Free and in person at Cleveland Park Library.

As a journalist, Amanda Ripley follows people who have been through a transformation to see what we can learn from them. These efforts have resulted in three award-winning, nonfiction books about different subjects: High Conflict, The Smartest Kids in the World which inspired a documentary, and The Unthinkable which became a PBS documentary on who survives disasters and why.

Her revised version of The Unthinkable, updated to include the pandemic and the role of social media and distrust in disaster response, was published just a few months ago. In it, she reveals how human fear circuits and crowd dynamics work, why our instincts sometime misfire in modern calamities, and how we can do much better.

Amanda Ripley’s journalism career began with covering courts and crime for Washington City Paper. She then spent 10 years with Time Magazine in various cities. She is a New York Times bestselling author, a Washington Post contributing columnist, and has written on wide-ranging topics like what Congress can learn from a former gang leader, the 3 ingredients missing from the news, and the untold story of Afghan women who hunted the Taliban.

She is the co-founder of Good Conflict, a media and training
company that helps people reimagine conflict. Amanda lives in Woodley Park and coaches soccer. Amanda will be in conversation with Karen Marsh, director of the Analysis and Capacity Division at FEMA. Karen works with state, local, tribal, and territorial partners to improve emergency management capabilities. She also created FEMA’s popular  PrepTalks  video series.

Amanda will be available at 6:30 pm on Nov. 12 th to sign copies of The Unthinkable which can be purchased in the Library lobby.