
R. Eric Thomas is the author of Here for It and the writer behind Elle.com’s daily column “Eric Reads the News”. Eric joins the show to talk about centering his identities of Black, Christian, Gay, and American in Here for It, his collection of humorous and thoughtful essays. We also discuss pop culture as a unifying force, Maxine Waters, and how dreams really do come true (and how badly we need to remember that right now).
Pop culture. Centering naratives that are often pushed to the side. belonging.black american queer maxine waters dreams coming true
The Stacks Book Club selection for May is The Giver by Lois Lowry, we will discuss the book with Sue Thomas on May 27th.
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Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes and on Bookshop.org and Amazon.
- Here for It: Or How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas
- Eric Reads the News (Elle)
- Samantha Irby
- David Sedaris
- David Rakoff
- “Ep. 106 Samantha Irby//Wow, No Thank You” (The Stacks)
- Paul Mooney
- Marty McFly
- Titanic (James Cameron, 1997)
- Johannes Brahms

- Steel Magnolias (Herbert Ross, 1989)
- Dolly Parton
- The Moth
- First Person Arts
- Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
- Calypso by David Sedaris
- Amber Hikes
- Scrivener
- Kanye West
- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Kanye West, 2010)
- Dissect (Cole Cuchna | Spotify)
- Lemonade (Beyonce, 2016)
- Lemonade Visual Album (Beyonce, 2016)
- Spotify
- “S2E11 – Runaway by Kanye West (Part 1)” (Dissect)
- “S2E15 – Lost in the World by Kanye West” (Dissect)
- “S2E6 – Power by Kanye West” (Dissect)
- Cameo
- Tastykakes
- Luther Vandorss
- Reclaiming Her Time by R. Eric Thomas and Helena Andrews-Dyer
- Indie Bestsellers List
- We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby
- Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby
- Fraud by David Rakoff
- The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
- The Tradition by Jericho Brown
- Magical Negro by Morgan Parker
- The Best of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (PBS)
- Hulu
- Whitney Houston
- Autopsy by Donte Collins
- Lin-Manuel Miranda
- Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
- Parnassus Books
- Mary Laura Philpott
- Sissy Gardner
- Ann Patchett
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- Becoming (Netflix)
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