The Ezra Klein Show
Book Recommendations

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...

Episodes 561
Books 1,809

Recently mentioned

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.

Buy on Amazon
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.

Buy on Amazon
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.

Buy on Amazon
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.

Buy on Amazon
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.

Buy on Amazon
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

Buy on Amazon

Most Recommended

Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights Cover

Molly Smith

Revolting Prostitutes

The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights

Ezra described the book as a highly persuasive defense of sexwork decriminalisation and noted its impact on his own work.

"

The second book is a book called Revolting Prostitutes which I engage with pretty closely in my book. It's written by two British sex workers, Juno Mack and Molly Smith. It is the mos...

— Episode: Can We Change Our Sexual Desires? Should...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Can We Change Our Sexual Desires? Should We?

Ezra described the book as a highly persuasive defense of sexwork decriminalisation and noted its impact on his own work.

"

The second book is a book called Revolting Prostitutes which I engage with pretty closely in my book. It's written by two British sex workers, Juno Mack and Molly Smith. It is the most dispositive defense of sex work decriminalisation I have ever read ... It shows that the argument for decriminalisation in no way rests on the idea that sex work is good or unproblematic.

Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'round: My Story of the Making of Martin Luther King Day Cover

Kathlyn J. Kirkwood

Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'round

My Story of the Making of Martin Luther King Day

It was described as an edited volume about Black feminist activist Barbara Smith, containing her writings and unpublished letters and praised as an extraordinary set of documents.

"

The first book is about the legendary extraordinary Black feminist activist and scholar, Barbara Smith. It is called Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around, edited by Alethea Jones, Virginia Eubanks an...

— Episode: Can We Change Our Sexual Desires? Should...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Can We Change Our Sexual Desires? Should We?

It was described as an edited volume about Black feminist activist Barbara Smith, containing her writings and unpublished letters and praised as an extraordinary set of documents.

"

The first book is about the legendary extraordinary Black feminist activist and scholar, Barbara Smith. It is called Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around, edited by Alethea Jones, Virginia Eubanks and Barbara Smith herself. It includes text by her, some of them unpublished letters, and is just an extraordinary set of documents.

Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights Cover

Molly Smith

Revolting Prostitutes

The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights

It was highlighted as a highly persuasive defense of sexwork decriminalization, praised as the most dispositive case the guest had ever read.

"

The second book is called Revolting Prostitutes, written by two British sex workers, Juno Mack and Molly Smith. It is the most dispositive defense of sex work decriminalization I have...

— Episode: Can We Change Our Sexual Desires? Should...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Can We Change Our Sexual Desires? Should We?

It was highlighted as a highly persuasive defense of sexwork decriminalization, praised as the most dispositive case the guest had ever read.

"

The second book is called Revolting Prostitutes, written by two British sex workers, Juno Mack and Molly Smith. It is the most dispositive defense of sex work decriminalization I have ever read, showing that the argument does not rest on sex work being good or unproblematic, but on a profound tension between punishing buyers and improving the lives of marginalized women.

Difference without Domination: Pursuing Justice in Diverse Democracies Cover

Danielle Allen

Difference without Domination

Pursuing Justice in Diverse Democracies

Allen and Somanathan edited a volume arguing that justice must focus on nondomination, moving beyond Rawlsian difference principles toward institutional designs that prevent any group from dominating another. The host highlighted its practical implications for representation and democracy.

"

The last book I'd recommend is called Democracy Without Domination, by Danielle Allen and Rohini Somanathan. The heart of the book is the argument that justice, racial justice and all justice has to f...

— Episode: This Isn’t Your Grandpa’s Joe Biden

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: This Isn’t Your Grandpa’s Joe Biden

Allen and Somanathan edited a volume arguing that justice must focus on nondomination, moving beyond Rawlsian difference principles toward institutional designs that prevent any group from dominating another. The host highlighted its practical implications for representation and democracy.

"

The last book I'd recommend is called Democracy Without Domination, by Danielle Allen and Rohini Somanathan. The heart of the book is the argument that justice, racial justice and all justice has to focus on nondomination, steering away from a liberal reliance on John Rawls and the difference principle toward a new way of thinking about democracy, with practical implications for representation and institutional design.

Difference without Domination: Pursuing Justice in Diverse Democracies Cover

Danielle Allen

Difference without Domination

Pursuing Justice in Diverse Democracies

Felicia Wong explained that the edited volume argues for a justice framework focused on nondomination, moving away from raw statistical representation toward institutional rules that prevent one group from dominating another.

"

Democracy Without Domination ... the heart of the book is this argument that justice, racial justice and all justice has to focus on nondomination... It is a great book.

— Episode: This Isn’t Your Grandpa’s Joe Biden

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: This Isn’t Your Grandpa’s Joe Biden

Felicia Wong explained that the edited volume argues for a justice framework focused on nondomination, moving away from raw statistical representation toward institutional rules that prevent one group from dominating another.

"

Democracy Without Domination ... the heart of the book is this argument that justice, racial justice and all justice has to focus on nondomination... It is a great book.

Difference without Domination: Pursuing Justice in Diverse Democracies Cover

Danielle Allen

Difference without Domination

Pursuing Justice in Diverse Democracies

Ezra explained that the edited volume argues for a conception of justice centered on nondomination, moving beyond Rawlsian principles toward a democratic model that prevents any group from dominating another.

"

The heart of the book, it's an edited volume, the heart of the book is this argument that justice, racial justice and all justice has to focus on non-domination.

— Episode: This Isn’t Your Grandpa’s Joe Biden

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: This Isn’t Your Grandpa’s Joe Biden

Ezra explained that the edited volume argues for a conception of justice centered on nondomination, moving beyond Rawlsian principles toward a democratic model that prevents any group from dominating another.

"

The heart of the book, it's an edited volume, the heart of the book is this argument that justice, racial justice and all justice has to focus on non-domination.

This leads them away from this kind of liberal reliance on John Rawls and a kind of difference principle and towards a very new or different way of thinking about democracy.

For example, they argue that representation has to move away from statistical mirroring. You know, like if you are 40 percent of the population, you should get 40 percent of the political representatives. We have to move away from that to a politics that make sure that rules and institutions don't allow one group to dominate another group.

Seeing That Frees Cover

Robert Burbea

Seeing That Frees

He mentioned liking the book as part of his meditation resources and suggested it to listeners.

"

I like the book, Seeing That Frees, I think it's called by Robert Baer.

— Episode: Ask Ezra Anything: Degrowth, Third Parti...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Ask Ezra Anything: Degrowth, Third Parties, Readin...

He mentioned liking the book as part of his meditation resources and suggested it to listeners.

"

I like the book, Seeing That Frees, I think it's called by Robert Baer.

Seeing That Frees Cover

Robert Burbea

Seeing That Frees

Ezra mentioned the book as a favorite resource for deeper Buddhist study during his meditation practice.

"

I like the book, Seeing That Frees, I think it's called by Robert Baer.

— Episode: Ask Ezra Anything: Degrowth, Third Parti...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Ask Ezra Anything: Degrowth, Third Parties, Readin...

Ezra mentioned the book as a favorite resource for deeper Buddhist study during his meditation practice.

"

I like the book, Seeing That Frees, I think it's called by Robert Baer.

Seeing That Frees Cover

Robert Burbea

Seeing That Frees

Klein noted he liked the book while discussing meditation resources, mentioning it as a helpful text.

"

I like the book, Seeing That Frees, I think it's called by Robert Baer.

— Episode: Ask Ezra Anything: Degrowth, Third Parti...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: Ask Ezra Anything: Degrowth, Third Parties, Readin...

Klein noted he liked the book while discussing meditation resources, mentioning it as a helpful text.

"

I like the book, Seeing That Frees, I think it's called by Robert Baer.

The Hell of Good Intentions: America's Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy Cover

Stephen M. Walt

The Hell of Good Intentions

America's Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy

He described the book as a recent work that explains why the foreignpolicy establishment repeatedly makes the same mistakes.

"

There's a book that came out a couple of years ago that I read by Stephen Walt called The Hell of Good Intentions. It's about why the foreign policy establishment keeps making the mis...

— Episode: The Foreign Policy Conversation Washingt...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: The Foreign Policy Conversation Washington Doesn’t...

He described the book as a recent work that explains why the foreignpolicy establishment repeatedly makes the same mistakes.

"

There's a book that came out a couple of years ago that I read by Stephen Walt called The Hell of Good Intentions. It's about why the foreign policy establishment keeps making the mistakes it makes.

To Start a War: How the Bush Administration Took America into Iraq Cover

Robert Draper

To Start a War

How the Bush Administration Took America into Iraq

He mentioned the book as a recent publication that he highly recommended for its insight into foreignpolicy errors.

"

Draper's book, To Start a War, that came out last year, I highly recommend it.

— Episode: The Foreign Policy Conversation Washingt...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: The Foreign Policy Conversation Washington Doesn’t...

He mentioned the book as a recent publication that he highly recommended for its insight into foreignpolicy errors.

"

Draper's book, To Start a War, that came out last year, I highly recommend it.

The Hell of Good Intentions: America's Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy Cover

Stephen M. Walt

The Hell of Good Intentions

America's Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy

He described the book as an explanation of why the foreignpolicy establishment repeatedly makes the same mistakes.

"

I read by Stephen Walt called The Hell of Good Intentions. It's about why the foreign policy establishment keeps making the mistakes it makes.

— Episode: The Foreign Policy Conversation Washingt...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: The Foreign Policy Conversation Washington Doesn’t...

He described the book as an explanation of why the foreignpolicy establishment repeatedly makes the same mistakes.

"

I read by Stephen Walt called The Hell of Good Intentions. It's about why the foreign policy establishment keeps making the mistakes it makes.

To Start a War: How the Bush Administration Took America into Iraq Cover

Robert Draper

To Start a War

How the Bush Administration Took America into Iraq

He mentioned the book and said he highly recommended it for insight into the origins of recent conflicts.

"

I mean, Draper's book, To Start a War, that came out last year, I highly recommend it on this.

— Episode: The Foreign Policy Conversation Washingt...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: The Foreign Policy Conversation Washington Doesn’t...

He mentioned the book and said he highly recommended it for insight into the origins of recent conflicts.

"

I mean, Draper's book, To Start a War, that came out last year, I highly recommend it on this.

The Hell of Good Intentions: America's Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy Cover

Stephen M. Walt

The Hell of Good Intentions

America's Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy

The book was described as an analysis of why the foreignpolicy establishment repeatedly makes mistakes, and was recommended for its insight into systemic issues within the "blob".

"

There's a book that's kind of about the blob that came out a couple of years ago that I read by Stephen Walt called The Hell of Good Intentions. It's about why the foreign policy esta...

— Episode: The Foreign Policy Conversation Washingt...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: The Foreign Policy Conversation Washington Doesn’t...

The book was described as an analysis of why the foreignpolicy establishment repeatedly makes mistakes, and was recommended for its insight into systemic issues within the "blob".

"

There's a book that's kind of about the blob that came out a couple of years ago that I read by Stephen Walt called The Hell of Good Intentions. It's about why the foreign policy establishment keeps making the mistakes it makes.

To Start a War: How the Bush Administration Took America into Iraq Cover

Robert Draper

To Start a War

How the Bush Administration Took America into Iraq

The book was briefly recommended as a "fantastic look" at how policymakers were wrong about foreign interventions, emphasizing its relevance to current debates.

"

Draper's book, To Start a War, that came out last year, I highly recommend it. It's a fantastic look at how much they were wrong about.

— Episode: The Foreign Policy Conversation Washingt...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: The Foreign Policy Conversation Washington Doesn’t...

The book was briefly recommended as a "fantastic look" at how policymakers were wrong about foreign interventions, emphasizing its relevance to current debates.

"

Draper's book, To Start a War, that came out last year, I highly recommend it. It's a fantastic look at how much they were wrong about.

Love at Goon Park: Harry Harlow and the Science of Affection Cover

Deborah Blum

Love at Goon Park

Harry Harlow and the Science of Affection

Ezra mentioned the book as a marvelous account of Harry Harlow's attachment experiments with monkeys and what they reveal about human relationships.

"

The other book that come to mind is Love in Goon Park. It's a book about Harry Harlow's and his laboratory, his discovery of attachment in monkeys.

— Episode: This Conversation Will Change How You Th...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: This Conversation Will Change How You Think About...

Ezra mentioned the book as a marvelous account of Harry Harlow's attachment experiments with monkeys and what they reveal about human relationships.

"

The other book that come to mind is Love in Goon Park. It's a book about Harry Harlow's and his laboratory, his discovery of attachment in monkeys.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North: A novel Cover

Richard Flanagan

The Narrow Road to the Deep North

A novel

Ezra cited the novel as an Australian work describing war experiences and their longterm impact on people.

"

Another book that I think is great, an Australian guy by the name of Flanagan, who wrote a book called The Narrow Road to the North.

— Episode: This Conversation Will Change How You Th...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: This Conversation Will Change How You Think About...

Ezra cited the novel as an Australian work describing war experiences and their longterm impact on people.

"

Another book that I think is great, an Australian guy by the name of Flanagan, who wrote a book called The Narrow Road to the North.

Love at Goon Park: Harry Harlow and the Science of Affection Cover

Deborah Blum

Love at Goon Park

Harry Harlow and the Science of Affection

Ezra described it as a fascinating account of Harry Harlow's attachment experiments, linking animal research to human relational insights.

"

The other book that come to mind is Love in Goon Park. It's a book about Harry Harlow's and his laboratory, his discovery of attachment in monkeys. So just a marvelous book about us as human beings be...

— Episode: This Conversation Will Change How You Th...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: This Conversation Will Change How You Think About...

Ezra described it as a fascinating account of Harry Harlow's attachment experiments, linking animal research to human relational insights.

"

The other book that come to mind is Love in Goon Park. It's a book about Harry Harlow's and his laboratory, his discovery of attachment in monkeys. So just a marvelous book about us as human beings being very much like interactive with other people.

Love at Goon Park: Harry Harlow and the Science of Affection Cover

Deborah Blum

Love at Goon Park

Harry Harlow and the Science of Affection

The host mentioned it as a book about Harry Harlow's experiments on attachment in monkeys, calling it marvelous and relevant to human relationships.

"

The other book that come to mind is Love in Goon Park. It's a book about Harry Harlow's and his laboratory, his discovery of attachment in monkeys.

— Episode: This Conversation Will Change How You Th...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: This Conversation Will Change How You Think About...

The host mentioned it as a book about Harry Harlow's experiments on attachment in monkeys, calling it marvelous and relevant to human relationships.

"

The other book that come to mind is Love in Goon Park. It's a book about Harry Harlow's and his laboratory, his discovery of attachment in monkeys.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North: A novel Cover

Richard Flanagan

The Narrow Road to the Deep North

A novel

The host highlighted it as an Australian author's work on war experiences and their lasting impact, describing it as a great book about the split caused by conflict.

"

Another book that I think is great, an Australian guy by the name of Flanagan, who wrote a book called The Narrow Road to the North. About war experiences and how war experiences impact on people.

— Episode: This Conversation Will Change How You Th...

Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: This Conversation Will Change How You Think About...

The host highlighted it as an Australian author's work on war experiences and their lasting impact, describing it as a great book about the split caused by conflict.

"

Another book that I think is great, an Australian guy by the name of Flanagan, who wrote a book called The Narrow Road to the North. About war experiences and how war experiences impact on people.

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