The Stacks

Loyalty Bookstores owner Hannah Oliver Depp returns to discuss our June book club pick Oreo by Fran Ross. We talk about the history and context of this 1974 satire, including the story of Fran Ross herself. We wonder how to categorize this novel about a Black and Jewish teenaged girl who finds her self in man precarious situations, and we ask what to make of a book that pokes fun at just about eve...

Today we speak with Stacey Mei Yan Fong, creator of the project which spawned her new book 50 Pies, 50 States: An Immigrant's Love Letter to the United States Through Pie . We discuss how Stacey's thinking about America changed while creating this road trip of a cookbook, and we hear how she navigated the darker parts of America while celebrating the country. She also gives us her best baking tips...

Award-winning journalist, podcaster, and author Tre'vell Anderson joins The Stacks to discuss their new book We See Each Other: A Black, Trans Journey Through TV and Film . We talk about how the media portrayal of trans people impacts individuals and the conversation around trans rights, and the relationship between trans women and drag queens on screen. We also discuss the types of trans stories...

Today we're joined by the owner of Loyalty Bookstores , Hannah Oliver Depp. We hear about Hannah's road to owning her own bookstores in the Washington D.C. area, how she decides what to have in stock, and how indie bookstores influence the publishing world. We also discuss the best ways to support indie bookshops, and where the name Loyalty came from. The Stacks Book Club selection for June is Ore...

Author Nicole Chung returns to discuss our May book club selection This Boy We Made: A Memoir of Motherhood, Genetics, and Facing the Unknown by Taylor Harris. We discuss the importance of specificity in memoir, and how much likability and reliability matter. We also talk about where this book shines and where it falls short. Be sure to listen to the end of today’s episode to find out what our boo...

*patron-only bonus episode teaser* Here by popular demand is our first Unabridged mid-year best of's (so-far) episode, featuring a trio of our favorite bookish friends - Book Riot's Liberty Hardy, Lupita Aquino (aka @Lupita. Reads ) and Nerdette's Greta Johnsen. We list and discuss our favorite 2023 releases we've read, the backslist we're obsessed with, and a few picks we're looking forward to in...

Journalist and author Roxanna Asgarian joins The Stacks to talk about her new nonfiction book, We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America . We find out how Roxanna pushed back against true crime culture in writing about the 2018 Hart family tragedy. We also discuss how birth families are treated versus adoptive parents, how race and class factor into American child...

Bestselling author and illustrator Vashti Harrison joins us to talk about Big , her new storybook educating children on growth and self-love. We discuss how Vashti explored the adultification of black girls, and how she utilized the color pink throughout the book. She also explains how she thinks about parents and kids as her target audience, and the process of linking an author to an illustrator...

Award-winning author Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah joins us for a spoiler-free discussion of his new novel Chain-Gang All Stars . He shares the pressures of releasing his second book on a topic that asks so much from the reader, and his trepidation around serving the cause of abolition in the prison space. Plus, we find out what makes revision so important to Nana, and how he thinks about employing vio...

Bestselling author Nicole Chung joins The Stacks to discuss her new book A Living Remedy: A Memoir . We talk about her process of writing and talking about grief in the midst and aftermath of COVID, and what it's like as a memoirist to be publicly known for her family life. We also hear what it's meant for Nicole to become a full-time writer, and how she uses vibes to organize her books. The Stack...

Poet and Above Ground author Clint Smith returns to discuss our April book club selection Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude , a poetry collection by Ross Gay. We discuss the moment of the book's release and why it's important within the context of the Black Lives Matter movement. We also argue that successfully engaging with a poem doesn't require understanding what a poem is about, and we ask how mu...

Today marks thirty years since the last day of the FBI siege on the Branch Davidians of Waco, Texas. We hear from three authors who released books on the events this year: Jeff Guinn ( Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and a Legacy of Rage ), Stephan Talty ( Koresh: The True Story of David Koresh and the Tragedy at Waco ) and Kevin Cook ( Waco Rising: David Koresh, the FBI, and the Birth o...

Today, award-winning host of NPR's All Things Considered , and now New York Times bestselling author, Ari Shapiro joins us to discuss his new book The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening . We discuss how Ari brings his identity to his storytelling, the difference between illuminating and influencing in journalism, and how he approaches writing interview questions. The...

Today we welcome author Clint Smith to The Stacks to talk about his new poetry collection Above Ground , a tribute to being a parent amidst the chaos of life. We discuss how he handled the pressure to follow up the bestselling and award-winning How the Word is Passed . We also get into how parenting has animated all facets of life, and how competition has facilitated Clint's relationship to litera...

Professor and Ride or Die author Shanita Hubbard returns to discuss the 2014 book of essays Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay. We look back at the collection and ask, how did the book hold up? Its mix of personal memoir, political commentary and pop culture references have us examining our relationship to the text from a new perspective in this spoiler-free episode. Be sure to listen to the end of today’...

Writer and Philadelphia native Joseph Earl Thomas joins the show to discuss his new book Sink: A Memoir , about coming of age amid chaos and finding a way through. He talks about why he wanted to write a memoir that centers childhood without growing into adulthood, the challenge of writing his story in the face of respectability politics and the push to write about "Black joy." The Stacks Book Clu...

Today we're joined by poet, writer and educator José Olivarez to discuss his new book Promises of Gold , a collection of poems exploring all forms of love, including friendship, romantic and cultural. We find out why José had someone else translate his collection into Spanish when Spanish is his first language. We also discuss how he thinks about organizing his poems on the page and in the book, a...

Prolific author, historian and educator Dr. Carol Anderson joins us to discuss her book The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America . We talk about what sparked her interest in writing it, and dissect the role of anti-blackness in the formation and upholding of the second amendment. Carol reveals how she thinks of her writing in terms of persuasion versus education, and why this is the...

Today professor and author Shanita Hubbard speaks with The Stacks about her book Ride or Die: A Feminist Manifesto for the Well-Being of Black Women . We discuss the cultural erasure of Black women and why the idea that they will "save the world" is manipulative. We also note how Black female essayists have been weaving together scholarly and pop cultural commentary in the most complex and delight...

It's The Stacks Book Club Day, and we're joined again by Mina Kimes of ESPN, to discuss Louise Erdrich's novel The Round House . This page-turning coming-of-age story is set in 1988 North Dakota and follows a boy and his friends seeking justice for a horrific crime. Today we talk about the merits of vengeance, the relationship between coming into ones sexuality and understanding consent, and the f...

Communications strategist and poet Camonghne Felix joins The Stacks to discuss her brand new memoir Dyscalculia: A Love Story of Epic Miscalculation . We talk about heartbreak as a kind of trauma, trying to understand the world, and the meaning of dyscalculia. We also get into Camonghne's experiences as a political speechwriter, and what that entails. The Stacks Book Club selection for February is...

Today we're joined by Lamya H., who has just released their debut book Hijab Butch Blues - a memoir about coming of age as a queer Muslim immigrant, that uses figures from the Quran as reference points. We discuss what is gained and what is lost from writing under a pseudonym, the complexities of choosing to be religious, and how Lamya approached the decision to include known religious figures in...

Award-winning ESPN reporter Mina Kimes joins the show to share her love of reading and the one book that inspired her career. Mina reveals how she ended up in sports journalism, how she handles online harassment, and what she would change if she were suddenly appointed NFL commissioner. The Stacks Book Club selection for February is   The Round House by Louise Erdrich. We will discuss the boo...

Chelsea Devantez, host of the Celebrity Book Club podcast, returns to discuss our January Book Club pick The Meaning of Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey with Michaela Angela Davis. In breaking down her memoir, we get into Mariah's relationships, her experience of race and her dynamic with her parents. We also couldn't help but compare aspects of Mariah's story to what Prince Harry shares in his new me...

Today we're joined by two award-winning journalists from the field of criminal justice and police misconduct. Ali Winston and Darwin BondGraham have coauthored the book The Riders Come Out at Night: Brutality, Corruption, and Cover-Up in Oakland , an exposé following many years of investigation. We get into why they wanted to write about the Oakland Police Department in the first place, and ask wh...