Welcome to the “Population Connection Page Turners” book club! Meetings to discuss books or long-form publications relevant to population issues are held quarterly.
Joining a Population Connection Page Turners meeting offers an opportunity to expand your knowledge and meet other Population Connection members and Population Connection staff. Please reach out to engage@popconnect.org if you have any questions about the club or how to participate. We hope you’ll be able to join us!
*Please note that selection for book club does not constitute an endorsement of the ideas, themes, or theories within each book, and does not necessarily represent the views of Population Connection or its staff. All thoughts expressed belong to the authors of chosen books.*
Upcoming Meeting
Progress: How One Idea Built Civilization and Now Threatens to Destroy It
Progress has built cities, flattened mountains, charted the globe, delved into the oceans and space, created wealth, opportunity, and remarkable innovation, and ushered in a new epoch unique in our planet’s 4.5-billion-year history.
But the modern story of progress is also a very dangerous fiction. It shapes our sense of what progress means, and justifies what we will do to achieve it—no matter the cost. The book calls attention to how we continue to subscribe to a set of ideas about dominion, growth, extraction, and expansion. Yet these same ideas that have fueled our success now threaten the existence of all species on a planet in crisis.
Geographer Samuel Miller McDonald offers a new perspective on the myths upon which the modern world is built, highlighting its destructive lineage and proposing an urgent alternative.
Written by: Samuel Miller McDonald
Date: November 19th, 2026
Time: 4pm ET/1pm PT
Register for the November Meeting!
Find the book on bookshop.org
*We don’t record book club meetings, so tune in live, if you can, to catch the discussions!
FAQs
Yes! Even if you aren’t a member of Population Connection, the book club is open to anyone interested in reading and discussing books that cover population-related issues. We welcome new members and encourage you to bring a friend!
Our book club meets bi-monthly for hour-long discussions.
To join our book club, register for the upcoming meeting through the blue “Register Here” button found above. Registering for a meeting automatically adds you to our Book Club email list so you will receive an invitation to all upcoming discussions.
Our book club explores both fiction and non-fiction that grapples with population-related issues such as demography, climate change, health and human rights, and sustainable development. One memorable gathering even had us immersed in a sci-fi novel! You can check out the “Past Meetings” section below for a comprehensive list of the books we’ve discussed at previous meetings.
Participants will need to procure each book. We encourage book club participants to find the books at their local library or locally-owned bookstore. However, if that’s not possible or convenient, all books are available to order online and may be available on Audible for audio listening.
You do not have to finish the book to participate. We still encourage you to call in and share your thoughts on the portions of the book you did read, or just to listen in– the choice is up to you!
Your level of engagement is entirely up to you. You’re welcome to call in and just listen to the discussion. You don’t have to turn your camera on during the meeting either. We understand that everyone has different comfort levels, so feel free to participate with your camera off and muted. We’re happy to have you tuning in and listening!
Yes! We welcome book suggestions from our members. After each meeting, we send a survey to vote on the next book we’ll discuss. You can also email us the title, author, and a brief book description you would like us to consider. We will review all suggestions and choose books based on their relevance and appeal to our members.
No, we do not record meetings to ensure the privacy of our attendees and encourage open and candid conversations.
Book Selections
2026 Meetings
February
Post-Growth: Life after Capitalism – By Tim Jackson
May
Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life – By Ferris Jabr
August
After Dobbs: How the Supreme Court Ended Roe but Not Abortion – By David S. Cohen and Carole Joffe
November
Progress: How One Idea Built Civilization and Now Threatens to Destroy It – By Samuel Miller McDonald
2025 Meetings
February
Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet – By Hannah Ritchie
May
What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures – By Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
August
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2024 – By Bill McKibben and Jaime Green
November
Ejaculate Responsibly: A Whole New Way to Think About Abortion – By Gabrielle Blair
2024 Meetings
February
As Long as the Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock – By Dina Gilio-Whitaker
May
Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother – By Peggy O’Donnell Heffington
August
A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future – By David Attenborough
November
Intertwined: Women, Nature, and Climate Justice – By Rebecca Kormos
2023 Meetings
February
The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having—or Being Denied—an Abortion – By Dr. Diana Greene Foster
May
Walking with Gorillas: The Journey of an African Wildlife Vet – By Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka
August
Earth for All: A Survival Guide for Humanity – By Sandrine Dixson-Decleve, Owen Gaffney, Jayati Ghosh, Jorgen Randers, Johan Rockstrom, and Per Espen Stoknes
November
Nomad Century: How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World – By Gaia Vince
2022 Meetings
January
The Book of Hope – By Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams
March
Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World – By Katharine Hayhoe
June
8 Billion and Counting: How Sex, Death, and Migration Shape Our World – By Jennifer D. Sciubba
August
Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist – By Kate Raworth
November
The Ministry for the Future – By Kim Stanley Robinson
2021 Meetings
March
One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger – By Matthew Yglesias
May
Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future – By Elizabeth Kolbert
July
Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth? – By Alan Weisman
September
The Human Tide: How Population Shaped the Modern World – By Paul Morland
November
The New Climate War – By Michael E. Mann