Friday Round Up! 1/9/26 (reprise)
No, you aren’t having deja vu, it’s last Friday’s Round Up, again. Because my analysis on the Minnesota shooting was being circulated widely, I decided separate the other components of the newsletter, like the podcast and upcoming events, to keep it at a more manageable length. But, since I know many of you use the weekly Round Up to refer to those dates to plan ahead — and also that a number of new subscribers have joined! — I have included them below, with a few additions and updates! All guest speaker and book club events are open to paid subscribers, so I hope you will consider becoming one and joining our great community!
ON COMPLICITY AND COURAGE
I’m so excited to begin the new theme for my Substack in the New Year: Understanding what makes people complicit in bad behavior, and learning from the people who take a stand against it. The research I am doing for my book, Uncompromised: Activating Your Moral Compass in an Age of Complicity, shows that people are better able to resist pressure and stand up for their beliefs when they can reflect on their own values and see models of moral courage in action.
To this end, I’ll be writing free posts on these topics each month, in addition to my weekly Round Ups, on the topics of complicity and courage. Each month I’ll have one person — like a psychologist, professor, leadership expert — explain the science and theory behind complicity and courage. And then I will also bring in a real-time moral rebel who can talk about what led them to take a stand — despite the personal and professional risks they faced (and often still face). I hope you will tune in!
Here’s who I have coming up:
TOMORROW! On Complicity: Professor Catherine Sanderson, author of Why We Act: Turning Bystanders into Moral Rebels, Wednesday, January 14, 12-1 p.m. EST. Professor Sanderson’s work covers the psychology of bystanders — the social and cognitive forces that keep people from stepping up, and how we can change them. If you want to know why so many people in positions of power are not stepping up like they need to in this moment, you won’t want to miss this talk. Zoom link will be sent to paid subscribers three hours before the talk, and a recording will be posted after if you can’t make it live!
On Courage: , author of the Substack and Here, Right Matters: An American Story (Date/Time TBA, we are still figuring out schedules!). I have been a huge fan of Alex Vindman ever since he came into the spotlight and testified in Trump’s first impeachment hearing. If you, like me, are inspired by his example and want to learn more about his story, please tune in.
And other guests I am lining up, as well:
On Complicity: Professor author of On Tyranny and the Substack
On Courage: author of the Substack
Zoom links for guest speakers are sent three hours before the event, and the discussions will be recorded and posted for those who cannot make it live.
The Freedom Academy Book Club
In the past I have typically done a book selection every quarter, but I am going to get more ambitious for 2026 and try to do one each month — too many interesting books and cool authors! Check out the selections below:
JANUARY: Agents of Change: The Women Who Transformed the CIA by Christina Hillsberg Tuesday, January 27, 2026, 12-1 p.m. EST. In her book, Christina, a former CIA clandestine services officer, paints a picture of what being a female spy in the agency was really like through interviews with women who served through the decades. I can’t wait to hear what surprised her and what she learned! Zoom link will be sent to paid subscribers three hours before the event and a recording will be posted after for those who cannot make it live.
FEBRUARY (Date/Time TBA): Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York’s Explosive ‘80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided the Nation, by Elliot Williams. Want to know how the trajectories of Al Sharpton, Rudy Giuliani, and Rupert Murdoch intersected forty years ago, shaping our views of race and crime today? Elliot, a former federal prosecutor and CNN legal analyst, will explain it all. I can’t wait to read his book — available for preorder now (to be released next week!).
MARCH (Date/Time TBA): 38 Londres Street: On Impunity, Pinochet in England, and a Nazi in Patagonia by Philippe Sands. Philippe reached out to me after my appearance on Ezra Klein’s podcast last spring, because I compared the removal of Kilmar Albrego Garcia to Chile in 1973. His gripping account of Pinochet’s indictment for crimes against humanity and extradition to Spain and its thru line from Nuremberg, are important lessons for today. Not to mention that the legal issues surrounding head of state immunity are more pertinent than ever in light of Maduro (and God knows what other leaders the U.S. will rendition in the coming weeks and months).
Podcast
And, in case you missed my podcast with Renato last week, here it is — I post a link to the video pod in each week’s Round Up but you can also subscribe to the audio version wherever you choose to get your podcasts.
Join me and Renato in Alaska!
It’s Complicated is cruisin’! Come join me and Renato as we explore the stunning beauty of Alaska and discuss how we can work together to protect our democracy! It’s a small ship, and there will be lots of opportunities to talk to us both, plus we will have an opening and closing reception and dedicated democracy discussion tables throughout the cruise. You can find out more at this link, and fill out your info here to have an agent call you with more information. Stay tuned for our next happy hour/info session!
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‘Rise like Lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number—
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you—
Ye are many—they are few.’
— The Masque of Anarchy by Percy Bysshe Shelley, stanza XXXVIII