Next up for book club: How to Have Impossible Conversations

After spending last month with Judith Butler’s excruciating Who’s Afraid of Gender?, we’re going to move in the opposite direction (readable, practical) for our next book-club read, How to Have Impossible Conversations by Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay (notably, before he contracted Internet brain-poisoning…):

From politics and religion to workplace negotiations, ace the high-stakes conversations in your life with this indispensable guide from a persuasion expert.

In our current political climate, it seems impossible to have a reasonable conversation with anyone who has a different opinion. Whether you're online, in a classroom, an office, a town hall—or just hoping to get through a family dinner with a stubborn relative—dialogue shuts down when perspectives clash. Heated debates often lead to insults and shaming, blocking any possibility of productive discourse. Everyone seems to be on a hair trigger.

In How to Have Impossible Conversations, Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay guide you through the straightforward, practical, conversational techniques necessary for every successful conversation—whether the issue is climate change, religious faith, gender identity, race, poverty, immigration, or gun control. Boghossian and Lindsay teach the subtle art of instilling doubts and opening minds. They cover everything from learning the fundamentals for good conversations to achieving expert-level techniques to deal with hardliners and extremists. This book is the manual everyone needs to foster a climate of civility, connection, and empathy.

We won’t be able to meet before mid-to-late October due to my schedule. But please feel free to start talking about the book here—and sharing your own s