The Stacks

Today on The Stacks, we’re joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, historian, activist, and professor, Heather Ann Thompson, to discuss her new book Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage. This book explores the ways that Bernhard Goetz's 1984 shooting of four Black teenagers on the New York City subway exposed the deep racial tensions of the Reagan era and set the tone for the politics of white rage we see today. In our conversation, Heather reveals why she wanted to tell this story right now, how the media’s role in this case mirrors the fear and power of the media landscape today, and how she transforms dense historical documents into accessible nonfiction.
The Stacks Book Club pick for February is Indigo by Beverly Jenkins. We’ll be discussing the book with Jasmine Guillory on February 25th.
You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/2/11/ep-411-heather-ann-thompson
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Today on The Stacks, we’re joined by New York Times bestselling romance novelist Jasmine Guillory. We chat about her journey from high-powered attorney to successful contemporary romance writer, her favorite and least favorite tropes, and how people’s desire to escape through romance increases amid political unrest.
The Stacks Book Club pick for February is Indigo by Beverly Jenkins. We’ll be discussing the book with Jasmine Guillory on February 25th.
You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/2/4/ep-410-jasmine-guillory
Connect with Jasmine Guillory: Website | Instagram | Threads | Twitter/X
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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.

It’s The Stacks Book Club day, and I'm joined by Emmy-nominated TV writer, journalist, and host of Pop Syllabus, Christiana Mbakwe Medina, to discuss Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie Gilbert. In this book, Sophie Gilbert highlights the ways the rampant misogyny of '90s and early 2000s pop culture continues to shape attitudes toward women today. We talk today about how the book tackles reality TV, postfeminism, incel culture, porn, and more.
Make sure you listen to the end of the episode to hear what our February book club pick will be!
You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/1/28/ep-409-girl-on-girl
Connect with Christiana: Instagram | Pop Syllabus Podcast | Substack | Threads
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It's time for a Stacks Unabridged favorite: Our Most Anticipated Books of 2026...at least the first half anyway. I'm once again joined by two of my favorite book people, Cree Myles (All Ways Black) and Sara Hildreth (Fiction Matters), to gush about the books we can't wait to dive into in the first half of the year, sharing our top picks month by month. Plus, we do a little post-mortem on 2025 and set some semi-realistic reading goals for 2026. Get your TBR lists ready—you’ll have a lot of new additions.
You can find links to everything we discuss on today’s show on The Stacks Website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/unabridged/2026/1/23/tsu-55-sara-hildreth-cree-myles
*This episode is exclusive to members of The Stacks Pack on Patreon and our Substack subscribers. To join a community, get inside access to the show, and listen now, click the link below.
Connect with Cree: Instagram | Twitter | All Ways Black | Patreon
Connect with Sara: Instagram | Fiction Matters | Novel Pairings | Substack
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Today on The Stacks, we are joined by Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick to discuss her new book Storm at the Capitol: An Oral History of January 6th. In this book, Mary Clare offers a comprehensive retelling of the January 6th insurrection through firsthand accounts from the rioters, police officers, journalists (including herself), and lawmakers who were forced to flee the violence. We talk about why she frames this as an oral history, how she captured the violence of that day, and how the narrative surrounding January 6th has evolved over the past five years.
The Stacks Book Club pick for January is Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie Gilbert. We will discuss the book on Wednesday, January 28th, with Christiana Mbakwe Medina.
You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/1/21/ep-408-mary-clare-jalonick
Connect with Mary Clare: Website
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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.