Civic engagement correspondent Meg Hamlin-Black talks to Rebecca Davis, co-director and producer of the 2023 documentary Join or Die, a film about why you should join a club, and why the fate of America depends on it. The doc follows the story of America's civic unraveling through the journey of Robert Putnam, whose legendary "Bowling Alone" research into American community decline may hold the answers to our democracy's present crisis. They also discuss the joy of re-reading a book and the physicality of objects. During the Last Chapter they discuss: what is a book that you hated?

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Books

Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam

Camera Lucida by Roland Barthes

Woodworking by Emily St. James

The Memory Palace by Nate DiMeo

Media

Join or Die (2023)

Sentimental Value (2025)

Other

Join or Die (website)

Join 101 (newsletter)

39 - Join a Club, Save Our Democracy (No Really) with Rebecca Davis