The Democracy Group’s 2024 summer reading list

Jessie Nguyen
Marketing and Communication Specialist
June 27, 2024
·
5
min read

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Grab a drink and find a cozy spot because we’re bringing you a list of books you should read this summer! 

From a deep dive into notable Supreme Court cases to analyses on the digital age, the media and immigration legislation, we have a book from your favorite genre — political, public policy and even memoir — picked by the hosts and producers from our network. We feature interviews with the authors and as they offer insights, inspirations and glimpses of their writing process. Give them a read!

Featured on An Honorable Profession: The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy by Mike Madrid 

Political consultant and co-founder of the Lincoln Project Mike Madrid joined An Honorable Profession to discuss how Republicans have changed their tone on American exceptionalism and instead embraced “cowardly” anti-immigration, anti-Latino rhetoric. He’s written a forthcoming book, The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy, to provide a comprehensive study on voting trends among Latino voters.

Listen here.

Featured on Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other: Learning to Disagree: The Surprising Path to Navigating Differences with Empathy and Respect by John Inazu

John Inazu is a law professor and political theorist who teaches at Washington University in St. Louis. He writes and speaks frequently about pluralism, assembly, free speech, religious freedom, and other issues. His latest book is Learning to Disagree: The Surprising Path to Navigating Differences with Empathy and Respect. It reveals the surprising path to learning how to disagree in ways that build new bridges with our neighbors, coworkers, and loved ones--and help us find better ways to live joyfully in a complex society.

Listen here.

Featured on The Great Battlefield: Fixing Our Democracies and Winning Elections in The Age of Junk Politics - A Guide to Transformational Campaigning by Ned Howey 

Ned Howey joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his path to co-founding Tectonica and his book "Fixing Our Democracies and Winning Elections in The Age of Junk Politics - A Guide to Transformational Campaigning". In this book, Howey proposes a renewed paradigm, strategic models and practical advice on how we can return to and innovate towards transformational campaigning in the age of junk politics.

Listen here.

Featured on Village SquareCast: Who Stole the American Dream by Hedrick Smith

Hedrick Smith, Pulitzer Prize-winning former New York Times reporter and editor and Emmy award-winning producer/correspondent, has established himself over the past 50 years as one of America’s premier journalists. His current best-seller, “Who Stole the American Dream” is a startling and revealing portrait of the past 30 years of U.S. political and economic history, hailed both for its compelling stories and ”brilliant analysis.”

Listen here.

Featured on The Bully Pulpit: The Times: How the Newspaper of Record Survived Scandal, Scorn, and the Transformation of Journalism by Adam Nagourney

New York Times reporter Adam Nagourney joined The Bully Pulpit for a conversation on his new book, “The Times: How the Newspaper of Record Survived Scandal, Scorn, and the Transformation of Journalism” and the role journalism plays in politics. In The Times, Adam Nagourney, who’s worked at The New York Times since 1996, examines four decades of the newspaper’s history, from the final years of Arthur “Punch” Sulzberger’s reign as publisher to the election of Donald Trump in November 2016. 

Listen here.

Featured on Politics In Question: White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy Thomas Schaller and Paul Waldman

Thomas Schaller and Paul Waldman joined Politics In Question to discuss the urban-rural divide in American politics. Schaller is a professor of political science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Waldman is a journalist and author whose writing has appeared in numerous publications, including MSNBC. Their new book, White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy, explores why rural Whites have failed to reap the benefits from their outsize political power and why, as a result, they are the most likely group to abandon democratic norms and traditions.

Listen here.

Featured on Let’s Find Common Ground: Broken News: Why The Media Rage Machine Divides America and How to Fight Back by Chris Stirewalt

Political journalist Chris Stirewalt is a contributing editor and regular columnist at the conservative news site, The Dispatch. Chris wrote the book, “Broken News: Why The Media Rage Machine Divides America and How to Fight Back.” Stirewalt goes deep inside the history of the industry to explain how today’s media divides America for profit and offers practical advice for how readers, listeners and viewers can (and should) become better news consumers for the sake of the republic.

Listen here.

Featured on Future Hindsight: Demand the Impossible: One Lawyer’s Pursuit of Equal Justice for All by Robert Tsai

Robert Tsai is the professor of law and Harry Elwood Warren Memorial Scholar at Boston University School of Law. He joined Future Hinsight to discuss the death penalty, legal representation for the indigent, and equality under law. His book, Demand the Impossible, is organized around four major Supreme Court cases with each narrated in vivid and dramatic detail. Tsai’s essential account explores the racism built into the criminal justice system and the incredible advancements one lawyer and his committed allies made for equal rights.

Listen here.

Featured on How Do We Fix It?: Rescuing Socrates: How The Great Books Changed My Life And Why They Matter For a New Generation by Roosevelt Montás

Roosevelt Montás is senior lecturer in American Studies and English at Columbia University and director of the Center for American Studies Freedom and Citizenship Program, which introduces low-income high school students to primary texts in moral and political thought. His book, Rescuing Socrates, describes how four authors—Plato, Augustine, Freud, and Gandhi—had a profound impact on Montás’ life. In doing so, the book drives home what it’s like to experience a liberal education—and why it can still remake lives.

Listen here.

Featured on Democracy Works: The Origins of Elected Strongmen: How Personalist Parties Destroy Democracy from Within by Erica Frantz, Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Joe Wright

Penn State political science professor and author Joseph Wright joins Democracy Works to explore how the rise of personalist parties around the globe facilitating the decline of democracy. The book examines the role of personalist political parties, or parties that exist primarily to further their leader’s career as opposed to promote a specific policy platform.

Listen here.

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