Unabridged: Poptimism in the Age of Beyoncé with Sam Sanders

It's Cowboy Carter SZN and we're breaking down Beyoncé's latest tour with friend of the pod and podcast host extraordinaire Sam Sanders. We talk about Queen Bey's latest tour, the good and the not so good, plus our thoughts on Blue Ivy's exposure and the future of stadium tours. We also quickly gab about the Pulitzer drama, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Lionel Richie.

*This episode is exclusive to members of The Stacks Pack on Patreon and our Substack subscribers. To join a community, get inside access to the show, and listen now, click the link below.

JOIN PATREON OR SUBSTACK TO LISTEN

Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes. You can also find what we talked about on Bookshop.org and Amazon.

• Beyoncé

• Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé

• Vibe Check (SiriusXM Podcasts)

• The Sam Sanders Show (KCRW & Sam Sanders)

• Tribeca Film Festival

• “Yesterday’s Price Isn’t Today’s Price featuring Lena Waithe” (Vibe Check, SiriusXM Podcasts)

• Robert De Niro

• The Pulitzer Prize

• James by Percival Everett

• Columbia University (New York, NY)

• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

• Trust by Hernan Diaz

• Merve Emre

• Sara Hildreth

• “Did the Pulitzer Board just overrule the Jury to give Percival Everett the prize?” (Drew Broussard, LitHub)

• Colson Whitehead

• Jonathan Franzen

• Headshot by Rita Bulwinkel

• Mice 1961 by Stacey Levine

• The Unicorn Woman by Gayl Jones

• All Fours by Miranda July

• Danzy Senna

• The Critic and Her Publics (Merve Emre)

• “American writer Percival Everett” (The Arts Hour, BBC)

• American Fiction (Cord Jefferson, 2023)

• Cord Jefferson

• Erasure by Percival Everett

• “Ep. 304 Erasure by Percival Everett — The Stacks Book Club (Zach Stafford)” (The Stacks)

• Renaissance by Beyoncé

• Michael Jackson

• Taylor Swift

• Kendrick Lamar

• Drake

• “Jada & Will Deserve an Oscar for Their Marriage Performance” (Into It, Vulture)

• Frank Ocean

• Channel Orange by Frank Ocean

• Blond by Frank Ocean

• Voodoo by D’Angelo

• Stevie Wonder

• “Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ Is a Vivid Mission Statement. Let’s Discuss.” (The New York Times)

• “ALLIIGATOR TEARS” (Beyoncé, 2024)

• MTV Unplugged

• “AMERIICAN REQUIEM” (Beyoncé, 2024)

• “Freedom (feat. Kendrick Lamar)” (Beyoncé, 2016)

• “BLACKBIIRD” (Beyoncé, 2024)

• “YAYA"” (Beyoncé, 2024)

• “Why Don’t You Love Me” (Beyoncé, 2008)

• “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” (Beyoncé, 2024)

• “If I Were a Boy”(Beyoncé, 2008)

• “Irreplaceable” (Beyoncé, 2006)

• The Grand Ole Opry (Nashville, TN)

• The Sphere (Las Vegas, NV)

• Inside Beyoncé’s Historic 2018 Coachella Performance (Rachel Chang, Biography.com)

• “Get Me Bodied - Homecoming Live” by Beyoncé

• “Daddy Lessons” (Beyoncé, 2024)

• P!nk

• Clairo at Coachella (@coachella)

• Silk Sonic

• U2

• Usher

• Blue Ivy Carter

• Beyoncé - Run the World (Girls) (Official Video)

• Kieran Culkin

• Jeremey Strong

• Rumi Carter in Cowboy Carter (@stuartbrazell)

• empathogen (WILLOW, 2024)

• Will Smith

• Jada Pinkett Smith

• “Whip My Hair” (WILLOW, 2011)

• Blue Ivy doing the Deja Vu at the Cowboy Carter Tour (@stuartbrazell)

• “BODYGUARD” (Beyoncé, 2024)

• “16 CARRIAGES” (Beyoncé, 2024)

• Beyoncé’s light up dress (@bellabell8862)

• “DAUGHTER” (Beyoncé, 2024)

• Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939)

• “Is Pop Culture in a Recession? Hottakes Round 2” (The Sam Sanders Show, KCRW & Sam Sanders)

• “Gwyneth Paltrow has started eating carbs and cheese again” (Amarachi Orie, CNN.com)

• The Old Spaghetti Factory

• Spaghetti Warehouse

• “How Goop’s Haters Made Gwyneth Paltrow’s Company Worth $250 Million” (Taffy Brodesser-Akner, The New York Times)

• “Cruisin’” (Huey Lewis & Gwyneth Paltrow, 2006)

• “Cruisin’” (D’angelo, 1995)

• “Cruisin’” (Smokey Robinson, 1979)

• “The Greatest Night in Pop” (Bao Nguyen, 2024)

• “We Are the World” (U.S.A. for Africa, 1985)

• Lionel Richie

• “A Good Sermon featuring Senator Elizabeth Warren” (Vibe Check, SiriusXM Podcasts)

• “Kendrick vs. Drake to Wicked: 2024 Unpacked” (The Sam Sanders Show)

• John M. Chu

Connect with Sam: Twitter | Instagram
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.