The Stacks Creators & Guests

Traci Thomas runs and hosts The Stacks, a book podcast and blog focused on giving you real life conversations about all things book.

Jac Vanek is a self-made entrepreneur, CEO and one of the most powerful fashion and music influencers of her generation. She is also co-host of The LadyGang.

Mariame Kaba is an activist and organizer.

Becca Tobin is an actress, singer, dancer, and co-hosted the female-centric podcast series The Lady Gang.

Aubrey Gordon, also known as Your Fat Friend, is an author, podcaster, and activist. She writes about fatness, fat acceptance, and anti-fat bias, and she co-hosts the podcast "Maintenance Phase" with journalist Michael Hobbes, which focuses on the poor science behind some health and wellness fads.Gordon's first book, "What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat," was published in 2022.

Adam Serwer is a political journalist, currently writing for The Atlantic. His work focuses on white supremacy, race in America, and the Trump administration.Serwer was raised in Washington, D.C. He received his B.A. from Vassar College and his M.A. from Columbia University's School of Journalism.After graduating, Serwer became a writing fellow at The American Prospect. He went on to work at Mother Jones, the Atlantic, MSNBC, The Washington Post, Jack and Jill Politics, Salon, and BuzzFeed News. Serwer has appeared on other media such as All Things Considered, The Opposition with Jordan Klepper, In the Thick, and On My Mind with Diane Rehm to discuss his writing.

Julie Otsuka is an author.

Ben Blacker joined the writing staff of Supernatural for season seven with writing partner Ben Acker.

Mychal Denzel Smith is a writer, television commentator, and author of the book Stakes Is High.

Angie Kim is an author.Kim's work has appeared in Vogue, The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, Glamour, and literary journals. Her first book, Miracle Creek, was published in 2019 and won the 2020 Edgar Award for best first novel, the ITW Thriller Award, the Strand Critics’ Award, and the Pinckley Prize.Kim received her A.B. in Philosophy and Political Science from Stanford University and her J.D. from Harvard, where she was the editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Kim Brooks is an author.Her fiction has appeared in Glimmer Train, One Story, and The Missouri Review. Her essays have appeared in Salon, Buzzfeed, New York magazine, LennyLetter, and on WNYC’s Note to Self.Her first novel, "The Houseguest," was published in 2016. Her parenting memoir, "Small Animals," was published in 2018.Brooks is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she was a Teaching-Writing Fellow.

R. Okyong Kwon is an author, best known for her first novel, "The Incendiaries," which was published in 2018.Kwon’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, The Paris Review, Bookforum, and NPR.

Akiba Solomon is an NABJ-Award-winning journalist, editor, essayist from West Philadelphia, a writer, managing editor of Colorlines, senior editor at The Marshall Project, and a co-author of the book, How We Fight White Supremacy.

Keltie Knight is a TV presenter and former professional dancer, she is the co-hosts of LadyGang the podcast.

Garrett Graff is a journalist and author.

Niccole Thurman is an actress, improviser, singer, writer, and comedian.

Donovan X. Ramsey is a culture journalist. Currently, he is a senior reporter for the Los Angeles Times, where he covers Black life in Los Angeles.Before joining The Times, Ramsey was a contributing writer for GQ, Vice, WSJ Magazine, and the Atlantic. He also served as commentary editor of the Marshall Project and deputy editor of Complex.com. His first book, "When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era," was published in 2023.Ramsey received his B.A. in Psychology from Morehouse College and his M.Sc. in Journalism from Columbia University.

Bryan Washington is a writer.Washington's fiction and essays have appeared in the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The New York Times Style Magazine, BuzzFeed, the BBC, Vulture, The Paris Review, Boston Review, The Cut, Tin House, One Story, Bon Appétit, MUNCHIES, American Short Fiction, GQ, FADER, The Awl, The Believer, Hazlitt, and Catapult, where he wrote a column called “Bayou Diaries”.Washington's first book of short stories, "Lot," was published in 2019. His first novel, "Memorial," was published in 2020.

Kenrya Rankin is an award-winning journalist, editorial consultant, speaker, narrative shift expert, editorial strategist, digital content creator, racial justice advocate, project manager, executive producer and co-host of The Turn On Podcast, and author of several books, including "How We Fight White Supremacy" and "Anti-Racism: Powerful Voices, Inspiring Ideas."