Let's do the reading
It's happening!
It’s official: The Progress Report Book and Movie Club is kicking off this coming week. We will be reading If It Sounds Like a Quack: A Journey to the Fringes of Modern Medicine by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling.
The book is a compulsively readable and illuminating look at the various social, political, technological, and individual forces that gave rise to the conspiracy-addled, scam-hustling, anti-science mob that is staging a hostile takeover of American healthcare. It’s imperative that we understand the players behind these far-right movements, how they operate, and where they came from. Luckily, this book is funny, too!
Hongoltz-Hetling’s original reporting, eye for details, and expansive research will help you understand just how we wound up with a literal worm-brained anti-vaxxer in charge of the nation’s health and safety. Covid wasn’t so much the turning point as the straw that broke the camel’s back.
I’ll be launching a new Substack conversation thread for people to discuss the book (I’ll send out the link to paid subscribers), and participants should feel free to comment whenever they’d like, reply to individual remarks in subthreads, and introduce new topics related to the reading (including news when it’s relevant). I’m sure other conversations will crop up, too!
Once we get going, I’ll take a vote on when and how often people want to meet over Zoom to discuss whatever we’re reading. I’m thinking once every few weeks so that it’s low-obligation for people, but I’m flexible. If people don’t want to meet on Zoom, we could also move to Discord.
After we finish the book, we will sometimes have a live discussion with the author, where people can share their thoughts and ask questions.
The book club is for paid subscribers; if you want to join us but money is tight, just let me know and I’ll comp you in.
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