*This is a teaser for this Patreon and Substack-only bonus episode, click here to listen to the full episode*

Ever wondered who else brings The Stacks to life? Well, lucky for you, you’re about to meet them. For the first time ever, we're bringing you behind the scenes to introduce you to the team that helps make this podcast happen. Join Traci as she chats with Sahara Clement, Cherie Marquez, and Christian Dueñas about who they are, what they do, the biggest surprises and hardest parts of their jobs, and the things she does that annoy them. This podcast wouldn’t be what it is without their hard work, and you can support that by joining The Stacks Pack on Patreon and subscribing to our Substack.

You can find links to everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks Website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/unabridged/2025/11/21/tsu-53-meet-the-stacks-team

Connect with Sahara: Website | Instagram 

Connect with Cherie: Website | Instagram

Connect with Christian: Instagram

Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Subscribe

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on The Stacks, we are joined by author and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes to talk about her new novel, The White Hot. This book explores an exhausted young mother’s life-changing, “white hot” rage-induced decision to abandon her daughter, break her family’s cycle of generational trauma, and discover herself in the process. We chat about why she wanted to write about women leaving home, how she views the audience for her plays versus her books, and how she creates in the face of her own success.

The Stacks Book Club pick for November is We the Animals by Justin Torres. We will discuss the book on Wednesday, November 26th, with Mikey Friedman.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/11/19/ep-399-quiara-alegria-hudes

Connect with Quiara: Instagram | Website

Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Threads | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Substack | Youtube | Subscribe

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on The Stacks, we are joined by Sarah Aziza to talk about her debut book, The Hollow Half: A Memoir of Bodies and Borders. In this memoir, Sarah explores her struggle with anorexia through the lens of her family’s history of violent displacement from Gaza, drawing haunting parallels between her personal and ancestral trauma. We talk about why she wanted to trace these connections, how she uses footnotes to complicate the narrative, and how she sees her work in conversation with those of Black feminist scholars. 

The Stacks Book Club pick for November is We the Animals by Justin Torres. We will discuss the book on Wednesday, November 26th, with Mikey Friedman.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/11/12/ep-398-sarah-aziza

Connect with Sarah: Instagram | Threads | Website

Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Threads | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Substack | Youtube | Subscribe

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on The Stacks, we are joined by Mikey Friedman, the founder of Page Break, a New York–based, weekend-long retreat centered on community reading. We discuss all things Page Break, including how it came to be, the book selection process, the focus on fiction, and why reading aloud is at the heart of the experience. Plus, tune in for a special announcement.

The Stacks Book Club pick for November is We the Animals by Justin Torres. We will discuss the book on Wednesday, November 26th, with Mikey Friedman.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/11/5/ep-397-mikey-friedman

Connect with Mikey: Instagram | TikTok

Connect with Page Break: Instagram | Website

Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Threads | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Substack | Youtube | Subscribe

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It is The Stacks Book Club day, and author Angela Flournoy is back to discuss Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. First published in 1818 and revised in 1831, this Gothic classic tells the tale of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who brings a monstrous creature to life, triggering a series of disastrous consequences. In our conversation, we explore our perceptions of Frankenstein’s monster, the significance of the nesting doll story structure, the book's ghost-story origins, and the novel's evolution from 1818 to 1831.

There are spoilers in this episode.

Listen to the end of today's 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/2025/10/29/ep-396-frankenstein

Connect with Angela: Instagram | Website

Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Threads | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Substack | Youtube | Subscribe

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

*This is a teaser for this Patreon and Substack-only bonus episode, click here to listen to the full episode*

In this bonus episode, I chat with author Kiley Reid for the inside scoop on the Booker Prize, an annual literary award given to the best fiction book written in English and published in the UK and Ireland. As a 2025 judge—and the author of a 2020 Booker Prize-longlisted book—Kiley offers insider knowledge on everything from what makes a "Booker book" to the process of narrowing down the list from 153 titles to one winner.

You can find links to everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks Website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/unabridged/2025/10/24/tsu-52-kiley-reid

Connect with Kiley: Website | Instagram | Twitter

Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Subscribe

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on The Stacks, we are joined by author and journalist Jade Chang to discuss her newest novel, What a Time to Be Alive. This book follows Lola Treasure Gold, a down-on-her-luck 31-year-old balancing accidental internet fame with enduring grief after her speech at her best friend’s wake goes viral. We discuss the book’s 20-year journey, the ways fame and celebrity culture have evolved in that time, and the unexpected pleasures of grief.

The Stacks Book Club pick for October is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. We will discuss the book on Wednesday, October 29th, with our guest Angela Flournoy.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/10/22/ep-395-jade-chang

Connect with Jade: Instagram | Website

Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Threads | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Substack | Youtube | Subscribe

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on The Stacks, we are joined by anthropologist and former wildland firefighter Jordan Thomas. He’s here to discuss his first book, When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World, a gripping exploration of his experience battling a brutal, six-month fire season with the Los Padres Hotshots, an elite force of wildland firefighters. We discuss Jordan’s transition from firefighter to author, what the general public gets wrong about wildfires, and the connection between fires, climate change, and Republican politics.

The Stacks Book Club pick for October is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. We will discuss the book on Wednesday, October 29th, with our guest Angela Flournoy.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/10/15/ep-394-jordan-thomas

Connect with Jordan: Instagram | Website

Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Threads | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Substack | Youtube | Subscribe

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on The Stacks, we are joined by journalist and writer John J. Lennon, who’s currently serving 28 years to life for murder at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. He is here to discuss his first book, The Tragedy of True Crime: Four Guilty Men and the Stories That Define Us, which explores society’s fascination with true crime through the personal stories of four convicted murderers, including himself. In our conversation, we dive into how Lennon’s experiences inform his writing, how he maintains focus while in prison, why he doesn’t use prison abolition language in his work, and his anxiety around his new book.

The Stacks Book Club pick for October is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. We will discuss the book on Wednesday, October 29th, with Angela Flournoy returning as our guest.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/10/8/ep-393-john-j-lennon

Connect with John: Website

Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Threads | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Substack | Youtube | Subscribe

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on The Stacks we are joined by Angela Flournoy to discuss her new book, The Wilderness. Longlisted for the 2025 National Book Award and a finalist for the Kirkus Prize, The Wilderness is an expansive novel that covers the friendship of four black women over the course of twenty years. Today, we discuss maximalism in her writing style, how Angela aimed to write an era-defining novel, and what other works The Wilderness is in conversation with.

The Stacks Book Club pick for October is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. We will discuss the book on Wednesday, October 29th with Angela Flournoy returning as our guest.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' website:

https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/10/1/ep-392-angela-flournoy 

Connect with Angela: Instagram | Website

Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Substack | Youtube | Subscribe

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.