The Stacks

It’s The Stacks Book Club Day, and we’re once again joined by DEI consultant, friend of the pod, and the reader behind Literary Intersections, Jess Lee, to chat about our October pick, Last Chance Live! by Helena Haywoode Henry. This dystopian novel follows Eternity Price, an 18-year-old death-row inmate competing for freedom on America’s most popular reality TV show. Today, Jess and I share everything we liked—and didn’t like—about the book, the timeliness of the subject, and the reality TV of it all.

There are spoilers in this episode.

Listen to the end of the episode to find out what our November book club pick will be!

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/10/28/ep-448-last-chance-live

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*Patreon and Substack-only bonus episode teaser, click here for the full episode*

On today’s bonus episode, we’re joined by writer, editor, and voice actor Tajja Isen to talk about the decline in nonfiction. Tajja wrote the recent piece, “Nonfiction Is Struggling. Publishers Are Making It Worse,” for The Walrus about why the publishing industry might be to blame for the downturn in nonfiction sales. We go into this more deeply in this episode, exploring all the reasons why we’re seeing a shift in the nonfiction publishing landscape, from memoirs to private equity and beyond.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/unabridged/2026/10/23/tsu-64-tajja-isen

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Today on The Stacks, we’re joined by author, speaker, and National Book Award finalist Deesha Philyaw to talk about her newest book, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman. This novel follows Scharisse Freeman, the successful wife of a megachurch pastor, whose carefully curated life begins to unravel when her secret past comes to light. In this episode, we chat about Deesha’s 20-year journey of writing this novel, how she defines success, and why she wanted to write about hypocrisy in the church.

Our book club pick for October isLast Chance Live! by Helena Haywoode Henry. We will discuss the book with Jess Lee on Wednesday, October 28th.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/10/21/ep-447-deesha-philyaw

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Today on The Stacks, we’re joined by National Book Award finalist, New York State Author Laureate, and best-selling author, Min Jin Lee, to talk about her newest book,American Hagwon. In this sweeping novel, a Korean family is forced to relocate and rebuild after their middle-class life is upended by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Lee shares how she uses real-life interviews in her fiction, her thoughts on the importance of education, and her approach to remaining hopeful in moments of despair.

Our book club pick for October isLast Chance Live! by Helena Haywoode Henry. We will discuss the book with Jess Lee on Wednesday, October 28th.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/10/14/ep-446-min-jin-lee

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Today on The Stacks, we’re joined by Jess Lee, DEI consultant, friend of the pod, and the reader behind the Instagram, Literary Intersections. We chat about the popularity of romantasy, the meaning of tropes like Shadow Daddies and fae, and why Jess thinks the genre might be making people dumber.

Our book club pick for October is Last Chance Live! by Helena Haywoode Henry. We will discuss the book with Jess Lee on Wednesday, October 28th.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/10/7/ep-445-jess-lee

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It’s The Stacks Book Club day, and Natalie Green, Director of Programs and Partnerships at The National Book Foundation, is back to discuss Edwidge Danticat’s critically acclaimed memoir, Brother, I’m Dying. This National Book Award finalist explores Danticat’s relationship with her two father figures—her uncle Joseph, who raised her as a child in Haiti, and her father, Mira, whom she reunited with in the U.S. when she was 12—and the impact of their deaths. Natalie and I discuss why we think this is a successful memoir, the moments that stuck with us most, and the many ways that politics and policies affect our lives.

There are spoilers in this episode.

Listen to the end of the episode to find out what our October book club pick is!

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/9/30/ep-444-brother-im-dying

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*Patreon and Substack-only bonus episode teaser, click here for the full episode*

Y’all know how much I love being a hater and how easily things annoy me, so we’re dedicating a whole episode to the most annoying trends in books these days! I’ve invited Sara Hildreth (Fiction Matters), friend of the pod and one of my favorite book people, to rant with me about secrets, tropes, and the state of literary awards.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/unabridged/2026/9/25/tsu-63-sara-hildreth

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Today on The Stacks, we’re joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, journalist, and author Kai Bird to discuss his new book, American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn's Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump. This book explores the life of high-powered lawyer and fixer, Roy Cohn, and how his controversial four-decade career directly influenced modern politics. In this episode, we talk about why he chose to cover Roy Cohn’s life now, how biographers shape stories, and the most surprising source for the book.

Our book club pick for September is Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat. We will be discussing the book with Natalie Green on Wednesday, September 30th.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/9/23/ep-443-kai-bird

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Today on The Stacks, we’re joined by Booker Prize–winning novelist Marlon James to talk about his newest book, The Disappearers. This novel follows a brutal attack on eight gay actors in 1980s Jamaica and the ways it impacts each of the victims. We chat about how he infuses his books with pop culture, what he thinks about people calling his work “difficult,” and why 2026 is the year of the revenge novel.

Our book club pick for September is Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat. We will be discussing the book with Natalie Green on Wednesday, September 30th.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/9/16/ep-442-marlon-james

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Today on The Stacks, we’re joined by facilitator, strategic advisor, and best-selling author, Priya Parker to talk about her new book, The Art of Fighting: The Transformative Power of Conflict. In this book, Priya draws on research and her personal experience as a conflict facilitator to explore the ways that building healthy conflict can strengthen our friendships, relationships, and communities. We talk about how to build spaces that can thrive with conflict, , why “renovation” is a powerful model for approaching fights, and why it’s important to prioritize both self-help and group help.

Our book club pick for September is Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat. We will be discussing the book with Natalie Green on Wednesday, September 30th.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/9/9/ep-441-priya-parker

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Today on The Stacks, we’re joined by Natalie Green, the Director of Programs and Partnerships at The National Book Foundation. We talk about what The National Book Foundation does, the details of Natalie’s role, and the NBF programming that’s been resonating most with readers.

Our book club pick for September is Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat. We will be discussing the book with Natalie Green on Wednesday, September 30th.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/9/2/ep-440-natalie-green

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It’s The Stacks Book Club Day, and Sequoia Holmes, host of the Black People Love Paramore and Freshly Pop’d podcasts, is back to chat about our August pick, Fish Tales by Nettie Jones. Set in the 1970s, this dark, satirical novel-in-vignettes follows Lewis Jones, a freewheeling young woman partying her way through NYC and Detroit until her independent lifestyle is upended by her relationship with the handsome yet cruel Brook. In this episode, Sequoia and I discuss the difference between the book’s marketing and its actual content, the distinction between an unlikable character and an anti-hero, and the ways this book is in conversation with the work of its original editor, Toni Morrison.

Listen to the end of the episode to find out what our September book club pick is!

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/8/26/ep-439-fish-tales

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*Patreon and Substack-only bonus episode teaser, click here for the full episode*

On today’s bonus episode, I’m talking all things translated lit with Martha Adams, the author of Martha’s Monthly, a Substack that highlights translated lit. We chat about how Martha began reading books in translation, why she loves them, and how they differ from English-language works. Plus, she shares her top recommendations for those looking to read more translated fiction, and the publishers she thinks release the best ones.

You can find links to everything we discuss on today’s show on The Stacks Website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/unabridged/2026/8/21/tsu-62-martha-adams

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Today on The Stacks, we’re joined by award-winning author Paul Yoon to talk about his latest book, Etna. Told from the perspective of Etna, an ex-military dog, this book follows his long journey home after years spent fighting in a devastating war. We talk about why Paul wanted to write from a dog's point of view, how his love of reading led him to writing, and the movie he's shockingly never seen.

Our book club pick for August is Fish Tales by Nettie Jones. We will be discussing the book with Sequoia Holmes on Wednesday, August 26th.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/8/19/ep-438-paul-yoon

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Today on The Stacks, we’re joined by award-winning author De’Shawn Charles Winslow to talk about his latest book, The Fervent Whites. Set in 1982 in the Hudson Valley community of Fervent, this book explores the long-simmering tensions that erupt when their former neighbors, James and Ella White, return with a vengeance after being exonerated of a homicide that once rocked the small town. We chat about how De’Shawn writes his endings, the lack of Black authors in the thriller genre, and how he became a nostalgic person.

Our book club pick for August is Fish Tales by Nettie Jones. We will be discussing the book with Sequoia Holmes on Wednesday, August 26th.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/8/12/ep-437-deshawn-charles-winslow

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Today on The Stacks, we’re joined by Sequoia Holmes, the award-winning host of the Black People Love Paramore and Freshly Pop’d podcasts. We’re chatting about bouncing back from professional setbacks, how Sequoia got into reading, and why she hasn’t been able to get into romance novels.

Our book club pick for August is Fish Tales by Nettie Jones. We will be discussing the book with Sequoia Holmes on Wednesday, August 26th.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/8/5/ep-436-sequoia-holmes

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It’s The Stacks Book Club day, and we're joined by nonfiction editor Julianna Haubner to discuss our July pick, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo. This book follows the families of Annawadi, a makeshift settlement near the Mumbai airport, as they strive toward a better life amidst tragedy, global recessions, economic upheaval, and social issues. Julianna and I chat about a journalist’s responsibility to their audience, what it means for a work of nonfiction to read “like a novel,” and how we think this book would be received if it were written in 2026.

There are spoilers in this episode.

Make sure you listen to the end of the episode to find out what our August book club pick is!

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/7/29/ep-435-behind-the-beautiful-forevers

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*Patreon and Substack-only bonus episode teaser, click here for the full episode*

You knew this episode was coming. Now that the World Cup has officially wrapped up, I'm doing a full recap of our summer of soccer with my favorite amateur sports analyst (and my brother), Brady Thomas. We discuss our overall thoughts, how America did as the host, FIFA's corruption, and what to watch if you're still craving some soccer.

You can find links to everything we discuss on today’s show on The Stacks Website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/unabridged/2026/7/24/tsu-61-brady-thomas

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Today on The Stacks, we’re celebrating Traci’s 40th birthday! That’s right, it’s her actual birthday today, and she’s invited her friends—media personality and Higher Learning co-host Rachel Lindsay, award-winning journalist and podcast host Sam Sanders, actress, podcaster, and author Becca Tobin, and bestselling author Kiese Laymon—to put her in the hot seat and ask all their burning questions. They interview her about everything from her biggest regrets to her goals for the next decade and all her feelings about turning forty.

Our book club pick for July is Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo. We will be discussing the book with Julianna Haubner on Wednesday, July 29th.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/7/22/ep-434-traci-turns-40

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Today on The Stacks, we’re joined by ProPublica reporter and The New York Times Magazine staff writer, Pamela Colloff, to discuss her book, Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast. This book delves into the life of career con man Paul Skalnik, whose pattern of trading fabricated prison confessions for his own freedom landed a Vietnam veteran on death row for a murder he didn’t commit. We talk about the power of investigative journalism, the hard lessons Pamela has learned as a journalist, and why people are fascinated by con men.

Our book club pick for July is Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo. We will be discussing the book with Julianna Haubner on Wednesday, July 29th.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/7/15/ep-433-pamela-colloff

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