Open Democracy Book Club
In 2020, in some of the darkest days of the COVID pandemic, one of our Open Democracy Team members proposed an "Open Democracy Book Club." To our surprise, 300 citizens registered for the first book and discussion in January. Certainly, the pandemic gave us some time at home to read, but the hunger to learn about the problems and how to fix them was there already. Our Book club now has more than 800 members!
Our Mission
Each time we address these three guiding questions about our democracy through the books chosen:
Where are we?
How did we get here?
What do we do about it?
Help us select Open Democracy Book Club’s 2026 selections - here!
Four times a year we read and discuss a new book. When possible, we have the author speak for 30 minutes. Then we are divided into breakout rooms for small group discussions, returning to the main group at the end to share ideas and pool resources. Everyone is welcome to participate, whether or not you have had a chance to read the book.
To Join the Book Club - Sign Up Below
You will be added to the Open Democracy Book Club email list, where members receive updates about upcoming books, guests, and discussion questions.
Our next book:
On Thursday, June 12, 2025 at 7pm, we will be joined by author Russell Muirhead, who will discuss his book
Previous Books (recordings of most can be found on our YouTube channel)
- Tuesday, April 15, 2025 100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting*, by Miles Rapoport
- Thursday, February 13, 2025 Tyranny of the Minority*, by Stephen Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
- December 11, 2024 Democracy Awakening*, by Heather Cox Richardson
- September 24, 2024 Democracy in Black, by Eddie S. Glauer, Jr
- April 11, 2024 Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy*, by Jamie Raskin
- January 16, 2024 The Scheme: How the Right Wing Used Dark Money to Capture the Supreme Court, by Sheldon Whitehouse and Jennifer Mueller
- September 14, 2023 Becoming A Democracy, How We can Fix the Electoral College, Gerrymandering and Our Elections* by Kristin Eberhard
- June 13, 2023 One Person, No Vote by Carol Anderson
- April 13, 2023 Who Stole The American Dream?* Hedrick Smith
- January 17, 2023 Democracy Vouchers* by Tom Latkowski
- Sept 15, 2022 Daring Democracy: Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want* with Frances Moore Lappé & Adam Eichen
- June 9, 2022 The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee
- April 14, 2022 How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
- Jan 13, 2022 Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America* with Nancy MacLean
- Oct 14, 2021 Our Time is Now by Stacey Abrams
- May 27, 2021 The Politics of Joy (and Sacrifice): The Fearless Walks and Historic Talks of Doris ‘Granny D’ Haddock*, a compilation of inspiring speeches given by Doris with Dennis Burke
- Apr 15, 2021 They Don't Represent Us* with Lawrence Lessig
- March 4, 2021 Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy* with David Daley
- January 21, 2021 Corporations are Not People: Reclaiming Democracy from Big Money and Global Corporations* with Jeff Clements
*Denotes author participation
Recordings of previous book club meetings here.
Sign upRemembering "Granny D" - Her Statement on May 24, 2000
Doris "Granny D" Haddock and 31 other people were arrested on April 21, 2000, while Granny D was reading the Declaration of Independence in the Capitol Rotunda.
Press releases and C-SPAN coverage from that day decribe the arrests.
"We no longer have proper representation," Ms. Haddock, the 90-year-old woman who walked across the continent for campaign finance reform, told a press conference on the Senate lawn before she led the group into the Rotunda. "Our elected leaders are consumed by the need to raise election funds from special interests, and they no longer are able to represent the needs of the people or of our ravaged earth. We must declare our independence from the corrupting bonds of big money."
Granny D's statement at her sentencing still resonates, today.
Read more
