Ok, so there is a thing I am genuinely confused about. I read the book a while ago and have been following the broader “Yimby” discourse for a long time. And I thought it was thing but it seems like there are actually sort of two different ideas here that may support a lot of the same reforms on paper but are actually kind of diametrically opposed.
\n\nSo the whole thing as it was pitched to me, as I understood it, was that Abundance was not just a sort of growth for growth sakes pursuit. That it was a pursuit of some specific higher ideal. That it was a return to the sort of utopian ambition of the mid century modernism of the past. On a practical level the idea was that the modern sort of controlled artificially constrained zoning regime was a problem. On the other side was something like a beautiful garden of density and mixed use urban life.
\n\nBut it seems like there is also this other thing that is also antagonistic to the current regulation regime. But it doesn’t like hate the mcmansion strip mall ideal, it venerates it . It wants to supercharge it, spreading vast suburban sprawl as far as the eye can see. In this model the liberated organic built world isn't a garden but rather a jungle. They seem to view the other ideal as sentimental and even an impediment to the project.
\n\nSo which is it?
\n⬆️ 3 points | 💬 25 comments
","metadata":{"score":4,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1wsg7lx","title":"Feed the Lizard - Slow Boring","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1wsg7lx/feed_the_lizard_slow_boring/","author":"mcsul","published_at":"2026-09-28T14:31:23+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.slowboring.com/p/feed-the-lizard
\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 21 points | 💬 111 comments
","metadata":{"score":25,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1wrlimc","title":"Matt Yglesias- The Republican urge to start wars in the Middle East.","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1wrlimc/matt_yglesias_the_republican_urge_to_start_wars/","author":"tuck5903","published_at":"2026-09-27T14:24:13+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.slowboring.com/p/the-republican-urge-to-start-wars
\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 57 points | 💬 26 comments
","metadata":{"score":94,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1wr3n86","title":"After Ezra's \"pacing the frontier isn't enough\" column, I made a quiz that maps where people land on AI","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1wr3n86/after_ezras_pacing_the_frontier_isnt_enough/","author":"soldieroftok","published_at":"2026-09-26T22:35:09+00:00","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\nEzra's Sept. 20 column argued that \"pacing the frontier isn't enough\" and that labs should be stopped from having AI build the next generation of AI. Whatever you think of that, the politics around it don't sort neatly into left and right. Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon both back pausing new AI data centers but want opposite things on China, and some of the sharpest AI skeptics want the companies reined in as hard as the people most worried about extinction do.
\n\nSo I made a quiz that tries to map it. It scores you on how big a deal AI is, how hard to rein in the companies, and whether to race China or make a deal (plus a few other scales), gives you one of eight types, and shows which of 22 public figures you're closest to.
\n\nEzra is on the map. I placed him near the corner the quiz calls \"Hit the Brakes\" and right next to \"Global Rulebook,\" since he frames loss of control as something the US and China should be able to agree to prevent. I'm curious whether people here think that's the right read, and where you land relative to him.
\n\nThe public figure placements are best guesses from what people have said publicly, so corrections are welcome. Hope this is fun/helpful for folks!
\n⬆️ 28 points | 💬 11 comments
","metadata":{"score":61,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1wq0zgm","title":"The Single Smartest Case Against AI Doom - Plain English with Derek Thompson","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1wq0zgm/the_single_smartest_case_against_ai_doom_plain/","author":"CII_Guy","published_at":"2026-09-25T16:32:12+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/1Q3ZSJItHf8BJrHa7HtjOP?si=6vJzXv3ES42hPx-sKSL3qQ
\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 19 points | 💬 0 comments
","metadata":{"score":38,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1wprg3s","title":"What Does Abdul El-Sayed Believe?","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1wprg3s/what_does_abdul_elsayed_believe/","author":"dwaxe","published_at":"2026-09-25T09:07:40+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-abdul-el-sayed.html
\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 24 points | 💬 56 comments
","metadata":{"score":64,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1wp6qcx","title":"How worried should we be about AI?","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1wp6qcx/how_worried_should_we_be_about_ai/","author":"topicality","published_at":"2026-09-24T16:43:31+00:00","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Argument podcast joins in on the AI discourse. Relevant to EK due to it being a big topic of his
\n⬆️ 19 points | 💬 124 comments
","metadata":{"score":24,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1wog58c","title":"After today’s episode, I would like to hear a discussion of AI’s potential impact on labor that isn’t mostly focused on software developers.","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1wog58c/after_todays_episode_i_would_like_to_hear_a/","author":"tuck5903","published_at":"2026-09-23T19:45:11+00:00","content":"\n\n\nHere is a [list] (https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Careers/careers-largest-employment.aspx) of the most common jobs in the US today. Most of the top 10 occupations are low paying fields like home health aides, retail clerks, stockers, laborers, etc. However, if you listened to the portion of today’s episode with Huang focused on AI’s impact on jobs and the labor market, you’d think that the most common job in America was software developer, and that most Americans had to do things like learning differential equations in college. This has been a common theme with almost every episode featuring someone from the AI industry.
\n\nI’m rarely an “Ezra needs to push the guests harder” advocate. But I would really like to hear him press these guys on how they think AI will impact the jobs that most Americans actually do, instead of yet another discussion about how computer science students have to learn to review AI code now, instead of writing it themselves. Occasionally you’ll get a brief discussion about white collar work like customer service (number 8 on the list), but that’s about it. Clearly you’d have to have your head in the sand to deny that AI is now capable enough to massively impact programming, science, and other knowledge work. But when it comes to the idea that AI can automate vast swathes of low skilled service work, you’ll get the same asides Huang deployed today about how new technology always creates more jobs than it destroys, before pivoting back to AI’s impact on coding.* What impact will AI have on an overnight stocker at Walmart, for example?
\n\n*as a side note, every single one of these AI industry figures seems to assume that regular Americans are all itching to build a bunch of custom apps for themselves.
\n⬆️ 102 points | 💬 132 comments
","metadata":{"score":118,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1wo8nxc","title":"Jensen Huang Is Building Your Future","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1wo8nxc/jensen_huang_is_building_your_future/","author":"dwaxe","published_at":"2026-09-23T15:10:20+00:00","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 3 points | 💬 1 comments
","metadata":{"score":7,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1wo36ud","title":"Opinion | Jensen Huang vs. the A.I. Doomers","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1wo36ud/opinion_jensen_huang_vs_the_ai_doomers/","author":"EsotericPharo","published_at":"2026-09-23T11:20:11+00:00","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 80 points | 💬 581 comments
","metadata":{"score":90,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1wn8x72","title":"Slow Boring: Why I send my kid to low-income urban public schools","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1wn8x72/slow_boring_why_i_send_my_kid_to_lowincome_urban/","author":"Dreadedvegas","published_at":"2026-09-22T13:03:12+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.slowboring.com/p/why-i-send-my-kid-to-low-income-urban
\n\n\n\nMatt Yglesias writes on the recent Nikole Hannah-Jones article (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/magazine/ny-public-schools-black-students-segregation.html?unlocked\\_article\\_code=1.ClE.KPoY.AiZ5r0aDhYUU&smid=nytcore-ios-share)
\n\nMatt comments about how he sends his son to a similar school but I think the thing that Matt misses is Hannah-Jones did not send her daughter to her local school she chose PS307 which was outside her neighborhood.
\n\nMatt is sending his son to a school in a community he actively lives in.
\n\nMatt doesn’t really dive into the details or join the pile on of Hannah Jones but more to point out that not all schools are the same and its important to engage with specifics of local situations.
\n⬆️ 120 points | 💬 105 comments
","metadata":{"score":131,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1wlhv1b","title":"We’re Not Losing Control of A.I. We’re Giving It Away.","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1wlhv1b/were_not_losing_control_of_ai_were_giving_it_away/","author":"dwaxe","published_at":"2026-09-20T14:00:37+00:00","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 70 points | 💬 3 comments
","metadata":{"score":73,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1wl7t0l","title":"We’re Not Losing Control of A.I. We’re Giving It Away.","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1wl7t0l/were_not_losing_control_of_ai_were_giving_it_away/","author":"dwaxe","published_at":"2026-09-20T05:07:12+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/opinion/ai-ban-self-improvement-recursive-models.html
\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 123 points | 💬 365 comments
","metadata":{"score":124,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1wjudcg","title":"Ezra commentary on US/Canada Schism?","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1wjudcg/ezra_commentary_on_uscanada_schism/","author":"DueComplaint8768","published_at":"2026-09-18T16:06:15+00:00","content":"\n\n\nI am pretty behind on the show, but so much has happened in the last few months (and even more in the last few days!) regarding the despicable treatment of Canada by the US regime. Has Ezra commented on this in any real capacity?
\n⬆️ 15 points | 💬 33 comments
","metadata":{"score":14,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1wjmy31","title":"The Truth About the Mississippi Miracle","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1wjmy31/the_truth_about_the_mississippi_miracle/","author":"downforce_dude","published_at":"2026-09-18T10:53:51+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/plain-english-with-derek-thompson/id1594471023?i=1000790493874
\n\n\n\nEducation outcomes have been getting worse across much of the world, with reading and math scores falling to historic lows. The U.S. has seen some of the steepest declines in decades.
\n\nBut, why does Mississippi look so different?
\n\nMississippi education reformer Rachel Canter has been at the forefront of the state’s dramatic improvement in reading and math over the past few decades. Today, Derek is joined by Rachel to discuss the so-called “Mississippi miracle” (a name she says misses the mark!). Together they break down how years of policy changes and implementation transformed the state’s schools and how other states can replicate their success.
\n⬆️ 96 points | 💬 181 comments
","metadata":{"score":92,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1wjedcm","title":"Imaginary Enemies: One of the major causes of political polarization is the fact that people dislike their political opponents for views most don’t actually hold - a tendency fueled in large part by politically biased media on both sides.","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1wjedcm/imaginary_enemies_one_of_the_major_causes_of/","author":"katxwoods","published_at":"2026-09-18T02:57:13+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.stevestewartwilliams.com/p/imaginary-enemies
\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 75 points | 💬 45 comments
","metadata":{"score":75,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1w3gxs1","title":"Democrats should vow to surrender in the Canada trade war - Slow Boring","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1w3gxs1/democrats_should_vow_to_surrender_in_the_canada/","author":"SomethingNew65","published_at":"2026-08-31T15:22:05+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.slowboring.com/p/democrats-should-vow-to-surrender
\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 54 points | 💬 92 comments
","metadata":{"score":54,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1w3dapn","title":"I Expected Tech Fatalism. Americans Are Putting Up a Remarkable Fight Instead.","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1w3dapn/i_expected_tech_fatalism_americans_are_putting_up/","author":"brianscalabrainey","published_at":"2026-08-31T13:06:51+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/opinion/data-centers-ai-populism.html
\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 41 points | 💬 116 comments
","metadata":{"score":41,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1w14yf6","title":"Ones and tooze bond market","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1w14yf6/ones_and_tooze_bond_market/","author":"Character_Public3465","published_at":"2026-08-28T22:29:23+00:00","content":"\n\n\n⬆️ 9 points | 💬 0 comments
","metadata":{"score":21,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1w0t64f","title":"Searching for two commonly mentioned Ezrakleinisms, can't remember the episode","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1w0t64f/searching_for_two_commonly_mentioned/","author":"everhungry","published_at":"2026-08-28T15:07:54+00:00","content":"\n\n\nHiya, I am a long time listener trying to chase down two tidbits/quotes that are frequently mentioned on the show, and for the life of me I can't find them (or remember specific episodes). I found them persuasive and useful and would like to be able to cite them a bit more specifically than 'One time I heard Ezra Klein say...' (which is a sentence I already utter quite enough as is). If anyone can point me towards their source I would be very grateful.
\n\nA quote that I've heard deployed I want to say at least three times in the context of an inclusive politics, something like \"Politics will never work until you treat your fellow citizens as full people, not objects of your charity or puppets in your morality plays\". I'm way off on the specifics, but I hope that's enough to get the gist.
A poll that tested impressions of the Democrat and Republican party brands and found Republicans percieved as angry/crazy/aggressive and Democrats as preachy/condescending/controlling or similar adjectives. Again I think it comes up with some frequency but can't remember where.
Thanks and all the best,
\n\nEH
\n⬆️ 10 points | 💬 9 comments
","metadata":{"score":12,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1w0sz02","title":"The Bond Market Chaos Is Coming for Us All","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1w0sz02/the_bond_market_chaos_is_coming_for_us_all/","author":"dwaxe","published_at":"2026-08-28T15:00:51+00:00","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 9 points | 💬 3 comments
","metadata":{"score":16,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1w0nk8s","title":"The Bond Market Chaos Is Coming For Us All","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1w0nk8s/the_bond_market_chaos_is_coming_for_us_all/","author":"Real_Guarantee_4530","published_at":"2026-08-28T11:09:32+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ezra-klein-show/id1548604447?i=1000786458795
\n\n\n\nA lot of things are on track to get more expensive.
\nThe U.S. Treasury market is the bedrock of the global economy. When yields on those Treasuries go up, mortgages, car loans and credit cards get more expensive, and it can hit the stock market, too. And yields have been going up – to levels we haven’t seen consistently since before the Great Recession – inspiring some erratic and futile efforts from the Trump administration to push them back down.
\nSo why are yields creeping higher? What is the administration trying to do about it? And if this continues, what’s in store for the economy?
\nRobin Wigglesworth is the editor of the Financial Times blog Alphaville, a host of the podcast “The Story of Money” and the author of the forthcoming book “A Fabulous Debt: The Epic Story of How Bonds Built the Modern World.”
\nThis conversation was recorded on August 24, 2026.
\nMentioned:
\n“An Economic D-Day Is Coming for Iran” by Scott Bessent
\nBook Recommendations:
\nBarbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar
\nThe Prize by Daniel Yergin
\nLords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed
⬆️ 30 points | 💬 62 comments
","metadata":{"score":77,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1w05yp9","title":"Politics should be more boring","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1w05yp9/politics_should_be_more_boring/","author":"topicality","published_at":"2026-08-27T20:45:28+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.slowboring.com/p/politics-should-be-more-boring
\n\n\n\nThis touches on the attention economy which EK has discussed before
\n⬆️ 39 points | 💬 41 comments
","metadata":{"score":79,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vzen46","title":"The public housing miracle that never happened","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vzen46/the_public_housing_miracle_that_never_happened/","author":"topicality","published_at":"2026-08-27T00:22:55+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.theargumentmag.com/p/the-public-housing-miracle-that-never
\n\n\n\nAn essay from Jerusalem Demsas about housing. This is relevant to EK due to Abundance and YIMBY discourse
\n⬆️ 11 points | 💬 0 comments
","metadata":{"score":32,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vz1b5k","title":"My overarching reaction to the China Shock 2.0 episode: It is incredible how the U.S. is increasingly incapable of national long-term planning, especially in this era of politics.","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vz1b5k/my_overarching_reaction_to_the_china_shock_20/","author":"JulianBrandt19","published_at":"2026-08-26T16:04:59+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/21/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-brad-setser.html
\n\n\n\nWhile the recent \"China Shock\" episode covered a lot of topics, I was repeatedly struck by the guest's discussion of various long-term plans and decisions made by the Chinese state that helped engineer the outcomes we're dealing with in 2026, for better or for worse.
\n\nLong-term industrial policy, trade policy, fiscal policy, science and technology policy, energy policy, etc. The CCP, the Chinese state, or some combination of the two (however separate or comingled they are) have made or have attempted to plan for and implement policy across all of these areas with significantly longer time horizons than American policymaking ever could.
\n\nAnd while I don't think even the staunchest supporters of the CCP would concede that the global market and global trade have not also played a hand in China's modernization and economic rise, the China we see today is also a result of very deliberate and considered policymaking. Some of it has worked; some has not. But listening to this episode, you get a sense that the Chinese government and Chinese leaders actually have the will, and the space, in which to formulate, implement, and course-correct policy in terms of decades rather than 1-2 year increments. I'm not indulging some ridiculous Kissinger-esque pronouncement about how \"the Chinese civilization thinks is millennia\" or similar nonsense. But we have to still acknowledge that China's leaders and policymakers do work on a longer time horizon than ours do.
\n\nWhen I look at the U.S. in the mid-2020s, I see a country both out of coherent ideas and lacking the capacity to plan and implement long-term structural changes even if the ideas were present and fully baked. Obviously, we're not getting any of that from Trumpism, MAGA, or whatever Frankenstein's new GOP coalition emerges post-Trump. And while I think that the Democratic Party may be transforming into something with bold ideas that address certain domestic policymaking needs, you still don't hear potential frontrunners speaking seriously about what our long-term industrial policy wants to look like, which areas of science and technology will the state fund research in, what does our energy production and consumption look like in a solar and battery-centric world, what our trading relationships will look like not just post-Trump, but in the next decade or two. Instead, sadly even from candidates I like, you get \"no tax on firefighters\" and other slopulism.
\n\nAnd beyond the lack of ideas or serious thought (at least thought carried out in public discourse), I have absolutely no confidence that any of this (a) could be implemented at all, and (b) could be implemented in a way that's built to last. We will simply whipsaw from one Congress to the next, one White House to the next. No long-term planning, no consistency, no reliability in the face of allies and adversaries on the world stage. Our system appears constitutionally designed to frustrate and prevent long-term policymaking. There are simply too many chokepoints and elections too close together to implement anything lasting. And that's not even addressing federalism.
\n\nSo what do we do about this problem within the structures of a liberal democracy and constitutional republic? How can we ever hope to make long-term national policy that survives successive election cycles and changes in politics? Are we doomed to reactive whipsawing for the foreseeable future as the U.S. falls further behind?
\n⬆️ 65 points | 💬 97 comments
","metadata":{"score":173,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vyzmri","title":"Je Suis Carney - Politix","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vyzmri/je_suis_carney_politix/","author":"SomethingNew65","published_at":"2026-08-26T15:04:06+00:00","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nhttps://www.politix.fm/p/je-suis-carney
\n\n\n\nDonald Trump is accelerating America’s transformation into a banana republic, most recently by instigating a trade war against Canada and compromising the integrity of U.S. economic statistical agencies.
\n\nIn this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:
\n\nWhy Donald Trump keeps doing the same kind of stupid shit over and over again;
\n\nWhat Congress (maybe the next Congress?) could do to stop him;
\n\nThe extent to which this is driven by corruption vs. Trump’s own personality disorders.
\n\nThen, are Trump’s power rivals letting him off the hook too easily? Why are Democrats supporting protectionism for cattle ranchers rather than attacking Trump’s cronyism or attacking his broader protectionist regime? Why are civil servants silent as he calls the reliability of official U.S. economic and demographic indicators into question? Why is the Supreme Court letting him impose illegal policy for months or years at a time? And what would it take to correct all of these failures?
\n\nFurther reading:
\n\nMatt’s paean to Mark Carney.
\n\n\n\nJared Bernstein sounds the alarm over the political infiltration of the Census Bureau.
\n
⬆️ 6 points | 💬 22 comments
","metadata":{"score":13,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vyk3gs","title":"So what do we think about Ezra and him being a member the secret group Dialog ?","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vyk3gs/so_what_do_we_think_about_ezra_and_him_being_a/","author":"Bubbly-Focus8828","published_at":"2026-08-26T02:21:14+00:00","content":"\n\n\nHey y'all I'm a long time listener to Ezra Klein and recently I found out that he was/ or maybe is? A part of a secret group related to the Fascist Peter Thiel? Is this true? Like I said long time listener but i guess I have always been a long time anti Thiel too. What do you think about Ezra's response? I kind of felt alienated after they said it is people who are conspiratorial minded that are running with this narrative.
\n⬆️ 0 points | 💬 31 comments
","metadata":{"score":0,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vxwwep","title":"This Is Why People Hate the Government","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vxwwep/this_is_why_people_hate_the_government/","author":"QuestionBrain","published_at":"2026-08-25T11:16:52+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-annie-lowrey.html
\n\n\n\nIn 2024, Americans spent an average of six full workdays a year filling out government forms, according to the government’s own estimates. That’s a total of 12 billion hours, or $430 billion of uncompensated labor a year.
\n\nIt’s easy to read something like this and say: “Oh, well, government is inefficient. That’s the price we pay for nice things.” But no, it’s not. Social Security, Medicare and the Postal Service are incredibly complex programs that are easy to use. When government is hard to gain access to, it is often by design. Republicans want paying taxes to be a hellish hassle. Programs for the poor are often designed to humiliate, punish, control or scrutinize. How the government works is always a choice. When it works poorly, we should ask why — and we should demand better.
\n\nAnnie Lowrey is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of the new book “The Time Tax: How the Government Wastes Our Time — and How to Fix It.” She is also, I should note, my wife, so this is a book whose ideas I have been living with for years. They have quietly infused more than a few episodes of this show. So it’s a thrill to finally get to explore them directly.
\n\nThis episode contains strong language.
\n\nMentioned:
\n\nThe Time Tax by Annie Lowrey
\n\nGive People Money by Annie Lowrey
\n\nWhy Americans Hate Welfare by Martin Gilens
\n\nBook Recommendations:
\n\nMy Silent War by Kim Philby
\n\nTo Hate Like This Is to Be Happy Forever by Will Blythe
\n\nGender Trouble by Judith Butler
\n⬆️ 62 points | 💬 95 comments
","metadata":{"score":146,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vwjh27","title":"Dwight and Ezra Podcast Show","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vwjh27/dwight_and_ezra_podcast_show/","author":"Character_Public3465","published_at":"2026-08-23T21:24:37+00:00","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEzra Klein on America's Best & Worst Politicians | Soul Boom with Ranin Wilson
\n⬆️ 15 points | 💬 0 comments
","metadata":{"score":31,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vwbh4r","title":"[Meta] Does anyone else dislike the use of A/B testing for podcast titles?","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vwbh4r/meta_does_anyone_else_dislike_the_use_of_ab/","author":"jmac29562","published_at":"2026-08-23T16:19:03+00:00","content":"\n\n\nI know the NYT has been doing it for a while but it’s so frustrating to go back through the catalogue looking for an episode and then realizing you were first presented with the A/B title test that “lost”. Sometimes the alternative title is not even similar at all. I understand AB testing is useful but I wish it was kept to marketing and not media and literature where record keeping matters.
\n\nIt’s not just the NYT, I’ve also noticed it with plain English. Am I alone here?
\n⬆️ 29 points | 💬 11 comments
","metadata":{"score":54,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vw3cnw","title":"Twitter Broke the Left. X Will Break the Right.","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vw3cnw/twitter_broke_the_left_x_will_break_the_right/","author":"dwaxe","published_at":"2026-08-23T10:12:26+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/opinion/twitter-x-woke-1-elon-musk.html
\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 47 points | 💬 40 comments
","metadata":{"score":104,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vvdm9l","title":"Agencies without Agency: How Dispersed Power Derails Transportation Infrastructure","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vvdm9l/agencies_without_agency_how_dispersed_power/","author":"Southern_Car9211","published_at":"2026-08-22T14:17:00+00:00","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\nA piece by Brian Potter of Construction Physics explaining the issues driving up the costs and risks of transit projects in America
\n\nHis main argument is about control. U.S. transit agencies are nominally responsible for delivering projects, but much of their authority has been dispersed across regulators, courts, local governments, other agencies, utilities, and organized stakeholders like local populations and unions.
\nCompounding the issue is the hollowing out of technical expertise which makes transit agencies “bad customers” that cannot effectively design projects, supervise consultants and contractors, control costs, or resist unnecessary complexity.
As a result we have a system where many actors can demand changes, delays, and concessions, and no one has authority over cost or design. He outlines some prescriptions at the end.
\n\nHighly recommend for people who are interested Abundance/state capacity.
\n⬆️ 7 points | 💬 13 comments
","metadata":{"score":36,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vugh82","title":"Can liberalism survive the algorithm?","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vugh82/can_liberalism_survive_the_algorithm/","author":"GowanusGuy","published_at":"2026-08-21T13:31:25+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.theargumentmag.com/p/can-liberalism-survive-the-algorithm
\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 16 points | 💬 61 comments
","metadata":{"score":26,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vueio5","title":"China shock 2.0 Brad sester","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vueio5/china_shock_20_brad_sester/","author":"Character_Public3465","published_at":"2026-08-21T12:06:28+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.nytimes.com/column/ezra-klein-podcast
\n\n\n\nShow notes:”Brad Setser follows Chinese trade closer than just about anyone else on earth, and he thinks we’re in the early days of a China Shock 2.0.
\nThe first China Shock was when China came to dominate low-end manufacturing in the 2000s, filling American shelves with cheap clothes, toys and electronics, while devastating American factory towns. This new China Shock could be even more destabilizing. China now dominates advanced manufacturing: electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels. It’s outcompeting nearly all high-end manufacturing around the world, and other countries are just starting to feel the pain. And China isn’t slowing down. It’s moving into software, too. Its frontier A.I. models are neck and neck with American ones.
\nChina’s success poses a serious threat to the economies and domestic politics of countries around the world. So what should those countries do about it?
\nSetser is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.He served in top trade and economic roles in the Biden and Obama administrations. And he is widely cited across the field as one of the top analysts of China’s economy and trade practices.
\nBook Recommendations:
\nThe Party by Richard McGregor
\nThe Volatility Machine by Michael Pettis
\nHow to Win a Trade War by Soumaya Keynes and Chad Bown
\nThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.
\nYou can find the transcript and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.html””
⬆️ 11 points | 💬 10 comments
","metadata":{"score":38,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vu79h9","title":"Defending Everything Bagel-ism and a Critique of Abundance w/ David Roberts","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vu79h9/defending_everything_bagelism_and_a_critique_of/","author":"cocoagiant","published_at":"2026-08-21T05:28:01+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.volts.wtf/p/a-limited-defense-of-bidens-everything
\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 5 points | 💬 8 comments
","metadata":{"score":17,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vsyag8","title":"The recent Plain English episode on Weed and Alcohol was eye opening to me.","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vsyag8/the_recent_plain_english_episode_on_weed_and/","author":"soozerain","published_at":"2026-08-19T20:34:05+00:00","content":"\n\n\nIt was about weed’s displacement of alcohol and nicotine as American’s preferred vice of choice. And in the opening of the program Derek mentioned something he and I both find fascinating. Weed, or THC to be exact, tends to be associated with solo usage or small groups of friends. Think perhaps a group of four to five people. This is in stark contrast to alcohol which is, on average, makes us friendlier, more gregarious and in a bubblier type of mood. It’s often associated with groups, parties, and other activities that involve strangers meeting each other. This was kind of a revelation to me. But it makes intuitive sense when you think about books like Bowling Alone.
\n\nAmericans are hanging out in ever smaller groups of people and, based on things like Twitch and other live stream Youtubers, nowadays the people we hang out with may not even be in the same room, state or even country. Our parents or grandparents generations didn’t have that luxury. They had friends in their churches, clubs or other organizations and they sometimes got stuck with annoying, arrogant, or unpleasant members. Alcohol helps ease those tensions and dull the annoyance. It enabled your dad or grandpa to go to their local American Legion, Elks Lodge, Freemasons, Union meeting, business luncheons etc. and deal with, whatever, that jackass Ben once they’ve had a few slippery martinis.
\n\nAs those organizations wither and atrophy though, it follows that the lubricant that helped them run sees an equally strong shrinkage effect. Weed is the new drug of choice because we’re alone more then ever now and socializing in ever smaller numbers.
\n⬆️ 86 points | 💬 121 comments
","metadata":{"score":155,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vsojri","title":"PRINTER?! He Hardly Knew ‘Er! - Politix","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vsojri/printer_he_hardly_knew_er_politix/","author":"SomethingNew65","published_at":"2026-08-19T14:47:32+00:00","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nhttps://www.politix.fm/p/printer-he-hardly-knew-er
\n\n\n\nJon Ossoff says he has no interest in running for president in 2028. But between fundraising prowess and narrative shaping and attention driving, he’s doing a better job of it than just about anyone else in the Democratic Party.
\n\nIn this episode, Matt and Brian discuss:
\n\nThe Natalie Harp ploy, and how Ossoff yoked national attention to Donald Trump’s broader degeneracy;
\n\nWhether Ossoff provides (finally!) a template for the moderates-who-fight synthesis we’ve been promised;
\n\nUnanswered questions about how much of this glow up is luck, and whether Ossoff’s actual record will hold up in a presidential primary, if he run and has a left-wing opponent.
\n\nThen, Democratic Party officialdom has pulled back together pretty well after bruising primaries in Michigan and Wisconsin. But on the fringes, influential progressives and moderates continue to take potshots at the nominees they were hoping to beat: progressives at David Crowley in Wisconsin; moderates at Abdul el-Sayed in Michigan. What are they thinking? Could Bernie Sanders and AOC tamp down the cheap-seat heckling from the left? Could Chuck Schumer snuff out big-money anti-el-Sayed activism in the center? And where will moderate, pro-Israel Jewish voters take their political resources if they leave the Democratic Party, but have no home in the increasingly Groyperified GOP.
\n\nFurther reading:
\n\nBrian asks why more Democrats don’t sound like Ossoff specifically on the Iran war question.
\n\nMatt on the differences between the left-wing insurgency and the progressive establishment.
\n\nNatalie Harp: More than Trump’s “human binkie.”
\n
⬆️ 7 points | 💬 6 comments
","metadata":{"score":10,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vsnv8x","title":"This Is What Victory Looks Like - Daniel Oppenheimer on Ezra's Recent Comments on Wokeness","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vsnv8x/this_is_what_victory_looks_like_daniel/","author":"volumeofatorus","published_at":"2026-08-19T14:22:11+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://substack.com/home/post/p-210905908
\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 1 points | 💬 115 comments
","metadata":{"score":17,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vslfv1","title":"Plain English: Higher Education’s Age of ‘Insufferable Hypocrisy’","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vslfv1/plain_english_higher_educations_age_of/","author":"Dreadedvegas","published_at":"2026-08-19T12:46:22+00:00","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\nHigher Education’s Age of \"Insufferable Hypocrisy\"
\nIt would be an understatement to say that higher education is in crisis, as it faces attacks from both the current presidential administration as well as issues of its own making, like diversity politics. Today, Derek talks with Tyler Austin Harper, author of the viral essay “Confessions of a Token Black Professor,” about his critique of DEI and “wokeism” from the left. They discuss how good intentions and institutional self-interest led universities astray, and what it means for academic freedom, economic justice, and the future of higher education.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel here:
\nhttps://www.youtube.com/@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompson
If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com.
\n\nHost: Derek Thompson
\n\nGuest: Tyler Austin Harper
\n\nProducer: Devon Baroldi
\n⬆️ 6 points | 💬 13 comments
","metadata":{"score":50,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vrrrxr","title":"The A.I.s Are Already Out of Control","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vrrrxr/the_ais_are_already_out_of_control/","author":"dwaxe","published_at":"2026-08-18T15:05:09+00:00","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 1 points | 💬 1 comments
","metadata":{"score":9,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vrpa14","title":"The invisible faction that dominates the Democratic Party","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vrpa14/the_invisible_faction_that_dominates_the/","author":"SomethingNew65","published_at":"2026-08-18T13:31:40+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.slowboring.com/p/the-invisible-faction-that-dominates
\n\n\n\nThis article is free, unlike the last slow boring article posted here.
\n⬆️ 14 points | 💬 43 comments
","metadata":{"score":45,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vrm24a","title":"Hook and Squeeze: How Democratic consultants, committees, and party leaders built a fundraising spam pipeline that funnels money from a captive pool of elderly donors into their own operations","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vrm24a/hook_and_squeeze_how_democratic_consultants/","author":"OmicronCeti","published_at":"2026-08-18T11:07:03+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://data4democracy.substack.com/p/hook-and-squeeze
\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 23 points | 💬 7 comments
","metadata":{"score":61,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vrk4qx","title":"The A.I.s Are Already Out of Control","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vrk4qx/the_ais_are_already_out_of_control/","author":"Weekly-Moment869","published_at":"2026-08-18T09:21:07+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ezra-klein-show/id1548604447?i=1000784014882
\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 47 points | 💬 131 comments
","metadata":{"score":85,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vqtwrv","title":"It May Be Time to Freak Out AI - Plain English with Derek Thompson","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vqtwrv/it_may_be_time_to_freak_out_ai_plain_english_with/","author":"mcsul","published_at":"2026-08-17T14:28:13+00:00","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 29 points | 💬 17 comments
","metadata":{"score":43,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vqr6z0","title":"Woke 1 is dead. We’ve learned nothing.","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vqr6z0/woke_1_is_dead_weve_learned_nothing/","author":"CII_Guy","published_at":"2026-08-17T12:39:13+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.slowboring.com/p/woke-1-is-dead-weve-learned-nothing
\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 38 points | 💬 524 comments
","metadata":{"score":74,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vq5i5q","title":"Keller pushes ‘abundance agenda’ in State of the City","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vq5i5q/keller_pushes_abundance_agenda_in_state_of_the/","author":"callitarmageddon","published_at":"2026-08-16T19:02:03+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://reader.abqjournal.com/keller-pushes-abundance-agenda-in-state-of-the-city/content.html
\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 8 points | 💬 2 comments
","metadata":{"score":16,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vpheqr","title":"Why isn't Ezra in the comments? ","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vpheqr/why_isnt_ezra_in_the_comments/","author":"cocoagiant","published_at":"2026-08-15T23:32:03+00:00","content":"\n\n\nI've noticed a trend where the NYT writer who wrote a piece will engage with people in the comments section on NYT.
\n\nI've seen several of Ezra's guests do that as well, such as Chris Rufo or Bill McKibben.
\n\nI've never seen Ezra do this however. Has Ezra ever addressed why?
\n\nDoes he view his Q&A episodes to fulfill that function?
\n⬆️ 5 points | 💬 15 comments
","metadata":{"score":0,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vo9wzo","title":"The Warring Visions of American Power","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vo9wzo/the_warring_visions_of_american_power/","author":"dwaxe","published_at":"2026-08-14T15:10:27+00:00","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 25 points | 💬 41 comments
","metadata":{"score":46,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vnyfb4","title":"Ezra’s Definition of Paganism","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vnyfb4/ezras_definition_of_paganism/","author":"Waxing_Moon_13","published_at":"2026-08-14T05:31:45+00:00","content":"\n\n\nOn his most recent pod interview with Ross, Ross and Ezra had this to say about Christianity, Paganism, and a random Wiccan comment:
\n\nRoss: I think what’s more common is a desire among people who are connected to Christianity, who are Christian and so on, to say: Well, where can we find greater strength? Where can we find greater toughness? How can we be more effective political actors? How can we defeat our enemies instead of having them vanquish us?
\n\nYou could call it a reaching for pagan energy that doesn’t go all the way to actually becoming pagan. And look, the truth is that if you go back and look ——
\nEzra: But Stephen Miller is not a Wiccan. [Laughs.]
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard Ezra talk about paganism in the same breath and Christianity and I’m so confused. Paganism is an ancient pre-Christian spiritual path. And neo-paganism is a very large umbrella - not all of us are right wing Nazi-esque neo pagans trying to take over Norse mythology and make it white supremacist bullshit. Is this what he’s referring to?
\n\nPagans are reconnecting with Spirit - the earth and the divine energy within us all. Pagans are nice people damnit lol. How is “vanquishing enemies” “pagan energy”? Ross even later points out that Christians have a long history of violence (Crusades).
\n\nSome pagans describe themselves as witches, and some as Wiccan. But why is a Wiccan comment connected to Stephen Miller and in the same breath as Christianity? Both Ross and Ezra laugh and I just don’t get it…
\n\nThere seems to be a weird fascination with paganism - I’ve heard Ezra mention it several times in head scratching ways.
\n\nCan someone explain this to me?? Thank you!!!
\n⬆️ 2 points | 💬 3 comments
","metadata":{"score":0,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}},{"id":"1vntpnn","title":"The $20 Burrito Tearing the Republican Party Apart.","link":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ezraklein/comments/1vntpnn/the_20_burrito_tearing_the_republican_party_apart/","author":"tuck5903","published_at":"2026-08-14T01:37:22+00:00","content":"\n\nhttps://www.slowboring.com/p/the-20-burrito-tearing-the-republican
\n\n\n\n\n\n⬆️ 30 points | 💬 26 comments
","metadata":{"score":63,"source_feed_id":"r-ezraklein","source_feed_type":"reddit"}}]