WITHOUT SO VERY MANY PEOPLE, THIS BOOK QUITE LITERALLY would not exist. Writing a book is at once an incredibly solitary endeavor and a deeply collective one, as many writers have observed before me, and I have been lucky in being surrounded by people who illustrate what solidarity really means.
First and foremost, this book would be nothing without over a hundred people who took the time to talk to me about their decisions to cause trouble. That they were willing to entrust me with their stories is something for which I will always be grateful. I hope that I came close to doing them justice. They are the ones who will change the world. I’m just lucky enough to get to write about it.
Lydia Wills, gem among agents, friend and fighter, believed in this book even when I wasn’t sure that I did.
My editor, Katy O’Donnell, understood immediately what I was trying to do and improved this book in countless ways with her sharp edits and wise guidance. Alessandra Bastagli, Kristina Fazzolaro, Lindsay Fradkoff, Clive Priddle, Sandra Beris, and the whole Nation Books and PublicAffairs team always made this first-time author feel like she had something important to say. Laura Feuillebois was always there when I needed her and transcribed so many of these interviews, and Kathy Streckfus did the necessary, hard, and often thankless work of copyediting—writers, thank your copyeditors! Also thanks to Daniel LoPreto, who acquired this book and gave me invaluable early advice that helped shape it. Taya Kitman, Roz Hunter, Annelise Whitley, and everyone at the Nation Institute gave this itinerant freelancer a journalistic home; I am grateful every day to be part of the Nation family. Thanks to everyone at the Lannan Foundation, whose generous support allowed me time and space to write.
I remain indebted to many wonderful people who shaped my writing and the way I see the world; to Melanie McKay, Shenid Bhayroo, Linn Washington, James Marra, Andrew Mendelson, Carolyn Kitch, Larry Stains, and the inimitable Edward Trayes, who all helped teach me to write and gave me confidence to enter the weird world of journalism in the first place.
Esther Kaplan has given me many wonderful pieces of advice over the past few years, but I am most thankful that she pointed me in the direction of Laura Flanders, who was the best mentor a young journalist could have had, whose insight, wit, generosity, and guidance made me a far better reporter. Working with Laura and with the whole GRITtv crew—including Danya Abt, Sam Alcoff, Gina Kim, Rebecca McDonald, David Rowley, Diane Shamis, Tami Woronoff, and Anna Lekas Miller, who I love to brag got her start as my intern—gave me the grounding that made this book and all the work I have done since possible.
I have had so many excellent colleagues over the years that this book spans. Tana Ganeva, Lauren Kelley, Sarah Seltzer, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, Kristen Gwynne, Lynn Parramore, Adele Stan, and the rest of my former AlterNet colleagues remain friends and continue to turn out sharp and necessary work. Rebecca Burns, Sady Doyle, Miles Kampf-Lassin, and my In These Times comrades demonstrated real solidarity through our union campaign and beyond. As a freelancer, I have been blessed with incisive yet kind editors, who made me better and whose guidance made this book possible, among them Lizzy Ratner, Jessica Stites, Ruth Conniff, Richard Kim, Jessica Reed, Leslie Thatcher, Bhaskar Sunkara, Caroline Preston, Kera Bolonik, Akiba Solomon, Laura Marsh, Blake Zeff, Nico Lauricella, Ben Frumin, Jodi Jacobson, Jim Naureckas, Gabriel Arana, Peter Hogness, James Downie, and Alana Price. An extra note of gratitude to Sarah Leonard, as well as Natasha Lewis, Josh Eidelson, and Michelle Chen, for making my wild idea of a labor podcast come true and last for over three years. Thanks as well to Kaavya Asoka, Colin Kinniburgh, Michael Kazin, David Marcus, and everyone at Dissent for the editorial home, and to Steve Fraser for giving me the gift of “Under the Radar.” Katrina vanden Heuvel took seriously my rants about social media and made me feel that I’d always be part of The Nation.
Jeremy Scahill, Matt Browner Hamlin, Max Fraser, Stephen Lerner, Ari Melber, and Anthony Arnove backed me early on when no one knew who I was. Without them, this book would not have been possible, because no one would care what I had to say.
An argument with Erik Loomis sparked the idea for this book, and something Rick Rowley said to me at a party crystallized it. Denise Scalfi first expressed interest in this book and confidence in my ability to write it, and Astra Taylor gave me invaluable early advice that helped me understand how to make it happen. Max Berger, Yotam Marom, Molly Crabapple, Nick Espinosa, Manissa McCleave Maharawal, Kirin Kanakkanatt, Kenzo Shibata, Chris Maisano, Mariame Kaba, and Nastaran Mohit indulged me in long conversations about what is happening in the world and where we’re going and why.
Cayden Mak, Yasmin Nair, Julia Carrie Wong, Anne Elizabeth Moore, Brett Banditelli, Mariya Strauss, Victoria Law, Kate Bahn, Sheila Bapat, Victoria Goff, Tressie McMillan Cottom, s. e. smith, Liliana Segura, Jamie Kilstein, Allison Kilkenny, Bryce Covert, Michelle Kinsey Bruns, Raven Rakia, Susie Cagle, Biola Jeje, Julieta Salgado, Laura Clawson, Sarah Nicole Prickett, Paul Mason, Deanna Zandt, Marcy Wheeler, Joanne McNeil, Liza Featherstone, Sarah McCarry, Helaine Olen, Joe Dinkin, Brenda Coughlin, and Travis Waldron are friends, teachers, and comrades-in-arms (or, well, words). Pat Blanchfield made the connection for one of the most interesting interviews in this book. Warren Ellis pointed Lydia Wills in my direction and made this whole process possible. David Kaib, Moe Tkacik, Dave Dayen, and Trish Kahle graciously answered my annoying questions time after time.
Rob Cruickshank, Shannon Duffy, Jeff Ordower, Alison Dreith, Nelini Stamp, Shabnam Bashiri, Jacob Lerner, Kirin Kanakkanatt, and Ivanna Gonzalez were my “fixers” who shared connections, insights, and understanding of the places they lived when I was parachuting in to report. Mike Konczal, Micah Uetricht, Meredith Clark, and Colin Kinniburgh read chapters, caught mistakes, and sharpened my understanding of key points. Sarah Feld read the whole thing and gave me important, generous, and clarifying feedback.
Thank you to my friends, without whose love and confidence I would not be here. To the GSC, all of you—you know who you are. Cortney Harding, for humor and rock ’n’ roll; Kieron Gillen, who understands me at my strangest; Phillip Anderson, Passover host extraordinaire; Janelle Asselin, creative, fierce, and brilliant; Michael Whitney, there are no words. You know. And Melissa Gira Grant, for countless emails of support, humor, outrage, and inspiration, and a friendship that dates back to high school.
My sister, my brother-in-law, and my new niece, Agnes, for whom we’re all trying to leave the world a little better. And Richard and Brigitte Frase, and Alex and Laura too, for accepting me into the family.
For my parents, who don’t share my politics but who encouraged me to read, to learn, to argue, and to question. We may not agree, but I have never, ever doubted your faith in me.
Peter Frase feeds me, supports me, argues with me, and loves me even when I wonder if I deserve it. He has made me a kinder, smarter, better person in the years he’s been in my life, and his influence is everywhere in my work.