Forgive the pun, but we have a love/hate relationship with February 14. For some people, Valentine’s Day it is an agonizing “holiday” of choosing the right romantic gift, that conveys the right message.

It can be even more traumatic to see everyone around you starry-eyed with love, when you find yourself, through circumstance or choice, alone on Valentine’s Day.

And the co opting of an ancient pagan holiday (or the saint’s day of an ancient Christian martyr, depending on your POV) as one more occasion to feed the consumption economy, and hop up our kids on sugar…. well it just makes some of us cranky.

And why do we reserve all this sugar and lingerie for just one day? Shouldn’t we make a point of expressing our love and appreciation all year long?

So, with that half-cynical, half-romantic mindset, we bring you a smattering of the thousands of Valentine-related podcasts that were published this week. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention:

• For a short, simple sonnet by the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, check out “What Lips My Lips Have Kissed,” a live reading by Cyn.
• Podshow podsafe music maven Anji Bee has made a Valentine Special edition of her Chillcast, “a 60 minute mix of songs in the key of love.”
• For something distinctly less romantic and chilled, Truthseekerscast has the first of a two part frank discussion of sex (and about our societal attitudes toward sex) that, according to host Dani Cutler, “could cause blindness and hairy palms.” Definitely not safe for work, nor for listening with your offspring.
• The lifestyle podcast network, Personal Life Media focuses on personal relationships all year ’round, and their Valentine-time offerings maintain that focus. Hard to single out just a few, but the spicy titles include “On the Minds of Men: Sparking Up Your Love Life,” and “Tantra and Kama Sutra: The Heart and Breath of Tantra.”
• In Valentine video offerings, environmental video podcast ZapRoot! has a funny/practical/naughty Valentine’s Day Special, in which recommendations range from fair trade chocolate and eco-tourist hotels, to recycled-rubber and pthalate-free sex toys and eco-porn (which I hadn’t previously known existed!).Comedy video creators PandaSmash have another poetic Valentine offering, “The Break Up Poem,” in which they highlight the differences among sonnets, limericks, haiku, beatnik poetry, slam and feminist poetry. Pretty silly.

Did you create a Valentine-themed podcast? An anti-Valentine-themed podcast? Please let us know in the comments.

And Happy Valentine’s Day.