
Texas politician and author Beto O’Rourke joins The Stacks to talk about his book We’ve Got to Try: How the Fight for Voting Rights Makes Everything Else Possible. We learn why Beto thinks voting rights is the most important battle we’re currently fighting, what he says to people who don’t feel represented or served by politicians, and whether he plans to run for office again.
The Stacks Book Club selection for November is Severance by Ling Ma. We will discuss the book on November 29th with Mitchell S. Jackson.
LISTEN NOW
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher | Transcript
Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes and on Bookshop.org and Amazon.

- We’ve Got to Try by Beto O’Rourke
- Lawrence Nixon
- John Lewis
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Fannie Lou Hamer
- Septima Clark
- Voting Rights Act of 1965
- Shelby County v. Holder
- Roe v. Wade
- Mariame Kaba
- Andrew Young
- 2022 Los Angeles City Council scandal
- “Biden to build more US border wall using Trump-era funds” (Mica Rosenberg and Nandita Bose, Reuters)
- 2019 El Paso shooting
- Greg Abbott
- Ted Cruz
- Veronica Escobar
- Jasmine Crockett
- Maxwell Frost
- Dealing Death and Drugs by Beto O’Rourke and Susie Byrd
- Columbia University (New York, NY)
- Texas Rangers
- Houston Astros
- Dusty Baker
- “Ted Cruz Curses Astros, Attended Every Postseason Loss at Home” (Matthew Postins, Sports Illustrated)
- Civil Rights in the Texas Borderlands by Will Guzman
- Smith v. Allwright
- Lonnie E. Smith
- Thelma White
- University of Texas at El Paso (El Paso, TX)
- 1966 Texas Western NCAA championship
- “Great Hanging At Gainesville” (Richard B. McCaslin, Ph.D., TSHA)
- “Ep. 288 Just Presenting the Facts with Michael Harriot” (The Stacks)
- On Writing by Stephen King
- Zach Wagman
- Goldfish Crackers
- Swedish Fish
- Pretzel Crisps
- Peanut butter filled pretzels
- We’ve Got to Try by Beto O’Rourke (audiobook)
To support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.
Connect with Beto: Instagram | Twitter | Website
Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Subscribe
To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. If you prefer to support the show with a one time contribution go to paypal.me/thestackspod.
The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.