The Stacks

*Patreon- and Substack-only bonus episode teaser,  click here for the full episode * It's Cowboy Carter SZN and we're breaking down Beyoncé's latest tour with friend of the pod and podcast host extraordinaire Sam Sanders. We talk about Queen Bey's latest tour, the good and the not so good, plus our thoughts on Blue Ivy's exposure and the future of stadium tours. We also quickly gab about the...

Today we are joined by Daria Burke, an award-winning business leader, investor, speaker, and now author. She is here to discuss her memoir,  Of My Own Making , which is about how she healed from childhood trauma to build her life. Daria talks about how systemic and personal harms are intertwined, how she engaged with leading experts in the fields of trauma work,...

Today on The Stacks, we’re talking with screenwriter and producer, Kara Brown. She shares what she looks for when adapting a book to the screen, and the key to making sure an adaptation is a success. We also discuss Kara’s love of massive tomes, the three writers that inspired her career, and her problematic fave. The Stacks Book Club pick for May is  Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley. W...

It’s the Stacks’ Book Club Day, and we’re discussing Blessing the Boats by Lucille Clifton with returning guest, Tiana Clark. We discuss how Clifton welcomes audiences usually excluded from poetry and how her work still manages to have urgency 25+ years later. We also work through some of the poems that were challenging for us, and uncover some hidden meanings. Be sure to listen to the end of toda...

Today on The Stacks, Brian Goldstone is here to talk about his book,  There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America . The book examines the growing phenomenon of the "working homeless"—people who work full time and still remain unhoused—by following five families in Atlanta over the course of a few years. Goldstone explains how he connected with the f...

*Patreon- and Substack-only bonus episode teaser,  click here for the full episode * In this episode of The Stacks Unabridged, we are joined once again by author Kiese Laymon, to discuss his first children’s book, City Summer, Country Summer , and the emotional resonance of sports narratives. We also share how we’re staying human in the midst of so much inhumanity. You can find everything we...

This week, food and culture writer, Giaae Kwon joins us to discuss her debut book, a collection of essays, I'll Love You Forever: Notes from a K-Pop Fan . We talk about what defines K-pop and the aspects of its fandom: from parasocial relationships to the exoticization of K-pop and its "idols." The Stacks Book Club pick for April is Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems 1988–2000 by Lucille C...

This week, we’re joined by Geri Halliwell-Horner, also known as Ginger Spice from the Spice Girls. She discusses her second installment in the Rosie Frost series, Rosie Frost: Ice on Fire . Determined to learn her family history with Bloodstone, Rosie must discover what she’s really made of as a new danger puts her new home and all she that she loves at risk. Halliwell-Horner also shares her journ...

This week, we're kicking off National Poetry Month with poet and essayist Tiana Clark. Tiana's newest collection, Scorched Earth: Poems , explores themes of heartbreak, identity, and radical self-acceptance. In this conversation, Tiana reflects on what it means to be vulnerable in poetry, how she approaches the lyric “I,” and what she looks for when reading other poets’ work. The Stacks Book Club...

It’s The Stacks Book Club Day, and we’re discussing  They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South  by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers with returning guest Tembe Denton-Hurst. We highlight the moments in the book that really stood out to us, from the brutality to the pervasiveness of slavery, and consider how white women have been protected by—and complicit in—the b...

*Patreon- and Substack-only bonus episode teaser, click here for the full episode * In this episode of The Stacks Unabridged, we’re joined by author and critic Emily St. James to discuss her new book, Woodworking . We explore the recent evolution of anti-trans legislation, what it tells us about the current political moment, and trans rep in pop culture. Plus, Emily offers us her entries into the...

​This week, we’re joined by author Torrey Peters to discuss her new book, Stag Dance: A Novel & Stories , a collection that explores the complexities of desire, identity, and gender. Torrey shares how she freed herself to write after the success of her debut novel, Detransition, Baby , discusses her thoughts on the relationship between gender and genre, and what she finds most exciting about w...

This week, we’re joined by author and journalist Omar El Akkad to discuss his new book, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This , which serves as a powerful reckoning with what it means to live in a West that betrays its fundamental values. Omar shares how writing nonfiction compares to his novels, how he anticipates and thinks about potential criticism, and what it means to resist de...

This week, we’re joined by Tembe Denton-Hurst, staff writer at New York Magazine’s The Strategist and author of the novel Homebodies . Tembe shares why she thinks it is important to read in community with others, how seeing herself on the page changed her life, and the popular book she can’t stand. The Stacks Book Club pick for March is  They Were Her Property  by Stephanie E. Jones-Roge...

It’s The Stacks Book Club Day, and we’re unpacking Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov with returning guest Ira Madison III. This literary classic is widely studied, but why? We explore what makes this novel a classic, why it’s still taught today, and what Nabokov wanted readers to take away from his most infamous work. There are spoilers on this episode. Be sure to listen to the end of today’s episode to...

This week, journalist and activist Rebecca Nagle joins us to discuss her debut book, By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land . We discuss her decision to expand her podcast, This Land , into a book, the deliberate erasure of Indigenous people in the United States, and how she approaches the idea of "objectivity" in journalism. The Stacks Book Club pick for Febru...

*Patreon- and Substack-only bonus episode teaser* In this episode of The Stacks Unabridged, author and ESPN writer David Dennis Jr. joins us to break down Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show. We get into the performance itself, the layers behind it, and how it fits into his ongoing beef with Drake. Plus, we discuss the reaction to the show and what it says about Kendrick’s place in music and...

This week, scholar and author Eve L. Ewing joins us to discuss her new book, Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism . We examine the differences between schooling and education, the purpose of schools and how their design perpetuates inequality, and how we can change them for the better. Eve also shares how her experience as a middle...

This week, writer and host of the podcast Keep It! , Ira Madison III joins us to discuss his essay collection, Pure Innocent Fun . We talk about nostalgia, how the book has changed Ira’s identity as a writer, and why he considers literature to be the ultimate form of gossip. The Stacks Book Club pick for February is  Lolita  by Vladimir Nabokov. We will discuss the book on February 26th...

It’s The Stacks Book Club Day, and we’re diving into The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley with returning guest J Wortham. We explore the book’s layered genres, discuss its most compelling moments, and reflect on the parts that didn’t quite land. Plus, we consider the question: is it possible to unplug from empire? There are spoilers on this episode. Be sure to listen to the end of today’s episo...

This week, we're joined by journalist and debut author Michael Waters to discuss his book, The Other Olympians: Fascism, Queerness, and the Making of Modern Sports . We explore the history of gender surveillance and sex testing for athletes, as well as how sports have become the frontier for transgender political battles. Michael also shares his approach to navigating the evolving landscape of lan...

In today's special bonus episode, we’re offering some counterprogramming to the inauguration with a discussion of Toni Morrison’s lecture, “ Goodness: Altruism and the Literary Imagination .” Saeed Jones joins us to explore Morrison’s thoughts on how goodness sustains itself in the face of evil and what it means to lean into our own goodness as we move into 2025 and beyond. The Stacks Book Club pi...

*Patreon- and Substack-only bonus episode teaser* In this episode of The Stacks Unabridged, Cree Myles ( All Ways Black ) and Sara Hildreth ( Fiction Matters ) are back to reflect on 2024 as a year in books and share the titles they’re most excited to read in the first half of 2025. From last year’s standouts to exciting new releases, this conversation is a must-listen for book lovers updating the...

This week, we're joined by debut author Kaliane Bradley to discuss her novel,  The Ministry of Time , which is The Stacks Book Club pick for January. We talk about how her pandemic obsession inspired this book, how she feels about her novel being called "genre-breaking", and what it was like to land on Obama’s summer reading list. The Stacks Book Club pick for January is The Ministry of Time...

This week, we're joined by author and educator Irvin Weathersby Jr. to discuss his new book, In Open Contempt: Confronting White Supremacy in Art and Public Space . We delve into the complicated legacy of monuments and art—what they represent, how they uphold systems of white supremacy, and what it takes to envision something new. Irvin also shares how his identity as a “teacher who writes” inform...