Show & Tell: New Yorkers Are Cheery and Optimistic? Yikes.
Unstacked Digest for the week of May 12 -18
This is Show & Tell where I tell you some things I loved from the week and the one thing I hated, plus round up everything else going on around these parts. The first half of Show & Tell is free to all. The adoration and hateration are for paid subscribers only.
Today, May 19th, marks Malcolm X’s 100th birthday. He is one of the most important political figures in my life. I know I am not alone in that. The first time I read The Autobiography of Malcolm X it changed me, and rocked me to my core. I had seen the movie (many times), and knew who he was. My dad love him, and quoted and referenced him a lot in my childhood, but it wasn’t until I read the book in my early 20’s that things clicked. He was the gateway through which I started to think about a lot of issues, like policing, racism, radicalism, and corruption, that have since becomes passions of mine. He shifted the course of my life. I will forever be grateful to Malcolm X for all that he gave me and the world. May he rest in peace, and may his memory continue to be a blessing.
In 2020, I was lucky enough to talk with Marc Lamont Hill about The Autobiography of Malcolm X for The Stacks Book Club. Marc is so smart and brought so much to this conversation. I share it with you all today as an offering.
And now for a hard shift.
My 2025 Nonfiction Reading Guide (NRG) will be out on Friday. This year it features 25 nonfiction bangers. I have read and vetted them for you. I also enlisted five of my/your/our faves to each give an additional recommendation, which rounds the list out at 30 books. If you want in on the NRG you need to make sure you’re a paid subscriber to Unstacked.
Also, mark you calendars for Monday May 27th at 5pm PT for a virtual NRG discussion meetup. I will be discussing the guide, answering your questions, and generally there to talk nonfiction with all of you. More details will drop on Friday, but wanted to make sure you had a little warning1.
This Week in The Stacks
Last week was jam packed. The Met Gala, a Black Pope, and some Pulitzer drama is all inside this one.
was my guest on the podcast this week to talk about her memoir Of My Own Making about overcoming trauma and finding success.
When something happens in pop culture, I always text Sam Sanders, so naturally when I was having thoughts and feelings™ while at the Beyoncé concert, I text Sam. He was also in need of an outlet. You can listen to use talk criticism, stadium tours, and Blue Ivy, in this month’s bonus episode.
Books I Read This Week
No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson by Gardiner Harris
Johnson & Johnson is the world’s largest healthcare conglomerate, and this book investigates and exposes the company for their continued commitment to profits over the health and well being of their consumer. Obviously making money is not new in capitalism, but this book is shocking because the scope of J&J’s harm is so much bigger than I had anticipated. Gardiner lays out a relentless case against the company, and some of it had my jaw on the floor. Like they were really just out here lying to the FDA and killing people, knowingly and actively, and then hiding behind their yellow baby shampoo. The book does get a tad repetitive because the Johnson & Johnson playbook is the same for all the scandals they’ve been involved in, but overall this one was worth it.
Fave of the week!
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
I have been slowly reading this book aloud to the Mini Stacks at our table over meals since April 1. I had read the book as a child, and have reread many poems in it over the years. It is so good. It has been made even better getting to read it through the eyes of my kids. Their giggles, confusion, shock, horror, and wonder at what Silverstein does with these poems was a joy to behold. The collection reminds me a lot of a Pixar film in that it works on two levels, one for the kids and one for the adults. It has a depth and curiosity about life that sustains us all. I personally love the poems, because they rhyme, and I am not ashamed to admit that rhyming poetry gets me (nearly) every time. Plus, Silverstein is a master of the volta2, each poem feels like it is just waiting to pull one over on me, to the point of poetic suspense3.
Housekeeping
You know The Hunger Games series has become my entire personality so far this year, and it was a great honor to discuss the series with the wonderful Caroline O’Donohue of the
podcast. is one of my dearest pals, we go back to our NYU days. They now have a podcast called Tell Me Something Messy and I got to go on. Yes I was scared it was going to be too much ho shit (complimentary) for a prude like me, but I did it. It was less sex than I thought it would be, and I got to talk shit about mom stuff. So, it was a blast. Apparently a lot of you also do not want mom friends. My people.Things I Love…
Obsession
The truth is the “Let’s Have a Conclave” song is still my current obsession. I wish I had other news for you. But, I am still very much living my life in Conclave SZN.
That being said, my current obsession which is actually a thing I have been very into since 2022 is my Nuuly subscription. Let me start here. This is not an ad. I started using them because they bought a single ad campaign on the podcast back in 20224. I have since used them for the last three years, no discount, fully paid. I like them a lot. Here is why.
I like the selection they have. Their main competitor is Rent the Runway, and the style over there, for me, is a little lacking. Nuuly is more trendy and playful with some great staples and bold pieces.
They have great brands, like Free People, Madewell, AGolde, Farm Rio.
I can rent something for an event and be photographed in it and feel like I am wearing something new and be all cute, but then not actually have to buy a new thing I don’t want to wear because everyone I know saw it5. It really scratches that itch, which is saving me a lot of money.
I pause and unpause my Nuuly as often as I want for free. I’ve paused for as long as a few months and as little as a week, just to adjust my monthly billing date to match my social/travel calendar. No questions asked.
Jackets and Coats. I’m mostly in LA so I don’t have the need for that many jackets and coats, especially of the heavier variety. Anytime I travel I get a jacket or a coat from Nuuly, something flashy that I would never buy for myself, and because it is outerwear I wear it a lot so I really feel like I am getting my money’s worth.
The customer service is very good. I recently rented a dress that had a rip in it (this happens sometimes), and I sent them a photo and they immediately credited my account for one item.
So yeah, if you’ve seen Nuuly and you’re like, is this worth it? Yes. It is worth it. Again, this isn’t an ad, but I do have a referral code if you click any of the Nuuly links here and sign up you’ll get $30 off your first order and I’ll get $10 off my next order.
Sports
So the Knicks beat the Celtics to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, which is great. One, because the Knicks haven’t been to the ECF since 1999. And two, because Boston.
Happy for those guys and all you “long suffering” Knicks Fans6.
I have to say though, the over the top amount of celebration from Knicks fans cracks me up. I cant help but giggle. It feels sooooo out of character for cynical, over it, New Yorkers7. Like, yes, enjoy this moment. But also like, you do know you haven’t won anything yet? This earnestness is confounding in an “all I can do is laugh because it is kinda sweet way”. And I feel like if any other team was acting like this, NYers would be the first people to clown them for doing the most when they hadn’t won a damn thing.
To be clear, the Knicks have won a championship in the past. They are not the Clippers or the Jazz. They should, as my dad would say, act like they’ve been here before. Because they have. So please, dear humans of New York, bring back the bad attitude. Losing has made y’all soft. While the world is in chaos, I need to know I can trust the citizens of New York to be underwhelmed at every turn. This unbridled (and extremely premature) joy is unsettling.
Book News
I know I plugged it earlier, but my Nonfiction Reading Guide is coming out on Friday, May 23rd. These things are a lot of work8. Unlike a lot of the lists I (and many book people) share9, I have read into all the books I have on the guide. I also started (and finished) a lot of books that didn’t make the cut. That is a lot of reading and plotting and planning. I was inspired to make my guide all books I had vetted because the great reading guide whisperer
does this, and her guides are the best10.If you like nonfiction, or you want to like nonfiction, or you just like me and want to support my work, you should make sure you’re a paid subscriber to this newsletter (or my Patreon) to get the guide.
And, if you already have a paid subscription, thank you. You all make it possible for me to do any of this stuff, and while I know that, I don’t think I honor your commitment to me and my work nearly enough. I am grateful.