The Stacks

Debut novelist, Addie E. Citchens, joins us this week to discuss her book, Dominion—a Black Southern family drama told through the eyes of two women. Addie talks about how growing up in the church in Mississippi inspired her writing, and why she feels like she’s been writing this story her whole life. We also talk about humor, a writing teacher who stifled her style, and how the ending of Dominion clicked into place. 

For the month of August, the Stacks Book Club pick will be reading Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. We will discuss the book on Wednesday, August 27th with Alexis Madrigal returning as our guest.

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

https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/8/20/ep-385-addie-citchens

Connect with Addie: Instagram

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This week on The Stacks, essay writer and culture critic, Tre Johnson, joins us to discuss his debut book, Black Genius: Essays on an American Legacy, which examines how black American culture has driven American ingenuity. Tre shares how his grandfather inspired him to write Black Genius and how the book has evolved over the years. We also talk about the struggle of balancing a 9-5 job and making time to write, plus why he decided to leave his job and how that impacted his life as a writer.

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

https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/8/13/ep-384-tre-johnson

Connect with Tre: Website | Instagram | Twitter

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

This month you're getting a bonus bonus episode of The Stacks Unabridged. Because we love summer and books, Sara Hildreth of Fiction Matters is here to talk about summer reading guides. We hand out a few literary superlatives like, best book to read on an airplane and most dramatic. Plus we share some books we've read since the guides were dropped that we think you should at to your reading lists. If you haven't gotten The Stacks’ Nonfiction Reading Guide or Sara's Paperback Summer Reading Guide, be sure to grab those and get to listening.

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

https://www.thestackspodcast.com/unabridged/2025/8/8/tsu-49-sara-hildreth

CConnect with Sara: Instagram | Fiction Matters | Novel Pairings | Substack

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

Journalist, Alexis Madrigal, joins the Stacks to discuss his debut book, The Pacific Circuit: A Globalized Account of the Battle for the Soul of an American City—the “American city” in question being Oakland, CA. Today, Alexis gives us insight into why he wanted to tell the story of Oakland in particular, and why it matters in broader national and global context. He also explains how COVID impacted this book, both his personal writing process and the city of Oakland at large.

For the month of August, the Stacks Book Club pick will be Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. We will discuss the book on Wednesday, August 27th with Alexis Madrigal returning as our guest.

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

https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/8/6/ep-383-alexis-madrigal

Connect with Alexis: Instagram | Website

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

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

It’s The Stacks Book Club Day, and we're discussing Toni Morrison's God Help the Child with Dana A. Williams, author of Toni at Random. Together, we talk about the themes that show up in God Help the Child that have echoes from Morrison's earlier work—generational trauma and racialized beauty. We also discuss why Toni Morrison wanted to write a contemporary novel, the great names in the book, and who we would cast in the film.

There are spoilers on this episode.

Be sure to listen to the end of today’s episode to find out what our August book club pick will be.

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

https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/7/30/ep-382-god-help-the-child

Connect with Dana: Instagram | Bluesky | Website

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

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

Haley Cohen Gillian, the director of the Yale Journalism Initiative, joins us this week to discuss her new book, A Flower Traveled in My Blood: The Incredible True Story of the Grandmothers Who Fought to Find a Stolen Generation of Children, which chronicles the grandmothers who searched for their children and grandchildren who were disappeared by Argentina's brutal dictatorship. In this episode, Haley gives us insight into how she came across this history and how she grappled with the moral complexities throughout. She also talks about the subjectivity of truth and details her research process and organization.

The Stacks Book Club pick for July is God Help the Child by Toni Morrison. We will discuss next Wednesday, July 30th with Dana A. Williams.

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

https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/7/23/ep-381-haley-cohen-gilliland

Connect with Haley: Instagram | Website

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

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, journalist Megan Greenwell joins to discuss her debut book, Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream. She breaks down the ins and outs of private equity, how it works, why it harms communities, and if there is an ethical path for the industry.

The Stacks Book Club pick for July is God Help the Child by Toni Morrison. We will discuss next Wednesday, July 30th with Dana A. Williams.

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

https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/7/16/ep-378-megan-greenwell

Connect with Megan: Instagram | Website

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

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

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

For this month’s bonus episode, we’re mixing things up a little—this time, Traci is the one being interviewed! The fine folks at LARB Radio Hour, Medaya Ocher and Eric Newman, speak with Traci to discuss the impact of social media on publishing, the content creator life, and the way readers discover books today. At the end of the episode, Medaya, Eric, and Traci offer readers a rundown of recommendations for the books getting us through 2025.

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

https://www.thestackspodcast.com/unabridged/2025/7/11/tsu-48-larb

Connect with LARB Radio: Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube | Podcast

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.

Mandii B and WeezyWTF, the co-hosts of the Decisions, Decisions podcast, join us today to discuss their New York Times Best-selling book, No Holes Barred: A Dual Manifesto of Sexual Exploration and Power. They talk about the challenges of staying sex positive while writing about their own shame and which parts of the book they were most nervous about having published. We also talk about how the changing political landscape has impacted the kinds of conversations they have around sex.

The Stacks Book Club pick for July is God Help the Child by Toni Morrison. We will discuss on Wednesday, July 30th with Dana A. Williams.

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

https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/7/9/ep-379-mandii-b-weezywtf

Connect with WeezyWTF: Instagram

Connect with Mandii B: Instagram

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

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 author and African-American literature professor, Dana A. Williams. She has written a brand new book called Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer’s Legendary Editorship, which chronicles Morrison's time as an editor at Random House. Dana shares with us the behind the scenes story of how her book title came to be, her favorite Morrison book, and why she chose God Help the Child for our July Book Club Pick.

The Stacks Book Club pick for July is God Help the Child by Toni Morrison. We will discuss on Wednesday, July 30th with Dana A. Williams returning as our guest.

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

https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/7/2/ep-378-dana-williams

Connect with Dana: Instagram | Bluesky | Website

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

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