The Ezra Klein Show
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The Ezra Klein Show

Ezra Klein invites you into a conversation on something that matters. How do we address climate change if the political system fails to act? Has the logic of markets infiltrated too many aspects of our lives? What is the future of the Republican Party? What do psychedelics teach us about consciousne...

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Books 1,809

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Latest Recommendations

Life and Fate: Introduction by Polly Jones (Everyman's Library Contemporary Classics Series) cover

Life and Fate

Vasily Grossman

Mentioned 2 days ago

Platner’s Top Campaign Strategist on What Went Wrong

Katz described it as a stunning human portrayal of the Holocaust and its era.

Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman. A really stunning kind of human portrayal of the ramifications of the Holocaust and that entire era.

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The Shame: A Novel cover

The Shame

Makenna Goodman

Mentioned 2 days ago

Platner’s Top Campaign Strategist on What Went Wrong

Katz called it a beautiful book about isolation, dreams, and anxiety that felt political despite not being a politics book.

Shame by McKenna Goodman. Beautiful book of kind of the friction of isolation and dreams and anxiety. And I think in some way it's not at all a political book, but it feels political in the way of the conversation we're having.

Buy on Amazon
The Fourth Branch: How State Government Can Save Our Union cover

The Fourth Branch

Daniel Squadron

Mentioned 2 days ago

Platner’s Top Campaign Strategist on What Went Wrong

Katz said it offered an astute observation of where political power sits and how daily governance can be shaped to improve people's lives.

The Fourth Branch by Daniel Squadron. I think it's a really astute observation of where political power is and how we can kind of shape a government that's on a daytoday basis improving people's lives.

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The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict between the US and Xi Jinping's China cover

The Avoidable War

Kevin Rudd

Mentioned 1 week ago

What Xi Jinping Wants

Ezra Klein noted that Kevin Rudd is the author of this book, highlighting Rudd's work on China and Xi Jinping.

He's also the author of The Avonable War.

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The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping (Stanford–Hoover Series on Authoritarianism) cover

The Party's Interests Come First

Joseph Torigian

Mentioned 1 week ago

What Xi Jinping Wants

Ezra Klein recommended this book about Xi Jinping's father, calling it a great read.

There's a great book by Joseph Torigian, The Party's Interests Come First, The Life of Xi Zhongxin, Father of Xi Jinping. It's a great book and a great read.

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The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao cover

The Souls of China

Ian Johnson

Mentioned 1 week ago

What Xi Jinping Wants

Ezra Klein recommended Ian Johnson's book on the resurgence of religion in modern China, describing it as a great read.

The second is Ian Johnson, The Souls of China, The Return of Religion After Mao. It's about what has occurred on the grounds, in the grassroots with the rise of various forms of Taoism, Buddhism, Protestant Christianity, and other forms of religious belief as a reaction to the uber-materialism of, let's call it, China's ideological orthodoxy. And that is a great read.

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The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change cover

The Beginning Comes After the End

Rebecca Solnit

Mentioned 2 weeks ago

The Very Good and Very Bad News on Climate

The book was mentioned as a prominent political essay by RebeccaSolnit, suggested as essential reading.

Rebecca Solnit pound for pound maybe our best political essayist and her book The Beginning Comes After the End

Buy on Amazon
Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization cover

Here Comes the Sun

Bill McKibben

Mentioned 2 weeks ago

The Very Good and Very Bad News on Climate

The host described it as McKibben's most recent book, framing it as a last chance for the climate and a fresh chance for civilization.

He writes the subsect of crucial years and his most recent book is Here Comes the Sun, a last chance for the climate and a fresh chance for civilization.

Buy on Amazon
The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary cover

The Glorians

Terry Tempest Williams

Mentioned 2 weeks ago

The Very Good and Very Bad News on Climate

It was highlighted as a great nature essay written by Terry TempestWilliams.

Terry Tempest Williams great nature essayist a book called The Glorians

Buy on Amazon
The Carbon Wave: A Story of Democracy, Parenthood, and the Race to Protect Our Planet cover

The Carbon Wave

Leah C. Stokes

Mentioned 2 weeks ago

The Very Good and Very Bad News on Climate

It was presented as a new book by Leah Stokes that tells the inside story of the Inflation Reduction Act and her work on utilities.

Leah Stokes maybe our leading expert on utilities played a huge role in getting the IRA through and she tells that story in a book called The Carbon Wave

Buy on Amazon
Brought to You By: How Corporations Warped the Truth, Conned the Public, and Broke Democracy cover

Brought to You By

Amy Westervelt

Mentioned 2 weeks ago

The Very Good and Very Bad News on Climate

The host cited it as Amy Westervelt's new book exposing how corporations have warped the truth about climate and energy.

Amy Westervelt tremendous freelance reporter on a lot of climate and energy issues and on larger things a new book called Brought to You By How Corporations Have Warped the Truth

Buy on Amazon
The Holocaust and the Nakba: A New Grammar of Trauma and History (Religion, Culture, and Public Life, 39) cover

The Holocaust and the Nakba

Bashir Bashir

Mentioned 2 weeks ago

A Radical Vision for Israelis and Palestinians

Rula said it was very important to understand the current situation and that the book, written before October7th, remained essential.

I decided to choose three books that are related to the conversation that we are having today the first one is The Holocaust and the Nakba edited by good colleagues and friends Bashir Bashir and Amos Goldberg it's very important to understand what's happening now it was written before October 7th and the genocide in Gaza but it's still very important essential book

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Most Recommended

Justice by Means of Democracy Cover

Danielle Allen

Justice by Means of Democracy

The book presented a sweeping vision of powersharing liberalism and argued for a fundamental overhaul of democratic institutions.

"

Allen's vision, which she puts forward in her new book Justice by Means of Democracy - and yeah, I know I'm saying democracy a lot - Allen's vision is something called power sharing l...

— Episode: This Philosopher Wants Liberals to Take...

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Episode: This Philosopher Wants Liberals to Take Political...

The book presented a sweeping vision of powersharing liberalism and argued for a fundamental overhaul of democratic institutions.

"

Allen's vision, which she puts forward in her new book Justice by Means of Democracy - and yeah, I know I'm saying democracy a lot - Allen's vision is something called power sharing liberalism.

In my book, Justice by Means of Democracy goes well beyond process, right? There's a different vision for political economy.

How Democracies Die Cover

Steven Levitsky

How Democracies Die

The authors warned that democratic norms and guardrails are essential for a durable constitutional democracy.

"

the kind of things that Dan Ziblatt and Steve Levitsky talk about in How Democracies Die.

— Episode: This Philosopher Wants Liberals to Take...

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Episode: This Philosopher Wants Liberals to Take Political...

The authors warned that democratic norms and guardrails are essential for a durable constitutional democracy.

"

the kind of things that Dan Ziblatt and Steve Levitsky talk about in How Democracies Die.

The Darkened Light of Faith: Race, Democracy, and Freedom in African American Political Thought Cover

Melvin L. Rogers

The Darkened Light of Faith

Race, Democracy, and Freedom in African American Political Thought

The work explored AfricanAmerican political thought, linking race, democracy and freedom in the 19thcentury context.

"

So I think that book is called The Darkened Light of Faith, Race, Democracy and Freedom in AfricanAmerican Political Thought and comes out in September and does look great.

— Episode: This Philosopher Wants Liberals to Take...

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Episode: This Philosopher Wants Liberals to Take Political...

The work explored AfricanAmerican political thought, linking race, democracy and freedom in the 19thcentury context.

"

So I think that book is called The Darkened Light of Faith, Race, Democracy and Freedom in AfricanAmerican Political Thought and comes out in September and does look great.

Well there's the Melvin Rogers book that I am still failing to remember the precise title of, so you'll have to say the title of it again. It is The Darkened Light of Faith.

Open Democracy: Reinventing Popular Rule for the Twenty-First Century Cover

Hélène Landemore

Open Democracy

Reinventing Popular Rule for the Twenty-First Century

Landemore argued for more participatory institutions to revitalize democratic governance.

"

and I think it's Helene Landemore, Open Democracy.

— Episode: This Philosopher Wants Liberals to Take...

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Episode: This Philosopher Wants Liberals to Take Political...

Landemore argued for more participatory institutions to revitalize democratic governance.

"

and I think it's Helene Landemore, Open Democracy.

Driven by Data 2.0: A Practical Guide to Improve Instruction Cover

Paul Bambrick-Santoyo

Driven by Data 2.0

A Practical Guide to Improve Instruction

Ezra noted that Data Driven, by Karen Levy, had just been published at the end of the previous year and examined how automation and surveillance are reshaping the trucking industry.

"

The first is Data-Driven, Truckers, Technology, and the New Workplace for Surveillance. It's by Karen Levy. It was just published at the end of last year.

— Episode: What Biden’s Top A.I. Thinker Concluded...

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Episode: What Biden’s Top A.I. Thinker Concluded We Should...

Ezra noted that Data Driven, by Karen Levy, had just been published at the end of the previous year and examined how automation and surveillance are reshaping the trucking industry.

"

The first is Data-Driven, Truckers, Technology, and the New Workplace for Surveillance. It's by Karen Levy. It was just published at the end of last year.

Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity Cover

Daron Acemoglu

Power and Progress

Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity

The conversation mentioned Acemoglu and Johnson's forthcoming book as a relevant work on the economic impacts of AI.

"

Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, the economists have a new book coming out, Power and Progress, on this point exactly.

— Episode: Why A.I. Might Not Take Your Job or Supe...

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Episode: Why A.I. Might Not Take Your Job or Supercharge th...

The conversation mentioned Acemoglu and Johnson's forthcoming book as a relevant work on the economic impacts of AI.

"

Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, the economists have a new book coming out, Power and Progress, on this point exactly.

The World For Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth's Resources Cover

Javier Blas

The World For Sale

Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth's Resources

Klein described it as an extraordinary account of commodity traders that reveals how raw materials move around the globe, and he recommended it to listeners.

"

I'd start with The World For Sale, which is an extraordinary account of commodity traders who play an unseen role in the middle of the networks that deliver oil and minerals and metal...

— Episode: The Most Amazing — and Dangerous — Techn...

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Episode: The Most Amazing — and Dangerous — Technology in t...

Klein described it as an extraordinary account of commodity traders that reveals how raw materials move around the globe, and he recommended it to listeners.

"

I'd start with The World For Sale, which is an extraordinary account of commodity traders who play an unseen role in the middle of the networks that deliver oil and minerals and metals that we require.

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI Cover

Yuval Noah Harari

Nexus

A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI

Klein highlighted it as a study of early 20thcentury telegraph cables that shows how governments viewed them as vital for both economic and military intelligence, recommending it to the audience.

"

a book called Nexus by Jonathan Winkler, which is a study of telegraph cables during the early 20th century. What's striking about it is the extent to which all of the world's governm...

— Episode: The Most Amazing — and Dangerous — Techn...

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Episode: The Most Amazing — and Dangerous — Technology in t...

Klein highlighted it as a study of early 20thcentury telegraph cables that shows how governments viewed them as vital for both economic and military intelligence, recommending it to the audience.

"

a book called Nexus by Jonathan Winkler, which is a study of telegraph cables during the early 20th century. What's striking about it is the extent to which all of the world's governments saw telegraph cables as not only economically important but also important for military and intelligence uses.

Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion: Elite Power Struggles in the Soviet Union and China after Stalin and Mao Cover

Joseph Torigian

Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion

Elite Power Struggles in the Soviet Union and China after Stalin and Mao

Klein called it an extraordinary account of highpolitics in China that uses exceptional archival documentation to explain how Chinese leaders make decisions, and he strongly recommended it.

"

a book on decisionmaking in China called Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion, which is an extraordinary account of high politics in China over the last halfcentury that illustrates w...

— Episode: The Most Amazing — and Dangerous — Techn...

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Episode: The Most Amazing — and Dangerous — Technology in t...

Klein called it an extraordinary account of highpolitics in China that uses exceptional archival documentation to explain how Chinese leaders make decisions, and he strongly recommended it.

"

a book on decisionmaking in China called Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion, which is an extraordinary account of high politics in China over the last halfcentury that illustrates with just really exceptional archival documentation how Chinese politics has shifted and the key drivers in it.

Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism Cover

Pippa Norris

Cultural Backlash

Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism

Ezra described it as a crucial text for understanding the rise of global populist authoritarians.

"

And in 2019, she and her co-author, the late Ron Inglehart, published what I've come to see as a really crucial text for thinking about the rise of global populist authoritarians. It's called ...

— Episode: Best Of: A Powerful Theory of Why the Fa...

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Episode: Best Of: A Powerful Theory of Why the Far Right Is...

Ezra described it as a crucial text for understanding the rise of global populist authoritarians.

"

And in 2019, she and her co-author, the late Ron Inglehart, published what I've come to see as a really crucial text for thinking about the rise of global populist authoritarians. It's called Cultural Backlash.

Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide (Cambridge Studies in Social Theory, Religion and Politics) Cover

Pippa Norris

Sacred and Secular

Religion and Politics Worldwide (Cambridge Studies in Social Theory, Religion and Politics)

Pippa explained that the book examined how rising material security reduced the importance of religion in people's lives.

"

And as increasing security came about, religion no longer seemed to be as important in people's lives, and you can see that through church attendance and religious identification. I wrote a book on th...

— Episode: Best Of: A Powerful Theory of Why the Fa...

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Episode: Best Of: A Powerful Theory of Why the Far Right Is...

Pippa explained that the book examined how rising material security reduced the importance of religion in people's lives.

"

And as increasing security came about, religion no longer seemed to be as important in people's lives, and you can see that through church attendance and religious identification. I wrote a book on that, Sacred and Secular.

Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century Cover

Sergei Guriev

Spin Dictators

The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century

She described it as an analysis of how modern dictators use propaganda and managed democracy to maintain support.

"

The second book, by Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman, is called Spin Dictators and examines the changing face of tyranny in the 21st century, focusing on propaganda, fake democracy a...

— Episode: Best Of: A Powerful Theory of Why the Fa...

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Episode: Best Of: A Powerful Theory of Why the Far Right Is...

She described it as an analysis of how modern dictators use propaganda and managed democracy to maintain support.

"

The second book, by Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman, is called Spin Dictators and examines the changing face of tyranny in the 21st century, focusing on propaganda, fake democracy and information control.

Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism Cover

Pippa Norris

Cultural Backlash

Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism

The book was highlighted as a crucial text for understanding the rise of global populist authoritarians and was praised for its explanatory power.

"

And in 2019, she and her coauthor, the late Ron Inglehart, published what I've come to see as a really crucial text for thinking about the rise of global populist authoritarians. It's called C...

— Episode: Best Of: A Powerful Theory of Why the Fa...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Best Of: A Powerful Theory of Why the Far Right Is...

The book was highlighted as a crucial text for understanding the rise of global populist authoritarians and was praised for its explanatory power.

"

And in 2019, she and her coauthor, the late Ron Inglehart, published what I've come to see as a really crucial text for thinking about the rise of global populist authoritarians. It's called Cultural Backlash.

Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century Cover

Sergei Guriev

Spin Dictators

The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century

The book was presented as a study of the modern face of tyranny, focusing on how contemporary dictators use propaganda and controlled elections to maintain popular support.

"

The second book, which builds on that, is another good book by Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman and the book is called Spin Dictators, and it's about the changing face of tyranny in...

— Episode: Best Of: A Powerful Theory of Why the Fa...

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Episode: Best Of: A Powerful Theory of Why the Far Right Is...

The book was presented as a study of the modern face of tyranny, focusing on how contemporary dictators use propaganda and controlled elections to maintain popular support.

"

The second book, which builds on that, is another good book by Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman and the book is called Spin Dictators, and it's about the changing face of tyranny in the 21st century.

Digital Divide (Rachel Peng Book 1) Cover

K.B. Spangler

Digital Divide (Rachel Peng Book 1)

The book was mentioned while discussing how the internet can be both a tool for democratic engagement and a source of misinformation.

"

I wrote an earlier book called Digital Divide, which really said that the internet, which was taking off at the time, started of course in around 1995 as the visual browser, can be used both positivel...

— Episode: Best Of: A Powerful Theory of Why the Fa...

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Episode: Best Of: A Powerful Theory of Why the Far Right Is...

The book was mentioned while discussing how the internet can be both a tool for democratic engagement and a source of misinformation.

"

I wrote an earlier book called Digital Divide, which really said that the internet, which was taking off at the time, started of course in around 1995 as the visual browser, can be used both positively and negatively for democratic engagement.

We the Fallen People: The Founders and the Future of American Democracy Cover

Robert Tracy McKenzie

We the Fallen People

The Founders and the Future of American Democracy

Ezra described it as a recent read that examines how human fallenness influences the design of American democracy.

"

So here's a good one that I read not long ago called We the Fallen People, the Founders and the Future of American Democracy by a professor named Robert Tracy McKenzie. It really look...

— Episode: Trump’s Legal Jeopardy and America’s Pol...

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Episode: Trump’s Legal Jeopardy and America’s Political Cro...

Ezra described it as a recent read that examines how human fallenness influences the design of American democracy.

"

So here's a good one that I read not long ago called We the Fallen People, the Founders and the Future of American Democracy by a professor named Robert Tracy McKenzie. It really looks at the role of sort of the view of the fallenness of human nature in the design of the country.

The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure Cover

Greg Lukianoff

The Coddling of the American Mind

How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure

He recalled that listeners might have heard of the book a few years back as a reference point for cultural commentary.

"

People might have heard of the John Haidt, Greg Lukianoff book, The Coddling of the American Mind a few years back.

— Episode: Trump’s Legal Jeopardy and America’s Pol...

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Episode: Trump’s Legal Jeopardy and America’s Political Cro...

He recalled that listeners might have heard of the book a few years back as a reference point for cultural commentary.

"

People might have heard of the John Haidt, Greg Lukianoff book, The Coddling of the American Mind a few years back.

The Money Problem: Rethinking Financial Regulation Cover

Morgan Ricks

The Money Problem

Rethinking Financial Regulation

Ricks's book examined the 2008 financial crisis and argued that the money system is fundamentally broken, a view that proved relevant to the Silicon Valley Bank collapse.

"

He wrote the book The Money Problem to talk about the 2008 financial crisis.

— Episode: A Radical Way of Thinking About Money

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Episode: A Radical Way of Thinking About Money

Ricks's book examined the 2008 financial crisis and argued that the money system is fundamentally broken, a view that proved relevant to the Silicon Valley Bank collapse.

"

He wrote the book The Money Problem to talk about the 2008 financial crisis.

So this is where your book makes a pretty profound move in its theory of financial regulation.

I make the argument in the book that really America's system of money and banking is broken.

The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation by Gertner, Jon 1st (first) edition [Hardcover(2012)] Cover

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The Idea Factory

Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation by Gertner, Jon 1st (first) edition [Hardcover(2012)]

Gertner's history of Bell Labs highlighted its pivotal role in 20thcentury innovation and the tensions of a regulated monopoly.

"

Second, John Gertner's The Idea Factory, which is about Bell Labs. It was arguably the most important engine of innovation in the 20th century, and it was a part of the regulated mono...

— Episode: A Radical Way of Thinking About Money

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Episode: A Radical Way of Thinking About Money

Gertner's history of Bell Labs highlighted its pivotal role in 20thcentury innovation and the tensions of a regulated monopoly.

"

Second, John Gertner's The Idea Factory, which is about Bell Labs. It was arguably the most important engine of innovation in the 20th century, and it was a part of the regulated monopoly telephone system-- it's just a great book.

The Fed Unbound: Central Banking in a Time of Crisis Cover

Lev Menand

The Fed Unbound

Central Banking in a Time of Crisis

Menand's analysis traced the Federal Reserve's evolution and its growing influence over private money markets.

"

The third would be Lev Menand's Fed Unbound, which is a historical treatment of a lot of the private money issues that we've been talking about and the Fed's role and how the Fed has really been trans...

— Episode: A Radical Way of Thinking About Money

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Episode: A Radical Way of Thinking About Money

Menand's analysis traced the Federal Reserve's evolution and its growing influence over private money markets.

"

The third would be Lev Menand's Fed Unbound, which is a historical treatment of a lot of the private money issues that we've been talking about and the Fed's role and how the Fed has really been transformed in the past couple of decades.

Note: The book recommendations on this page are discovered automatically from podcast transcripts, and may be incorrect or incomplete.