Secondary sex characteristics are not gender expression. They are sex expression. We wouldn’t let a child choose to remove their hand - no matter how much dysphoria it was causing. And no we don’t let 10-year-old “little girls” do rhinoplasty, and no rhinoplasty or a tonsillectomy is not akin to cutting breasts off. These are decisions adults can understand, make and accept the consequences for, not 10-year-olds. The dishonesty and blurring of facts around this discussion reminded me of anti-choice activism. Masha can sign up for what ever she wants to. She can conceive of and call herself anything she wants. She is free to relate to the world on her own terms. What she can’t do is force her own terms on the rest of us. Social norms are necessary and liberation from them is achieved without permission from society. It is not the function of society or government to affirm your liberation. The government is only there to stop others from preventing your self-liberation. You are liberated when you decide you are liberated, not when the government puts an “x” on your driver’s license. Denying trans children care is wrong. Allowing them to remove body parts is also wrong and we do not have enough data on hormones for children. The statistics on regret across all trans people are 1%. Coincidentally, that is the same percentage of trans people vs non-trans in the world. To minimize the 1% is to argue that the reality of trans people should be minimized as well. “Race” is a mess because it is constantly changing and no “race” has existed for more than 2 thousand years. Sexual dimorphism/gonacory has been a stable evolutionary structure for over 400 million years. Why are we placing gender above sex? And what has the brand new concept of gender identity brought us but Dr. John Money and his sexual abuse of children? Going from “human beings have an internal sense of gender” to “gender is the center of all things and we must eliminate the gender binary in order to ‘liberate’ people” is misguided and quixotic at best and authoritarian at worst. “You must accept my view of the cosmos or you prevent my liberation!!!!” This is the cry of a crazy Pentecostal who can only see non-believers as demons. You aren’t trying to end social norms to liberate, you are trying to impose social norms that place your personal experience at the center. 99% of the rest of humanity is asking “What about my experience? Is it not valid? Why her but not me?” If you insist on making social norms zero sum, democracy demands the majority wins unless they are violating a fundamental human right. Having your life experience at the center of everyone else’s life is not a human right. It is the wish of a tyrant. And being threatened by other people not accepting your view is not liberation, it’s the opposite. Liberate thyself.

It’s a stimulating show, one I manually refresh on my feed because I look forward to it that much. It’s my last remaining connection to The NY Times. I wish the theme music with the low piano keys had not been replaced with a new and unremarkable jingle. I’m telling myself the suits at the Times ordered that change not Mr. Klein.

Rather than getting Pardons which imply possible crimes , we should organize a crowd funding to pay potential legal fees of the targeted

Five stars to Ezra for consistently high level of intelligent discussion. One star off because I can’t shake the feeling that the paywall and subscriber features exist to pay teams of people to tweak the thumbnail and select new 5 second long intro music every few months.

You could have saved us all an hour and just said what is clearly true around the world, in less than a minute. Right Wing Populism appeals to uneducated, unintelligent, and/or racist people. Period. That’s it. End of story. And the fact that societies around the world have underfunded or underutilized educational programs, while leaving broken immigration systems unfixed, exacerbates the aggressively illogical groups mentioned above - the bigots and the stupid.

Love love your show!! I appreciate your kind voice and well chosen, measured way of speaking. Today’s episode with Rahm Emanuel was especially good. I’ve appreciated Rahm’s ability to clearly articulate his thoughts and positions over the years that I have followed his career. Thank you!

I am smitten and delighted with this show. Political mostly, but with tons of engaging topics and guests. I finish each episode smarter, more motivated, and more humble. Ezra is intellectual and thoughtful. Highly recommend!

Show 4, Rahm > zero He sounds 100% fake any time he tries to sound “angry on behalf of the little guy” (who he has stomped relentlessly for as long as I can remember) Ezra who is smart enough to know didn’t push back hard enough, Rahm is what’s WRONG w the Democratic Party I hope his side loses miserably, but I’m not holding my breath on that, these ppl are endlessly creative when it comes to figuring out ways to continue hoarding massive amounts of wealth and resources for themselves and their friends, the 1% as they drain the rest of the country dry Anyway still love listening to this show! Very smart / interesting over all

I really enjoy the Ezra Klein show. I love the variety of guests he has on and the way he interviews guests shows that he is listening, interested and wants to hear a variety of perspectives even if he doesn't agree. He seems to truly try and understand where people are coming from and why they think the way they do which is not common in our political climate. Great show no matter what your political beliefs are.

Reviewing for the sole purpose of validating that Faiz Shakir was really annoying on the most recent episode

The episode dealing with the fallout from Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech was the last straw. My god. The casual nonsense about liberals fighting “primarily against those in power” completely misses the mark about any history of what drives liberals in fact - not merely to confront power but to LIBERATE people from injustice for the betterment of broader Commonwealth. The shallow takes are insufferable.

Ezra, I understand that you want to protect trans people. Why would you give a platform to Steven Teles who is blatantly trans phobic and spew lies about Covid ignoring the lasting effect of Long Covid & the surge in deaths (including from strokes and cancer) since Covid arrived in 2020. Instead, you sat there while he shamed the government for asking its employees to protect minorities like people who are immune compromised. There is nothing wrong with creating a world in which minorities are treated as full human beings and your rhetoric is beginning to feel like you are reaping the privileges of a world which accepts a man like you while slowly and subtly disenfranchising everyone else.

Ezra began his recent interview with Faiz Shakir by saying he was more interested in discussing Bernie-ism than Bernie, and yet he proceeded to knit-pick Bernie himself. It’s not just that Ezra gets distracted from the aims and parameters that he sets for himself; it’s that he lacks the capacity to recognize this fatal flaw. Get it together!

Love the show. Don’t like the cheesy new button music

Stick to print

I will never understand how so many smart and seemingly well intentioned individuals like this Ezra Klein, can be so convinced that they are defenders of democracy, when they are only ever defending the preservation of deep state bureaucracy that cares little for its constituents. I like Ezra’s insights and do believe he means well. But a misguided eloquent smart a man is more dangerous than a misguided idiot. And for that, ezra is dangerous and he seeks to reaffirm that America needs to continue in a trajectory of kleptocracy and deep state industrial complexes continuing to reallocate wealth from the middle class to the elitist (anyone see newsom’s new $9.1 million dollar home in Marin btw…. No wonder these corrupt perverts have an army of people like Klein so deluded)

The top line is that all Trump has to do is harass his enemies regularly, the way the PRC is currently doing to Taiwan. One of two outcomes. First, the victim is used as cautionary tale for anyone thinking of opposing the great leader and his cronies. Second, you make it impossible for them to do their jobs. This is the power the Trump Supreme Court gave their boys. This is what America voted for in its fathomless ignorance. This is what they deserve.

For a guy that criticizes the “Matrix Theory of the Mind”, Ezra sure makes content perfect for someone looking to binge information into their brain!! lol. I really enjoy the show, I just with I could remember the episodes with more clarity…. I guess once I’m through the archive, I’ll re-listen to many of them again! So many excellent guests, and thoughtful deliberation.

As a New Yorker, I'm always shocked when I hear democrats dismiss crime. Fare evasion isn't a big deal? Stats show that crime is down in NYC? Fare evasion raises costs for honest people. Those of us who ride the subway know that violent crime is way up. Most people don't report these incidents, because they know nothing will be done. I know many people who have been punched, kicked, grabbed on the train. Ezra is smart (although he never learned how to say "important") but he is a typical democrat. He is never wrong and the rest of us are dumb.

You have expanded my understanding and interest in so many areas.. the questions you ask are incredibly thoughtful and nuanced, thanks for doing what you do, it is such a gift!! (

I’ve listened to Ezra for years now. I love his intellectual take on things. He also presents information in such an easy to understand format. I appreciate that in the past year he has invited more conservative leaning folks on the podcast as I’m interested in hearing what they have to say; I just enjoy a civilized debate so I don’t always like going down partisan rabbit holes on podcasts and websites. Ezra, in my opinion, prevents that (others may disagree). Some favorite episodes lately are when he interviewed Vivek Ramiswamy (sp?) and Richard Rohr.

An ok show which is sometimes engaging but it is so clearly produced in the upper middle class nyc media bubble that it’s usually predictable and occasionally unintentionally funny. I’m a late 50s, gay democrat and even I find myself rolling my eyes and stopping episodes a third of the way in because I’VE HEARD IT ALL BEFORE. Are there NO interesting journalists left who can ask questions from outside the box??!?

It took me a year or so to determine whether I could trust Ezra's opinions as genuine. My rating would appear to reflect that even though we don't always see 100% eye-to-eye and I dislike some of his guests, they are worthwhile and so are his conversations, his analysis and viewpoints are rich, thoughtprovoking... It hasn't been uncommon for me to highly anticipate the Ezra take.

Klein is a painful example of why the Dems lost the election … priggish, pedantic, pseudo-intellectual identity-obsessed drivel … so disconnected he needs a shot of Thorazine. One listen was all I needed. Give Trump a few months in office and this guy will be serving you a Diet Coke at Applebee’s.

Grateful I found this podcast last year. I listen to each episode faithfully and more than once. Ezra is Thoughtful and thought-provoking. The episodes are Detailed, easy-to-follow, engaging, and promotes the listener to learn more after each episode.

I used to like the show but since the genocide in Gaza began it feels like Ezra has struggled to say anything interesting. He talks about Trump way too much with no added value. I feel this pod adds nothing to intellectual discourse... can't tell who it's for? I guess right-wing liberals?

Ezra, I have appreciated your thoughtful honest critical reporting. Thank you for putting it all on the line for truth. Curious what you think about the article in The New Republic, Why Does No One Understand the Real Reason Trump Won? by Michael Tomasky. Interesting perspective. Wondering what to do about it.

Thank you for your analysis and the calme you present always your point of view And the guest you have. I am with you we need to move away from so much politics And stop giving the Republicans and his master Time in the news They are going to do what they want I think you need to be advising the Democrats Your podcast was sheer by one of my sons about a years d I enjoy it THANK!!

Smart, brilliant, and insightful

Hey Ezra, new listener here. I am Jonathan Victoria, from Colombia. I moved to this country over 20 years ago as US resident and became a citizen a few years later. I am as shocked as you are of how this election went and especially how the Latino voters supported Donald Trump. I could sit here and tell you that I don't know what happened but I think I know. Latinos have a Macho mentality and because of that they basically decide who their family is voting for. I sadly believe latinos didn't want to vote for a woman to be their President. I feel ashamed and embarrassed. I know the conversation goes beyond that, but I truly believe that was the main reason. Great job with your essay. Looking forward to listening to more episodes

Mr. Klein, I am a lifelong rural democrat, a dairy farmers wife, and mother of two college aged children who happen to attend Ivy League institutions. The county of NY where I am from is a Trump stronghold. It is also one of the poorest, oldest and whitest counties in NY state outside of NYC. Property taxes in my town are higher than most affluent neighborhoods around the country. Yet, I still voted for Harris. And have voted for every democrat since Bill Clinton when I first became eligible to vote. If the democrats want to win they need to visit rural places, frequently. How about a visit to some rural schools and speak with young people. Figure out what exactly they are looking for? Sometimes, as I have found, what they are looking for contradicts itself. Today I started a Substack called The Rural View. It’s my hope to engage with more people not because I would like to run for office but because I truly want to understand how we got to this place. Why don’t we understand one another, what are we afraid of, how can we work together to make our communities more prosperous, more engaged with one another. Maybe put down our phones, disrupt the algorithms and just talk to one another…

Please Vivek R. - vile, awful 🤮🤮🤮

There’s nothing Kamala could have done better, more time would not have helped her, nothing would… white Americans would let this country burn just as long as it’s’ leader is white and male.

I think Ezra Klein is the best interviewer of our generation. He is thoughtful, nuanced, and able to see all sides of an issue in a way few others are. Although I don’t always agree with him politically (he is to the left of me), I really appreciate that he can argue his points in a non-condescending/non-judgmental manner, something most liberals fail to do.

Today’s election debrief episode really nailed it, and helped me to get my head around how we actually got here. The Dems have been too insular for way too long and need to burn the ships and start over. Just hope we can survive the next four years while they do it.

I like how he claimed the right is “fearmongering” but somehow never saw the 24-7 “project 2025” propaganda the Democrats spewed this election cycle. They claim they were the party of change and joy, but the opposite couldn’t be more true. The Ezra Klein ilk of progressive Democrat are the worst of the worst, because they know they are lying, but they use deception as a tool to achieve power. So glad to see their coalition wake up to the fact that Democrat establishment doesn’t care about them beyond their vote. The future looks bright.

Ezra you used your voice to push Biden out and now we have Trump! If that was your goal Congrats! Otherwise maybe we should have stuck with the Biden-Harris ticket that whooped Trump by 7 million votes.

Just a reminder to Ezra and Jon that Roger Ailes was a serial predator and even though he may have created the incredibly lucrative Fox News “out of the back of his head,” he was a terrible human being and part of the success of Fox is its misogynistic, homophobic leanings—which of course was greatly influenced by Ailes himself. Just wish that side was mentioned in this episode. I am an avid listener/reader and won’t stop (I often disagree with Ezra and his guests on many things), but this just hit personally for me and felt like it may be beneficial to put it in a review. Thanks for reading.

I’ve listened for a long time, but never wrote a review. Just finished the Jon Stewart episode and wow was it good! Two of the most entertaining and smart people in media these days. Even if you’re right of center, I think you’ll find the discussion very important and hear things you will probably agree with.

I find Mr. Klein to be very thoughtful and he seems authentically curious about all his guests. I actually like that he talks a lot in the interviews and expresses his own views because it prevents them from devolving into “I just held up a microphone” type of journalism that is often just a platform for the interviewee’s talking points. I think this is especially helpful in political reporting, and when talking to folks across the political spectrum. I also like how Klein often pushes back on the interviewee only once, and then moves on to the next question. I think this podcast is at its best with political and economic subjects, and at its worst when attempting to dive into literature, arts, or spirituality. This podcast can feel fairly “heady” and disconnected from real people’s experiences. This is a strength and a weakness.

I expect a certain amount of bias, because we all have it. But sloppy work and a disregard for factual rigor are unacceptable. When confronted with errors, Mr. Klein is not quick to correct himself. He’s an ideologue IMHO. Silo man.

Except for the recent episode with Vivek Ramaswamy, most of the guests on Ezra Klein’s podcast at well-informed and worth hearing, especially when they are not left-leaning. Ezra Klein has the interviewing chops needed to make each discussion provide some new perspective or provide historical context.

VR always does this…he just tries to overload you with intellectual jargon in order to stall out the question or you glaze over, or both. Why use 1 word when the conflicting interpretations & nuanced intricacies of the dynamics involved between 1 and 2 is so much more of a fascinating delve betwixt the geopolitical status and that’s why Medicaid is bad.

I’d say zionist apologist but he’s just a Zionist. Deeply troubled individual to say the literal genuine for real least. If I hear his voice let alone opinion ever again it will be too soon.

Radical liberal at its finest - not waste your time on an out of touch with reality host

TL;DR, Ezra. You’ve obviously never lived with anyone who has a personality disorder. No, you’re not a psychiatrist, but you’re acting like one, and you’re also gaslighting us. Trump is mentally unstable and you are making excuses for it, when the country’s at stake. Shame on you. Your sophistry is sickening. I was a fan, but not now.

This is total garbage full of contradictions and the both side argument equally trying to feel superior or woke when there is a real problem don’t waste your time

Ezra’s thoughtful essays are worth listening to. The most recent one “what is wrong with Donald Trump” was profound and very accurate. Great work!

I appreciate Mr. Klein’s genuine attempts at fairness and intellectual honesty, though I think he is often out of touch with what life looks like for the vast majority of Americans. I would like to hear from more guest speakers like Charles Fain Lehman who are not ideological, and who I think temper some of Klein’s more biased impulses.

Unsubscribed after the Great Paywall decision. I’m not privileged or wealthy and the pod has made it very clear who they think should have access to this information* It’s fine. Guess I’ll get my news from twitter rumble.