Today on The Stacks, we are joined by journalist and writer John J. Lennon, who’s currently serving 28 years to life for murder at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. He is here to discuss his first book, The Tragedy of True Crime: Four Guilty Men and the Stories That Define Us, which explores society’s fascination with true crime through the personal stories of four convicted murderers, including himself. In our conversation, we dive into how Lennon’s experiences inform his writing, how he maintains focus while in prison, why he doesn’t use prison abolition language in his work, and his anxiety around his new book.

The Stacks Book Club pick for October is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. We will discuss the book on Wednesday, October 29th, with Angela Flournoy returning as our guest.

You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2025/10/8/ep-393-john-j-lennon

Connect with John: Website

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 393 A Guilty Man Is More Interesting with John J. Lennon