Welcome to new subscribers! Scroll down to see the guest speakers, book club authors, and happy hour guests coming up!
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.)
NOTE ON SCHEDULING AND ZOOM LINKS:
Zoom links for guest speakers are sent three hours before the event (I do not send these days in advance, so if the email has a date in the future, that is my error!) I encourage you to join The Freedom Academy chat — moving forward, I’ll send a reminder on the day of speaker events as backup, as well. 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!
Happy Hour with special guest of the Talking Feds Substack (and the Talking Feds podcast) (Sunday, August 23, 5 p.m. EDT). Harry is a dear friend and one of the best legal analysts I know — I’m so excited to have him join us to give us his takes on whatever fresh hell has come up by then.
Coming up:
Jill and Philip Fields, former FBI intelligence analysts and hosts of the Forking Off podcast (Tuesday, September 15, at 2 p.m. EDT). Jill and Philip left the FBI last year when they realized they were being asked to choose between their jobs and the oath they took when they joined the Bureau. They chose the latter. I’ll talk to them about what it means to face the choice of whether to stay or go when your values are on the line.
Ed Brooks, Executive Director of The Oxford Character Project (Date/Time TBA). I had an amazing conversation with Professor Brooks several weeks ago about the work at the Oxford Character Project, which trains leaders through the philosophy of virtue ethics. One thing I have really found interesting in my research is the way different branches of moral philosophy find their way into the moral codes that we live by. This will be a great talk to learn about virtue ethics and the role that it plays in your worldview!
The Freedom Academy Book Club
In the past I have typically done a book selection every quarter, but I got more ambitious for 2026 and try to do one each month — too many interesting books and cool authors! Check out the selections below:
AUGUST (Wednesday, August 26, 1-2 p.m.): One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps by Andrea Pitzer. Is it OK to call the warehouses being built across the U.S. as “concentration camps”? Andrea Pitzer 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.
SEPTEMBER (Wednesday, September 30, 12-1 p.m. EDT)): The Sisterhood of Ravensbrück: How an Intrepid Band of Frenchwomen Resisted the Nazis in Hitler’s All-Female Concentration Camp by Lynne Olson, co-hosted with . Ravensbrück was the only all-female German concentration camp, and comprised largely of political prisoners from the French resistance. At a time when women’s contributions and agency are being erased in many ways here in the U.S., this story s an important reminder of the role of extraordinary women in history and their impact on the world. I am thrilled that Lynne will be able to join to talk about this story of courage and resistance under horrific circumstances.
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!
‘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
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