Winning the Earthquake: Book Launch Brunch with Lorissa Rinehart and Josie Cox
About the Event
Join us for a special fireside brunch with Lorissa Rinehart, author of Winning the Earthquake, a biography of Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress. Rinehart explores Rankin's extraordinary life as a suffragist, pacifist, and workers' rights advocate who defied political norms and sexism at every turn— introducing the bill that would become the 19th Amendment, advocating for sweeping democratic reforms, and remaining a staunch pacifist regardless of the personal cost. In conversation with journalist, author, and broadcaster Josie Cox, discover how one woman's courage to stand alone shaped the course of American history.
Limited spots available.
About Lorissa Rinehart
Lorissa Rinehart is a celebrated women’s historian, author, and public speaker. Her writing explores the powerful intersections of women’s history, politics, war, and peace.
Her latest book, Winning The Earthquake: How Jeannette Rankin Defied All Odds to Become America’s First Congresswoman was called "An illuminating biography,” by Publishers Weekly and “Gripping from start to finish,” by acclaimed historian Clara Bingham, Winning The Earthquake is the first authoritative biography of this trailblazing female politician in American history.
Her debut book, First to the Front: The Untold Story of Dickey Chapelle, Trailblazing Female War Correspondent (St. Martin’s Press), received rave reviews from The Wall Street Journal, The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Publishers Weekly, among numerous other publications.
Through her weekly newsletter and podcast, The Female Body Politic, Lorissa offers insightful analysis of contemporary events, drawing on 250 years of women’s engagement in American politics. She is also the co-founder of The Santa Barbara Literary Festival, a two day celebration of writers, readers, and storytellers launching May 2026.
About Josie Cox
Josie Cox is a journalist, author, broadcaster and public speaker. She’s worked on staff for Reuters, The Independent and The Wall Street Journal. As a freelancer, she’s written for Bloomberg, Business Insider, The Times, Salon, The Washington Post, Fast Company, Guardian, MSNBC, Fortune, Forbes and many other publications. She also writes a regular column for The Spectator.
Josie has appeared on CNN, ABC, PBS, CNBC, public radio and a host of other networks. She contributes to the BBC, both as a writer and broadcaster and is a founding editor of The Persistent, for which she writes weekly.