American democracy is in crisis. According to Gallup, only 34% of Americans are satisfied with how it’s functioning—a historic low. Trust in government and institutions is eroding. There is a question facing all of us: Where do we go from here?

Join Jill Lepore, author of We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution, and Danielle Allen, author of Justice by Means of Democracy and founder of Partners in Democracy, for a vital conversation about the state of our democracy, America's foundational documents, and the role that storytelling plays in shaping our nation’s narrative and molding the arguments for political reform. Come with questions and leave with practical ways to get involved in efforts to fight for, write about, and strengthen our democratic systems.

Rishi Reddi, author and steering committee member of the Massachusetts chapter of Writers for Democratic Action, will moderate the conversation.

This event is co-sponsored by the MA chapter of Writers for Democratic Action.

Jill Lepore is the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and professor of law at Harvard Law School. She is also a staff writer at The New Yorker. Her many books include the international bestseller These Truths: A History of the United States. She was finalist for a Pulitzer Prize for her book, New York Burning. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her latest book is entitled We the People: A history of the U.S. Constitution.

Danielle Allen is James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University. She is also Director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at the Harvard Kennedy School and Director of the Democratic Knowledge Project-Learn, a research lab focused on civic education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The author of many acclaimed books, her latest is entitled Justice by means of Democracy.

Rishi Reddi is a lawyer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, working in the areas of climate policy and environmental justice. The PEN New England award-winning author of Karma and Other Stories and the novel Passage West, she sits on the board of directors for the National Book Critics Circle and the steering committee of the Massachusetts chapter of Writers for Democratic Action.

Writing for Change: Democracy in Crisis