Amplify: How to Use the Power of Connection to Engage, Take Action, and Build a Better World

by Adam Met PhD, Heather Landy (Editor)

Overview

A blueprint for boosting your activism and building support for the causes you care about, featuring fan-building tactics from the music industry and the voices of today’s most passionate change-makers

“This book shines a light on a wealth of new strategies to help reach people in ways that are both authentic and resonant.”—John Kerry

From stadium acts to indie singer-songwriters, musicians have pioneered ways of sparking passion, building awareness, and catalyzing engagement. Now imagine if social movements—from the fight to protect the planet to campaigns promoting global health or LGBTQIA+ rights—had the same fervent support as your favorite artists.

Adam Met, climate advocate, educator, and member of the multiplatinum band AJR, gained firsthand experience growing an audience from the ground up as the band progressed from playing in living rooms to selling out arenas. With award-winning journalist Heather Landy, Met shows how to apply fan-building strategies to social movements in exciting, inventive ways. Amplify is a playbook for developing passionate supporters (i.e., fans) utilizing the art and science of engagement, collaboration, and authentic connection, with tactics that will inspire people to carry your message to the world and spur others to act.

Amplify’s innovative tool kit will help you find your voice and maximize your impact in the world of social progress to create the change you want to see.

This movement-building manifesto includes cutting-edge research and strategies from today’s most effective organizers, engagers, and thinkers, including extensive interviews with

• Adam Grant (Wharton professor) on embracing disagreement within a movement
• Christiana Figueres (Paris Climate Agreement architect) on finding a path to solutions
• Andrew Yang (former U.S. presidential candidate) on becoming the front person for your ideas
• David Hogg (March for Our Lives co-founder) on the challenges of building a youth-led movement
• Chi Ossé (youngest-ever NYC council member) on working outside the box but within the system
• Sue Doster (NYC Pride co-chair) on keeping movements nimble and relevant
• Glenn Beck (conservative commentator) on finding common ground
• Jim Gaffigan (comedian) on setting and achieving goals
• Bill Nye (scientist and entertainer) on communication that connects with people
• Ben Folds (musician) on staying in sync with your audience
• Jamie Drummond (ONE Campaign co-founder) on the beauty of purposeful compromise
• Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo (hip-hop scholar) on the intersection of activism and history
• Wendy Laister (Duran Duran manager) on harnessing the energy of live events
• Clyde Lawrence and Jordan Cohen (of the band Lawrence) on pressing your argument
• MAX (musician) on the power of collaboration
• Sam Hollander (songwriter) on aligning different perspectives
• Astro Teller (co-founder of Alphabet’s X division) on taking moonshots

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593735909
Publisher:	Harmony/Rodale/Convergent
Publication date:	06/03/2025
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	60,952
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Adam Met, PhD, seamlessly transitions between his roles as a musician, educator, and advocate. As the bassist in the multi-Platinum band AJR, he has played for millions of fans worldwide. He is the co-founder of the climate research and advocacy nonprofit Planet Reimagined and teaches about climate campaigning and policy at Columbia University.

Heather Landy is a senior editor at Bloomberg News and a former executive editor of Quartz. Her reporting has also appeared in publications including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where she earned a Gerald Loeb Award for beat reporting.

Editorial Reviews

The climate challenge is also a challenge of human communication, connection, and empathy. This book shines a light on these intertwined dynamics and contains a wealth of new strategies to help reach people in ways that are both authentic and resonant.”—John Kerry, 68th Secretary of State and co-executive chair, Galvanize Climate Solutions

“Whether you’re building a movement or just exploring ways to get involved in a cause, Amplify can help. We need fresh thinking to accelerate social change, particularly around climate, and the ideas in this book are creative and easy to implement.”—Van Jones, author of Beyond the Messy Truth

“If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the horror of the headlines and wondering what you can do to help, this book is made for you. Chock-full of practical and creative tools, Adam Met’s timely, timeless treatise defies cynicism, demystifies change-making, and makes you feel like you can actually make a difference. Amplify is essential reading for artists and activists alike.”—Shaina Taub, Tony Award–winning songwriter and performer

“As artists, and as citizens, it is vital that we find not just the strength but the strategies to keep fighting for social progress. This book will help you find both.”—Leslie Odom Jr., Grammy and Tony Award–winning singer and actor

“Amplify uncovers, explains, and celebrates the connections between music and social movements. It reminds us that we can and should use the skills and passion we learn from working in the arts to help make a positive difference in our communities. Not only is it a practical guide to getting engaged and bringing others along for the ride, but it challenges us to build movements for transformational change.”—Maxwell Frost, the first Gen Z member of Congress (from the foreword)

From the Publisher