Ron Wyden + Ezra Klein: It Takes Chutzpah

Join us for an in-person event with Democratic Senator from Oregon Ron Wyden for the launch of his new book It Takes Chutzpah. Joining Ron in conversation is American journalist, political analyst Ezra Klein. This event will be hosted in the Strand Book Store's 3rd floor Rare Book Room at 828 Broadway on 12th Street.

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In this inspirational call to action, a senior U.S. politician reveals how to accomplish goals with a combination of strong allies, persistence, and attention—that is, chutzpah.

It Takes Chutzpah is an inspirational call to action by a senior U.S. politician, describing how Americans of all age groups, persuasions, and occupations can defy convention, chart new pathways for their communities, schools, at work and in life. US Senator Ron Wyden is widely praised for coming up with sensible-sounding ideas no one else had thought of and making the counter-intuitive political alliances that prove helpful in passing bills. In It Takes Chutzpah, he offers a progressive leader’s manifesto for being a courageous warrior during turbulent times.

“Chutzpah” is a Yiddish word that describes a trait that many Jews consider in-born. Ron explores chutzpah’s long history and many interpretations and reclaims the word chutzpah for a new American generation, showing how it can be used for good to reclaim idealism and enact positive change. He shares “Ron’s 12 Rules of Chutzpah” that enable any individual or group to achieve their objectives, including:

1. If you want to make change, you’ve got to make noise.

2.In a world where everyone thinks and acts for the short-term, always play the long game.

3. Leading is coaching: Whether in legislation or in life, you’ve got to bring people and ideas together around a shared goal.

Ron identifies several key values—free speech, health care, reproductive rights, a clean environment, and reigning in Big Tech—and draws on his decades of public service to stress that preserving those values means that loud brashness and boldness will be needed now more than ever.

Ron Wyden, a Democratic Senator from Oregon, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 until his 1995 election to the U.S. Senate. Oregonians—and all attentive Americans—know Wyden as a senator who listens and innovates. The son of two refugees from Nazi Germany, he was born in Wichita and lived in Chicago, St. Louis, and Washington D.C., as his father Peter Wyden, a journeyman journalist and later a best-selling author, pursued his career and curiosity. You can follow him @www.facebook.com/wyden.

Ezra Klein is an Opinion columnist and podcast host at the New York Times. Prior to his work at the Times, Klein founded and launched Vox, the popular explanatory news site. As Vox’s editor-in-chief, and then it’s editor-at-large, he helped create, and then executive produced, Explained on Netflix. He also launched shows on HBO and YouTube. Prior to his work at Vox, he launched the Wonkblog vertical at The Washington Post, building out a new and popular form of policy reporting, and was a regular guest host on MSNBC. In 2020, Klein published Why We’re Polarized, a bestselling examination of the forces driving polarization, and paralyzing politics, in the United States.

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