Mentioned in this episode:

"Heated Rivalry"

"Heated Wizardry"

New Yorker Article on "Heated Rivalry"

All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks

"Sinners"

Altars in the Street by Melody Ermachild Chavis 

Original Music:

Song: Presto

Artist: Muistardeaux Collective

Album: Abstractio's Prestige

Send a text

Don't miss the good stuff! Click here to get on the list for our monthly newsletter (or subscribe directly on Substack) which includes book reviews, date night ideas, and more juicy tidbits from the bed and beyond!

Work From Bed Friday is a podcast hosted by Amy Hoffmann and Tommy Borden, a committed couple of 30+ years. Funny, spicy, and insightful, they discuss marriage, sex, and connection through the lens of contemporary books and media. Every Friday. From bed.

Tommy and Amy kick off Episode 6 of Season 2 with a tease: a quick peek into what they are reading and which books may make an upcoming episode! 

After that Titillating Tidbit, they move on to the meat of the episode: Chapter 5 of All About Love by bell hooks. The discussion on spirituality and love take us from the woods of the Pacific Northwest to the Sombrero Galaxy. Come along for the ride! 

And then watch the trailer for "Heated Rivalry." A discussion is coming soon!

Mentioned in this Episode:

I Love Dick by Chris Krauss

All Fours by Miranda July

Eve's Hollywood by Eve Babitz

The Idiot by Elif Batuman

All About Love by bell hooks

St. Teresa of Avila

Heated Rivalry trailer

New Yorker review of Heated Rivalry

Original Music:

Song: Malden

Artist: Muistardeaux Collective

Album: Abstractio's Prestige

Send a text

Don't miss the good stuff! Click here to get on the list for our monthly newsletter (or subscribe directly on Substack) which includes book reviews, date night ideas, and more juicy tidbits from the bed and beyond!

Work From Bed Friday is a podcast hosted by Amy Hoffmann and Tommy Borden, a committed couple of 30+ years. Funny, spicy, and insightful, they discuss marriage, sex, and connection through the lens of contemporary books and media. Every Friday. From bed.

Amy & Tommy start with Portland’s stand up comedy scene and end with pubic hair. Sandwiched in between is a discussion of self love and self esteem. Also, they would like to contradict themselves—things ARE really bad in the world. Just get out there and love yourself, your people, and your community!

Mentioned in this episode:

All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks

Portland's Chill & Fill

Andie Main, comedian

Ally J Ward, comedian

The Pubic Hair Guide for Men

Stasia Savasuk's Style School

Martha Graham quote

Full Bush in a Bikini article on Dazed

A Bad Moms Christmas

Original Music:

Song: Dave (Certain Details) [Taylor's Version]

Artist: Rick Real and The Warmth

Album: It Don't Rewind

Send a text

Don't miss the good stuff! Click here to get on the list for our monthly newsletter (or subscribe directly on Substack) which includes book reviews, date night ideas, and more juicy tidbits from the bed and beyond!

Work From Bed Friday is a podcast hosted by Amy Hoffmann and Tommy Borden, a committed couple of 30+ years. Funny, spicy, and insightful, they discuss marriage, sex, and connection through the lens of contemporary books and media. Every Friday. From bed.

Chapter 3 of All About Love by bell hooks is THE chapter that precipitated Amy and Tommy's famous "breakthrough" as detailed in Season 1, Episode 1. What do they think of it now? Listen for lots of opinions, a peek at a new tradition for New Year's Day, and some Miranda July-style crowdsourcing on hormone replacement therapy. 

All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks

Radical Honesty by Brad Blanton

Jupiter Hotel

Beth Kempton's Calm Christmas Podcast

The End of Manhood by John Stoltenberg

Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy

Brene Brown on honesty

ErectKyle Dysfunction

The Lazy Genius Podcast

Original Music:

Song: Drift 1

Artist: Rick Real and The Warmth

Album: It Don't Rewind

Send a text

Don't miss the good stuff! Click here to get on the list for our monthly newsletter (or subscribe directly on Substack) which includes book reviews, date night ideas, and more juicy tidbits from the bed and beyond!

Work From Bed Friday is a podcast hosted by Amy Hoffmann and Tommy Borden, a committed couple of 30+ years. Funny, spicy, and insightful, they discuss marriage, sex, and connection through the lens of contemporary books and media. Every Friday. From bed.