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

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