Upcoming Events, Week of May 4
Welcome to new subscribers! Scroll down to see the guest speakers, book club authors, and happy hour guests coming up, as well as a link to this week’s It’s Complicated podcast!
ON COMPLICITY AND COURAGE
If you are new to my Substack, I am doing research for my book, Uncompromised: Activating Your Moral Compass in an Age of Complicity, and using this platform to showcase some of the authors and research I am learning from to understand what makes people complicit in bad behavior, and learning from the people who take a stand against it.
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). Studies show 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, so I hope you will tune in and take some knowledge and inspiration from my guests! (You can find past guests, as well as posts on the topic, under the Complicity & Courage tab on the homepage.)
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. You can always access past guest speakers here and book club authors here.
THIS WEEK!
On Courage: Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn (Thursday, May 7, 11 a.m.-12 p.m. ). I think all of us are incredibly grateful for Harry’s service, along with the rest of the Capitol Hill police, on January 6. I have had a chance to hear him speak and to get to know him personally since then, and am so thrilled that he will be coming on this Substack to talk to us!
Coming Up:
On Complicity: Professor Kim Lane Scheppele, Professor at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs (Monday, May 18, 2 -3 p.m.). Project 2025 mirrored the tactics used by Orban in Hungary (his team literally helped them write it)…and things didn’t turn out so well. Professor Scheppele is THE person to help break down Hungary’s secret sauce in its last election, and how we here can replicate it.
I am confirming more speakers through the summer so watch this space!
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:
MAY (Thursday, May 28, 5-6 p.m. EDT): Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes by . I know that as we approach SCOTUS decision season we will need an expert guide to help us make sense of rulings that have come down and what to expect on the ones still pending! I am so excited to talk with University of Michigan Law Professor Leah Litman about how the Supreme Court has gone off the rails and what (if anything) we can do about it.
JUNE (Date/Time TBA): The Voter File by . David has been a guest several times on my Substack but this time we will be talking about his prescient novel! The Voter File came out in 2020 and is a story about how elections can be manipulated if someone can get their hands on…you got it, the voter file. Well, guess what? The Trump administration is trying to get their hands on…states’ voter files. Life imitates art, I guess (David’s first novel, published in 2016, was about Russian election interference.) This will be a terrifying beach read with real world implications!
JULY (Date/Time TBA): One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps by Andrea Pritzker. Is it OK to call the warehouses being built across the U.S. as “concentration camps”? Andrea Pritzker knows the answer (and it’s yes). There has, sadly, never been a more important time to learn the history of how this form of human internment and political repression was developed and how it has evolved. (I picked July so at least the weather is nice when we’re reading it — better than in winter when it gets dark at 4 p.m. and you’re already depressed.)
AUGUST (Date/Time TBA): The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni. This book has been on my nightstand forever…to be honest, though, I couldn’t bring myself to read it last year, when Elon Musk was still taking a wrecking ball to our government. But now I’m ready: find out the origin story of the tech villains you love to hate, and who now have an outsized influence on our collective future.
SEPTEMBER: The publication date for Mimi’s book has been pushed back, so stay tuned as I am lining up another book for this month!
OCTOBER (Date/Time TBA): The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century by Tim Weiner. I’ve been so excited to read Tim’s book since it came out last fall. His last book on the CIA, Legacy of Ashes: A History of the CIA (a must-read), chronicled the history and evolution of the agency from its inception during World War II through 9/11. This book picks it up from there to the present day. This will be a great discussion on the past and the future of our foreign intelligence capability.
NOVEMBER (Date/Time TBA): This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History by Beverly Gage. I was soooo excited to learn that this book was finally out! For those of you who have been subcribers to The Freedom Academy for a while, you know that Professor Gage’s G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of an American Century was our first book club selection! (You can watch that talk here.) I’m soooo excited to have her back to discuss her latest project, which a journey through the amazing history and diversity of OUR country. With better planning I would have gotten this on the calendar closer to July 4, but honestly the midterm elections is as good a time as any to be reminded of the American values we love, and why they are still alive and well in the hearts of its people.
DECEMBER (Date/Time TBA): The Lost Orchid: A Tale of Victorian Plunder and Obsession by Sarah Bilston. I realize that this title is not necessarily in the vein as the others, but I feel like by December we’re going to be ready for a change of pace for the holidays — and what better distraction is there than a little Victorian plunder and obsession? Seriously, though, this book has been on my to-read list since my brilliant colleague, professor of British literature, and master storyteller published this last year (I’m also partial to orchids, it being the only plant I have successfully managed to tend in my home). This will be a fun discussion to close out the year!
My Clips This Week:
I joined Ana Cabrera on MSNOW earlier this week to discuss the indictment against James Comey.
This Week’s It’s Complicated Podcast:
Renato and I discuss the latest insanity from the Justice Department, as exhibited by the indictment against James Comey for posting a photo of seashells on his Instagram account. We also discuss the aftermath of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner assassination attempt, including Trump’s unhinged court filings:
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.
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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