Discuss the ever-hardening fractures in politics, culture, and social life with a bestselling journalist and a political scientist who both focus on American polarization.

In their recent books, Jeff Sharlet and Lilliana Mason have both looked for answers to why American politics have become so deeply and seemingly irreparably divided. In The Undertow, Sharlet attempts to understand how, over the last decade, reaction has morphed into delusion, social division into distrust, distrust into paranoia, and hatred into fantasies—sometimes realities—of violence. In Radical American Partisanship, Mason and co-author Nathan Kalmoe examine the rise of radical partisanship among ordinary Americans and the risks that it poses for American democracy.

Sharlet and Mason speak with Nermeen Shaikh, producer and co-host of Democracy Now!, about the fissures in American life and what they might signal for the days ahead.

Presented in partnership with SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

To join the event in-person | Doors will open 30 minutes before the program begins. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

To join the livestream | A livestream of this event will be available on the NYPL event page. To receive an email reminder shortly in advance of the event, please be sure to register! If you encounter any issues, please join us on NYPL's YouTube channel.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Lilliana Mason is an SNF Agora Institute Associate Professor of Political Science. She is author of Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity and co-author, with Nathan P. Kalmoe, of Radical American Partisanship: Mapping Violent Hostility, Its Causes, and the Consequences for Democracy. She received her PhD in political psychology from Stony Brook University and her BA in politics from Princeton University. Her research on partisan identity, partisan bias, social sorting, and American social polarization has been published in journals such as American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Public Opinion Quarterly, and Political Behavior, and featured in media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and National Public Radio.

Nermeen Shaikh is a co-host at Democracy Now! She is the author of The Present as History: Critical Perspectives on Global Power published by Columbia University Press. 

Jeff Sharlet is a contributing editor for Vanity Fair and best-selling author or editor of seven books, including The Family, adapted into a Netflix documentary series. He is the winner of the National Magazine Award for Reporting, the Molly Ivins Prize, and the Outspoken Award, among other honors. He is the Frederick Sessions Beebe ’35 Professor in the Art of Writing at Dartmouth College and lives in Vermont.

READ Radical American Partisanship: 

• Borrow: NYPL Catalog 


• E-Book app: SimplyE, available on iOS and Android

READ The Undertow: 

• Borrow: NYPL Catalog 


• E-Book app: SimplyE, available on iOS and Android

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ACCESSIBILITY

In-Person | Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue. You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template. This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs. 

Livestream | Captions and a transcript will be provided. Media used over the course of the conversation will be accompanied by alt text and/or audio description. You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.

CONNECT

Please submit all press inquiries to Sara Beth Joren at least 48 hours before the event: email sarabethjoren@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.

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LIVE from NYPL is made possible by the continuing generosity of Celeste Bartos, Mahnaz Ispahani Bartos and Adam Bartos, the Margaret and Herman Sokol Public Education Endowment Fund, and the support of Library patrons and friends.

This program is made possible by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).

Courtesy Lilliana Mason
Courtesy Nermeen Shaikh
Jeff Sharlet © Julia Rabig