Ep. 426 Lonely Crowds by Stephanie Wambugu — The Stacks Book Club (Chanda Prescod-Weinstein)

Ep. 426 Lonely Crowds by Stephanie Wambugu — The Stacks Book Club (Chanda Prescod-Weinstein)

From The Stacks by Traci Thomas

May 27, 2026 · 1h 16m

About this episode

The episode features a discussion about the book 'Lonely Crowds' and its themes of friendship and the art world.

It’s The Stacks Book Club Day, and we’re once again joined by award-winning author, theoretical physicist, and cosmologist, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, to discuss Lonely Crowds by Stephanie Wambugu. Set in the early ‘90s, this book traces the decades-long friendship between Ruth and Maria, whose intense childhood bond is tested in adulthood by the glamorous yet competitive nature of the New York City art world. Chanda and I chat about the complicated balance of making art and making money, discuss how first-person writing plays into the unreliable narrator trope, and try to figure out who exactly is on the cover. There are spoilers on this episode. Listen to the end of the episode to hear what our June book club pick will be! You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/5/27/ep-426-lonely-crowds Connect with Chanda: I nstagram | Website | Bluesky 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 .

People in this episode

Host: Traci Thomas

Guest: Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Topics covered

  • friendship
  • art world
  • narrative style
  • competition
  • personal relationships

Keywords

  • Lonely Crowds
  • Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
  • Stephanie Wambugu
  • art
  • friendship
  • narrative
  • New York City

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Lonely Crowds

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