Podcast appearances and mentions of Derek Thompson

  • 394PODCASTS
  • 596EPISODES
  • 50mAVG DURATION
  • 1DAILY NEW EPISODE
  • Jun 12, 2025LATEST

POPULARITY

20172018201920202021202220232024


Best podcasts about Derek Thompson

Latest podcast episodes about Derek Thompson

The Realignment
558 | Derek Thompson & Rep. Jake Auchincloss: WelcomeFest 2025 - Can the Abundance Agenda Provide the Center's Missing Vision?

The Realignment

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2025 25:14


REALIGNMENT NEWSLETTER: https://therealignment.substack.com/PURCHASE BOOKS AT OUR BOOKSHOP: https://bookshop.org/shop/therealignmentEmail Us: realignmentpod@gmail.comLast week, Marshall interviewed Abundance co-author Derek Thompson and Representative Jake Auchincloss at WelcomeFest 2025. Marshall, Derek, and Jake's panel focused on the abundance agenda's place in debates about the future of the Democratic Party, the center-left's lack of a defining vision in contrast to the populist left and right's clarity, their reaction to polls indicating populism polls stronger than abundance, the importance of "telling stories" vs. articulating plans for the country, and the need to expand the abundance agenda debate beyond housing to the role of technology and progress in America.

The Neoliberal Podcast
What We Fight About When We Fight About Abundance

The Neoliberal Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2025 55:37


In the wake of Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein's book Abundance, there's been a significant amount of fighting amongst Democrats about the book and the broader Abundance movement. Jeremiah walks through the various camps involved in the fight, why some Democrats seem to hate the ideas of Abundance, and what this dispute is ultimately all about. Check out our episode with the author of Abundance, Derek Thompson: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creating-abundance-ft-derek-thompson/id1390384827?i=1000699610304   To get bonus episodes, support us at patreon.com/newliberalpodcast or https://cnliberalism.org/become-a-member Got questions? Send us a note at mailbag@cnliberalism.org. Follow us at: https://twitter.com/CNLiberalism https://cnliberalism.org/   Join a local chapter at https://cnliberalism.org/become-a-member/

The Permanent Problem
The prehistory, present, and future of abundance, with Steve Teles

The Permanent Problem

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2025 64:03


Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's bestselling new book Abundance has kicked off a new political movement -- and a vigorous internal debate on the future of the Democratic Party. Many of the policy ideas behind Abundance were developed at the Niskanen Center, recently described in The Atlantic as "the closest thing to an institutional home for the abundance agenda." On this episode of The Permanent Problem podcast, host Brink Lindsey welcomes Steve Teles, a political scientist at the Johns Hopkins University and a senior fellow at Niskanen, to discuss the prehistory, present, and future of the abundance movement. They review the intellectual backstory of the movement, explain how abundance ideas transcend the traditional left-right divide, dig into the current infighting among Democrats, and look forward to possibilities for an abundance faction on the right.

Citations Needed
Ep. 223: The Empire Strikes First, Part II — ‘Abundance' Pablum as Counter to Left Populism

Citations Needed

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2025 85:52


“Can Democrats Learn to Dream Big Again?,” wonders Samuel Moyn in the New York Times. “The Democrats Are Finally Landing on a New Buzzword. It's Actually Compelling,” argues Slate staff writer Henry Grabar. “Do Democrats Need to Learn How to Build?,” asks Benjamin Wallace-Wells in The New Yorker.  For the past few months, news and editorial rooms have been abuzz with talk about a new, grand vision for the Democratic Party: abundance. Abundance, according to its media promoters—chiefly NYT's Ezra Klein and The Atlantic's Derek Thompson—is a political agenda that espouses the creation of more of everything we need: housing, education, jobs, and energy, to name a few examples. To accomplish this, we are told, we must aim to eliminate bureaucratic red tape that has for so long bogged down production, innovation, and capital's innate capacity and desire to provide a better, more abundant life. It's an alluring promise—if suspiciously vague and devoid of class politics: obviously, doing more good things is better than doing fewer good things, right? Who can argue with this generic premise? Who wouldn't want to support an agenda that's effectively the Do Good Things Agenda? Scratch the surface, however, and what one finds it isn't just a folky, common sense treatise against red tape, but something more sinister and dishonest, something more slick and shallow. What one gets is a standard entryist strategy that begins with a so-vague-it's-incontestable hook—illogical or corrupt regulations are bad—the quickly pivots into a Silicon Valley flattering, and often Silicon Valley funded, political agenda, a narrative designed to blame inequality and our objectively broken political system on too much regulation and “bureaucracy” rather than there being too much power in the hands of an elite few. What one gets, in other words, is a counter to left populism. What one gets is the latest attempt to reheat neoliberalism as something fresh, innovative and able to excite the voting base. Last week, in Part I of a two-part series we're calling “The Empire Strikes First,” we discussed the Democrats' post-2024 apologia, propped up by scapegoats ranging from trans people to “economic headwinds” to Harris actually being too far left. On this episode, Part II of the series, we explore what comes next: the 2028 Democratic strategy and the so-called abundance agenda that is increasingly shaping it. We'll examine how Democratic media influencers and policymakers use lofty, seemingly progressive rhetoric to rehabilitate and re-sell the same old neoliberal deregulation, privatization, and austerity narrative that got us here in the first place, and ensure that no left-wing movement—that could, god forbid, require a meaningful change in the party—get in their way. Our guests are the Revolving Door Project's Kenny Stancil and Henry Burke.

Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael
Critiquing Abundance + What's Left: 3 Paths Through the Planetary Crisis w/ Malcolm Harris

Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2025 52:32


On this edition of Parallax Views, writer and political theorist Malcolm Harris joins us to unpack his sharp critique of the so-called Abundance Agenda, popularized by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. Harris argues that this vision—focused on building more housing, expanding clean energy, and turbocharging innovation—fails to confront the structural contradictions of capitalism and the political realities of class struggle. It's a vision of progress that avoids asking who builds, who benefits, and who decides. We then turn to What's Left, Harris's ambitious new book that outlines three strategic responses to the planetary crisis: marketcraft, public power, and communism. Harris doesn't call for ideological purity—he calls for coordination. What does democratic planning look like in an age of disaster—and how do we get there together? Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews

Second Request
What Abundance Gets Wrong

Second Request

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2025 64:01


Is "Abundance" the answer to our housing, energy, and pharma crises—or just neoliberalism in a new outfit?In this in-depth conversation, Capital Forum's Teddy Downey sits down with Sandeep Vaheesan of the Open Markets Institute to dissect "Abundance", the much-hyped book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. Sandeep—legal director, historian, and author of Democracy and Power—offers a sweeping critique of the book's policy proposals and ideological foundations.We talk about:

The CGAI Podcast Network
PONIs and Stallions: Building Major Projects

The CGAI Podcast Network

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2025 52:16


On this episode of the Energy Security Cubed Podcast, Kelly Ogle and Joe Calnan talk with Heather Exner-Pirot about the new Canadian major projects legislation and how we should think about nation-building projects and Canada's national interest for energy. // For the intro, Kelly and Joe discuss the next month is oil prices and the prospect of pipelines thorough B.C. // Guest Bio: - Heather Exner-Pirot is a Senior Fellow and Director of Energy, Natural Resources and Environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute // Host Bio: - Kelly Ogle is Managing Director of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute - Joe Calnan is VP, Energy and Calgary Operations at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute // Reading recommendations: - "Abundance", by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson: https://www.amazon.ca/Abundance-Progress-Takes-Ezra-Klein/dp/1668023482 - "The Buried City: Unearthing the Real Pompeii", by Gabriel Zuchtriegel: https://www.amazon.ca/Buried-City-Unearthing-Pompeii-Bestseller/dp/1399731173 // Interview recording Date: June 10, 2025 // Energy Security Cubed is part of the CGAI Podcast Network. Follow the Canadian Global Affairs Institute on Facebook, Twitter (@CAGlobalAffairs), or on LinkedIn. Head over to our website at www.cgai.ca for more commentary. // Produced by Joe Calnan. Music credits to Drew Phillips.

INFILL
How We Build A Future of Abundance

INFILL

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2025 53:46


On this episode of Infill, Gillian Pressman talks with two powerhouse voices: Sonja Trauss, founder of the YIMBY movement and Executive Director of YIMBY Law, and Misha Chellam, founder of the Abundance Network. Together, they unpack the transformative idea of “abundance,” sparked by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's new book. They explore what resources it takes to build abundance and how we can build the political power to make a future of abundance our reality. You'll hear thoughts on how YIMBY and Abundance movement leaders are creating systems that empower local advocates to get involved in politics, how different kinds of people in your movement can help you win, and the benefits of various approaches to building power. Whether you're new to the YIMBY movement or deep in the policy trenches, this episode will inspire you to think bigger, act bolder, and advocate harder for a future of abundance for all of us. Read the Your Role in Abundance Substack article: https://modernpower.substack.com/p/your-role-in-abundanceLearn more about the Abundance Network: https://www.abundancenetwork.com/Learn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/yimbyaction.bsky.socialFollow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction/

When the Facts Change
An abundance of energy

When the Facts Change

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2025 36:12


‘Abundance' is the hottest word in the political economy right now all around the world. A book by Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein called ‘Abundance: How we build a better future' argues the centre-left should adopt urbanisation and electrification as central aims to improve affordability of housing and transport, rather than framing emissions reduction as an expensive and painful necessity that the right has successfully weaponised into electoral suicide. This week on When The Facts Change, Bernard Hickey talks to Rewiring Aotearoa about what could be done right now to electrify our transport fleet and the cost of living savings within our grasp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let Me Sum Up
Abundance: A Zippy 40 Year Ride On Procedural Liberalism's Fast Train To Nowhere

Let Me Sum Up

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2025 89:59


It's hard to believe your intrepid hosts birthed this little pod into the world a whole three years ago, but here we are! Still readin' papers, still summing em' up for YOU, our amazing Summerupperers!And to mark the occasion, we are celebrating with a triple scoop of gas policy, political philisophy and pod merch madness! That's right, we're SHIRTFRONTING the lot of you! After far, far too many ‘Shirtfronting with Frankie' segments, Team LMSU is delighted to offer our very own a la carte merch menu! T-shirts and tote bags and mugs, oh my! All brought to you via our brand-spanking-new website glow-up at www.letmesumup.net! There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: listen to the pod, leave us a voicemail, support us on Patreon and deck yourself out in LMSU's finest. Run, don't walk over to www.letmesumup.net.—Gas, gas, gas! After Frankie's extended victory lap post winning the longest-running, slowest-moving merch race around, we talk gas. SO MUCH gas. First, Woodside's North West Shelf gets the green light to operate until 2070 from incoming Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt. Cue despair from climate advocates and a 600-page consultant report that may or may not be acid rainwashing ancient rock art. But while this decision went Woodside's way, gas market fundamentals may not be so kind; keeping this facility pumping beyond the early 2030s will require opening up the Browse Basin, and there are big question marks over the fundamental economics. There is some great analysis on this around if you look for it, not least from IEEFA's Joshua Runciman, which we highly recommend!Next, a decision from the Victorian Government to approve Viva's construction of an LNG Import Terminal in Geelong. Magic gas ships? A lesser of three evils? Who woulda thunk it! Stranded assets are so 2022. Lots of complexity to unpack in these decisions, and we have our usual abundance of thoughts!Our main courseEver hungry for new feasts of ideas, your intrepid hosts were not content to blow out the candles at this birthday party with a mere paper, oh no! We gifted ourselves an abundance of anecdotes - and maybe a famine of fixes - devouring the infamous book doing the rounds in US liberal politics circles, “Abundance” by Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein. This pro-growth, anti-red tape manifesto is a 'ripper' according to Jim Chalmers and will clearly be doing the rounds in Australian political circles, but what do your intrepid hosts make of it all? A provocation for a “liberalism that builds”, the challenges in housing, health, energy and infrastructure all feel familiar. For these three policy wonks, we would have really liked a list, not just a lens! Lots to digest, provocations and limitations but ultimately food for Australian thought.One more thingsOur collective One More Thing is a massive thanks to YOU, our delightful Summerupperers! We continue to love doing the pod, getting to spend time with each other and meeting so many of you, out in the world! Our gift to you (and ourselves really, who's kidding) is the fully operational climate nerd command center that is www.letmesumup.net. Listen to episodes, shop the merch, leave us a voicemail, or just marvel at the fact that we finally have an About page!And that's all from us this week Summerupperers! Leave us a voicemail with your hot tips and suggestions for papers, and while you're at it, grab an LMSU T-shirt, mug or tote at letmesumup.net.

The Culture Journalist
How to save the world, with Malcolm Harris

The Culture Journalist

Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2025 68:59


In his new book, What's Left: Three Paths Through the Planetary Crisis, writer Malcom Harris examines what is probably our most pressing existential paradox: Both individually and as a society, we're all so caught up in the struggle to survive under capitalism that we've become incapable of taking decisive action to reduce our reliance on carbon and ensure our collective survival. Fortunately, as Malcom sees it, our fate isn't sealed just yet. And What's Left lays out, clearly and accessibly, what he sees as the three remaining options for saving the world.Malcolm joins us to talk about those strategies — which he calls marketcraft, public power, and communism — and why solving the climate crisis requires people from across the left pursuing all three of them in tandem. We also get into why more mainstream political philosophies — like the notion of “Abundance,” popularized by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson and championed by centrist Democrats like Cory Booker — won't help, largely because of a failure to engage with class politics.Finally, we zoom out to contemplate what political opposition even looks like in our increasingly inhospitable environment for free speech. Will the left will remain fragmented between Boomers shouting “Hands off NATO” at public protests while college students get arrested for peacefully protesting the atrocities in Gaza? Or is a broader coalition possible?Want to continue the conversation? For access to our member-only Discord (and all our bonus episodes), sign up for a paid subscription.Order What's Left: Three Paths Through the Planetary CrisisFollow Malcolm on XRead more by Malcolm:“What's the matter with Abundance?” (The Baffler) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theculturejournalist.substack.com/subscribe

The Indicator from Planet Money
How to build abundantly

The Indicator from Planet Money

Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2025 9:02


Why is building affordable housing so hard these days? We talk to author Derek Thompson about his new book with Ezra Klein, Abundance, about what they believe is keeping affordable housing out of reach in high-income cities. Related: How big is the US housing shortage? (Apple / Spotify) How California's speed rail was always going to blow out (Apple / Spotify) Why building public transit costs so much For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine
ABUNDANCE by Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson, read by Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson

Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine

Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2025 8:23


Popular podcasters Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson ask a complicated question: What's wrong with how our government operates, and what needs to change? Host Jo Reed and AudioFile's Michele Cobb dive into this thorough and intelligent discussion that sounds the alarm without sounding alarmist. Operation Warp Speed's federal/private partnership to quickly create a COVID-19 vaccine is presented as a healthy example of how focus and efficiency can meet a nation's most dire needs. Read our review of the audiobook at our website  Published by Simon & Schuster Audio Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile's website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let Me Sum Up
“Unlimited Power!!!” Cackle Energy Wonks Calculating Australia's Clean Trade Opportunity

Let Me Sum Up

Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2025 75:10


Support us on Patreon... Team LMSU are calling all Summerupperers to come join the expanded LMSU universe and support our Patreon! Every fortnight, the day after a regular episode drops, there will be a delicious, subscriber only BoCo episode. Because, THERE IS TOO MUCH! This week we are taking stock of post-election shenanigans and implications for climate policies. Run, don't walk over to https://www.patreon.com/LetMeSumUp.—It took something majorly main course to distract your entrepid hosts from microwaving some more post-election popcorn (never fear, this week's BoCo episode for Patreon subscribers will provide your fix). To detoxing from domestic politics we read this excellent analysis from Lauri Myllyvirta for Carbon Brief suggesting China's emissions may have peaked! Despite previous drops in emissions being linked to economic downturns, this time new installed renewable generation outpaced energy demand growth and displaced coal. What a delightful palate cleanser!Our main paper“Unlimited Power!!!” cackled your intrepid hosts as we imbibed this week's paper, The New Energy Trade: harnessing Australian renewables for global development from Reuben Finighan at the Superpower Institute. This cracker of a report had us stroking chins, making plans for world domination and tallying the BAGILLION dollars in export value from Australia's potential as a global leader in the ‘superpower trade'. This paper was methodical and compelling in fleshing out Ross Garnaut's vision of Australia as a renewable energy superpower - and what a huge juicy prize to be won! We recommend sampling the summary report for super curious Summerupperers.One more thingsTennant's One More Thing is: The Victorian Transmission Plan, 2025 edition, Draft for ConsultationFrankie's One More Thing is: the PC rolling up its sleeves and speeding up approvals for new energy infra, encouraging private investment in adaptation, and reducing the cost of meeting carbon targets are in its sights!Luke's One More Thing is: putting listeners on notice for LMSU's first book club episode! That's right, we're going to read (or perhaps listen) to Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's provocative 'less regulation may be better for the environment' bestseller Abundance, and sum it up sometime soon. Get reading folks!And that's all from us Summerupperers! Send your hot tips and suggestions for papers to us at mailbag@letmesumup.net and check out our back catalogue at letmesumup.net.

Deadline: White House
“An unmistakable escalation”

Deadline: White House

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2025 86:16


Nicolle Wallace discusses the politicization of the Department of Justice after they charged a New Jersey congresswoman, Donald Trump's latest comments on the war in Ukraine after his phone call with Putin, Elon Musk's announcement that he plans to do less political spending, the companies preparing to raise prices due to tariffs, and more. Joined by: Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Alex Wagner, David Jolly, John Hudson, Anne Applebaum, Derek Thompson, Charlie Sykes, Teddy Schleifer, Matt Dowd, and Mary McCord. 

90 Miles From Needles with Chris Clarke and Alicia Pike
S4E16: Ezra Klein's New Book Has an Abundance of Problems

90 Miles From Needles with Chris Clarke and Alicia Pike

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2025 38:30


About the Host: Chris Clarke is the host of "90 Miles from Needles: The Desert Protection Podcast." With an extensive background in environmental journalism, Clarke has covered renewable energy developments in California's deserts for KCET, a public television station in Los Angeles. His work is driven by a passionate commitment to environmental conservation and protection, bringing to light the complexities and challenges of implementing renewable energy projects in sensitive desert habitats. Clarke's expertise and dedication continue to inform and inspire as he navigates the intricacies of desert ecosystems and environmental policies. Episode Summary: In this episode of "90 Miles from Needles: The Desert Protection Podcast," host Chris Clarke offers a critical analysis of "Abundance," the new book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. The episode unpacks the book's treatment of environmental regulations and sustainable development, particularly questioning the authors' thesis of liberal states allegedly hindering renewable projects due to stringent regulations. Clarke, drawing on his years of experience as a renewable energy reporter, counters this narrative with on-ground insights, advocating for the significance of environmental laws. Clarke critiques Klein and Thompson's perspective that liberal regulations are obstacles to progress, especially in solar energy projects. With examples from California's renewable energy history, he underscores how the actual challenges often stem from corporate dynamics rather than regulatory frameworks. Clarke highlights the pitfalls of Klein and Thompson's book, arguing that it oversimplifies complex issues by selectively presenting data, ultimately asserting the need for a grounded understanding of environmental policies. Key Takeaways: Environmental Regulations' Role: Clarke challenges the notion that environmental regulations, like CEQA, are the main barriers to renewable energy progress, presenting evidence from California's solar energy projects. Corporate Influence: The episode points out the critical role of corporate influence, particularly from utility companies, in shaping the renewable energy landscape, rather than blaming public regulations. Complexity in Policy Discussions: Emphasizes the need for detailed and nuanced discussions about housing and energy development, contrasting with the book's broad brush critiques. Grounded Evidence: Advocates for the significance of ground truthing and environmental laws in preventing unforeseen project impacts, contrary to the book's implications. Desert Habitat Challenges: Explores the environmental and cultural challenges of renewable projects in the California desert, highlighting systemic issues outside mere regulatory concerns. Notable Quotes: "In Klein and Thompson's telling of how liberal regulation is getting in the way of renewable energy development, the actual history of renewable energy development in the desert never showed up." "The function of these laws is to ground truth projects, to reduce the number of unanticipated consequences." "[Rooftop solar in California] is having some issues because the utilities don't like it." "This book is a testament to the power of selective cherry picking of data in order to bolster an ideological argument." "Abundance is essentially a polemic, an extended OP-ed, and in this climate, it's just not helpful." Resources: 90 Miles from Needles Website: http://90milesfromneedles.com California Distributed Generation Stats: https://www.californiadgstats.ca.gov/ "Rooftop Solar Reduces Costs for All Ratepayers" report by the California Solar and Storage Association: https://mcubedecon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/calssa_rooftop-solar-reduces-costs-for-all-ratepayers-2025.pdf Mehdi Hasan and Derek Thompson discussing "Abundance": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTC5jKpYYNU Zeteo (Mehdi Hasan's new news network): https://zeteo.com/ Rose Foundation report on CEQA and housing: https://rosefdn.org/wp-content/uploads/CEQA-California_s-Living-Environmental-Law-10-25-21.pdf CEQA and Housing Production: https://www.califaep.org/docs/CEQA_and_Housing_Report_1-30-19.pdfBecome a desert defender!: https://90milesfromneedles.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The.Ink
WATCH: Has MAGA peaked?

The.Ink

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2025 79:51


We just had a long and very challenging Live conversation with Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, journalist and novelist Ross Barkan, and our friend (and former Trump advisor) Michael Cohen. We talked about how the reality of Donald Trump's presidency has upended American politics, not least for Trump and the MAGA movement. Rep. Himes, a noted pragmatic centrist, is now willing to talk seriously about progressive ideas like Medicare for All. Cohen's trajectory out of the Trump orbit has made him a fiery advocate for constitutional rights. And for Barkan, the first months of Trump 2.0 signal that the MAGA brand has peaked and is in decline. Watch the whole video for their thoughts on what's next.If you appreciate the work that goes into The Ink and haven't already done so, we hope you'll become a supporting subscriber.That's how we keep the lights on, pay our writers and editors a fair wage, and build the new media we all deserve. When you subscribe, you help us reach more people.Join us today. Or give a gift or group subscription.More Live conversations this week!Tomorrow, Wednesday, May 21, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, join us for this week's Book Club meeting. We'll be joined by Abundance authors Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. Then on Thursday, May 22, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, we'll talk with author and finance expert Ramit Sethi, then at 4:00 p.m., we'll be speaking with the journalist Jim Acosta. We hope you can make it to all of these great discussions.To join and watch, download the Substack app (click on the button below) and turn on notifications — you'll get an alert that we're live, and you can watch from your iOS or Android mobile device. And if you haven't already, subscribe to The Ink to access full videos of past conversations and to join the chat during our live events. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit the.ink/subscribe

Long Now: Seminars About Long-term Thinking
Ezra Klein, Michael Pollan, Derek Thompson: Abundance

Long Now: Seminars About Long-term Thinking

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2025 59:28


Presented in partnership with Manny's and City Arts & Lectures As they look upon the United States of America in 02025, Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson see a country wrought by a half-century of failed governance. They see states and cities theoretically committed to progressive futures instead bogged down in labyrinthine mires of process and deliberation — a society stuck in low gear. Yet they also see opportunity to turn those failures on their heads, and to build a better society based around more responsive, efficient governance. This is the vision that animates Abundance, Klein and Thompson's new book and the focus of their Long Now Talk, hosted by Michael Pollan and co-sponsored with Manny's and City Arts & Lectures. Despite Long Now's focus on long-term thinking — of counterbalancing civilization's pathologically short attention span — there was much to appreciate in Klein and Thompson's call for American governance to “rediscover speed as a progressive value.” In their wide-ranging discussion, the two authors made the case for a vision of liberalism that builds, both for its own sake and as a bulwark against reactionary right-wing movements that have capitalized on the shortcomings of contemporary progressive politics. Episode Notes: https://longnow.org/ideas/abundance

The.Ink
WATCH: The leaders we need

The.Ink

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2025 6:03


This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit the.inkWe just got off a wide-ranging call with messaging guru Anat Shenker-Osorio (rejoining us after a long break to fix things in European politics and Run for Something president Amanda Litman, who has a new book out called When We're In Charge: The Next Generation's Guide to Leadership, which applies what she's learned in bringing up a younger wave of Democratic leaders to any organization.We talked about the tension within the Democratic Party between the centrists who feel that they've gotten it right all along and only need to tweak messaging to win elections and those who see the need for a real policy change, whether postmortems of the 2024 election have value, how housing is shaping politics and leadership along generational lines, the power of showing up and protesting from the Visibility Brigades hanging signs on freeway overpasses to the activists who showed up to protest Medicaid cuts at the Rayburn Building this week, and the challenges for younger leaders — in Democratic politics and in any private or public organzation — as they try to break with the models of the past and redefine what it is to lead, work, and build in the future. We hope you'll check out the full video above and pick up Amanda Litman's new book for more of her insights — even if you're not a millennial! If you appreciate these kinds of interviews, will you support independent media by becoming a supporting subscriber now?More Live conversations next week!Come back next week for a full slate of Live conversations! On Monday, May 19, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, when we will be talking with the great economist Paul Krugman. Then on Tuesday, May 20, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern, we will speak with Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut. Then for our Book Club meeting (open to supporting Ink subscribers) on Wednesday, May 21, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, we'll be joined by Abundance authors Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. On Thursday, May 22, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, we'll talk with author and finance expert Ramit Sethi, then at 4:00 p.m., we'll be speaking with the journalist Jim Acosta. And on Friday, May 23, also at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, we will talk to Working Families Party director Maurice Mitchell. We hope to see you all there!To join and watch, download the Substack app (click on the button below) and turn on notifications — you'll get an alert that we're live, and you can watch from your iOS or Android mobile device. And if you haven't already, subscribe to The Ink to access full videos of past conversations and to join the chat during our live events.If you appreciate the work that goes into The Ink and haven't already done so, we hope you'll become a supporting subscriber.That's how we keep the lights on, pay our writers and editors a fair wage, and build the new media we all deserve. When you subscribe, you help us reach more people.Join us today. Or give a gift or group subscription.

The Realignment
550 | Elizabeth Wilkins: Abundance and the Left, Antitrust, & the Future of State Capacity

The Realignment

Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2025 59:32


Three Visions of Where Democrats Went Wrong | The Ezra Klein Show - Zephyr Teachout and Saikat ChakrabartiREALIGNMENT NEWSLETTER: https://therealignment.substack.com/PURCHASE BOOKS AT OUR BOOKSHOP: https://bookshop.org/shop/therealignmentEmail Us: realignmentpod@gmail.comElizabeth Wilkins, President and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute and alumn of the White House and Lina Khan's Federal Trade Commission, joins The Realignment. Marshall and Elizabeth discuss why the left has reacted critically to the abundance agenda, her agreement with Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's emphasis on enhancing state capacity, and how to restore faith in government. They explore the tension between technocratic fixes and populist demands, the need for effective political storytelling, and why "small," tangible wins like banning junk fees and non-competes matter as much as big legislative wins.  

Three Cartoon Avatars
EP 143: Debunking Healthcare's Biggest Myths with Zach Weinberg and Derek Thompson

Three Cartoon Avatars

Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2025


In this episode, Logan is joined by Zach Weinberg (Co-Founder/CEO @ Curie.Bio) and Derek Thompson (writer at The Atlantic) for a candid discussion on the state of U.S. healthcare and scientific progress. They unpack what went right, and wrong, with COVID vaccine policy, the public backlash against mRNA technology, and the ripple effects on trust in science. The conversation also dives into the real reasons behind NIH budget cuts, the economics of drug discovery, and the business incentives in medical R&D. It's a sharp, thought-provoking look at the intersection of policy, innovation, and public perception. (00:00) Introduction to Drug Pricing in the US (00:23) Broad Healthcare Topics and Open-Ended Discussion (02:37) COVID-19 Vaccines: Successes and Public Perception (06:21) The Evolution of COVID-19 and Vaccine Efficacy (07:59) Public Policy and Vaccine Mandates (13:10) Impact of School Closures and Public Sentiment (19:23) NIH Funding and the Importance of Basic Research (25:04) Challenges in Science Funding and Public Perception (35:19) Government vs. Private Investment in Science (36:40) Operation Warp Speed: A Case Study (39:07) Antibiotic Resistance Crisis (43:22) The Drug Pricing Debate (44:05) Challenges in Drug Discovery (54:06) Regulatory Hurdles in Medical R&D (58:06) The Future of Drug Development (01:04:19) Concluding Thoughts Executive Producer: Rashad Assir Producer: Leah Clapper Mixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint's AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA

New Ideal, from the Ayn Rand Institute
The ARI Bookshelf Explores Abundance

New Ideal, from the Ayn Rand Institute

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2025 83:52


https://youtu.be/LVNSnbdEo0o Podcast audio: In this episode of The ARI Bookshelf, Onkar Ghate, Tristan de Liège, and Robertas Bakula discuss Abundance, the recent best-selling book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson that has gained traction in liberal circles. Klein and Thompson acknowledge the failings of past liberal policies and present what they call the “abundance agenda” as an alternative. The agenda emphasizes streamlined regulations alongside robust government involvement in production — an approach the authors claim will usher in a new political order. The discussion covered: The book's central arguments; How the “abundance agenda” is unphilosophical and collectivistic; How the book's position on environmentalism reveals its deeper philosophical problems; How the book fails to distinguish between coercion and voluntary cooperation; How the authors fail to check their premises about government; Why the book's admiration for China is troubling. The video premiered on May 1, 2025.

ChinaTalk
Ezra, Derek, and Dan Wang on Abundance and China

ChinaTalk

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2025 69:09


Does anybody really understand China? Could America pursue an abundance agenda without the threat of the PRC? Can podcasters change the world? To discuss, ChinaTalk interviewed Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, who need no introduction, as well as Dan Wang, who has written beautiful annual letters and is back in the US as a research fellow at Kotkin's Hoover History Lab. He has an excellent book called Breakneck coming out this August, but we're saving that show for a little later this year. Today, our conversation covers… The use of China as a rhetorical device in US domestic discourse, Oversimplified aspects of Chinese development, and why the bipartisan consensus surrounding Beijing might fail to produce a coherent strategy, The abundance agenda and technocratic vs prophetic strategies for policy change, How to conceptualize political actors complexly, including unions, corporations, and environmental groups, The value of podcasting and strategies for positively impacting the modern media environment. Outtro Music: Recomposed by Max Richter, I went with a deep cut Autumn 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUEeqvp_BrQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ChinaEconTalk
Ezra, Derek, and Dan Wang on Abundance and China

ChinaEconTalk

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2025 69:09


Does anybody really understand China? Could America pursue an abundance agenda without the threat of the PRC? Can podcasters change the world? To discuss, ChinaTalk interviewed Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, who need no introduction, as well as Dan Wang, who has written beautiful annual letters and is back in the US as a research fellow at Kotkin's Hoover History Lab. He has an excellent book called Breakneck coming out this August, but we're saving that show for a little later this year. Today, our conversation covers… The use of China as a rhetorical device in US domestic discourse, Oversimplified aspects of Chinese development, and why the bipartisan consensus surrounding Beijing might fail to produce a coherent strategy, The abundance agenda and technocratic vs prophetic strategies for policy change, How to conceptualize political actors complexly, including unions, corporations, and environmental groups, The value of podcasting and strategies for positively impacting the modern media environment. Outtro Music: Recomposed by Max Richter, I went with a deep cut Autumn 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUEeqvp_BrQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Factually! with Adam Conover
Why America Can't Build (Yet) with Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

Factually! with Adam Conover

Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2025 87:04


Could many of America's biggest problems be solved by simply building more? The theory of abundance suggests that from the housing crisis to the climate crisis, we could make real progress—if only we had the will and the systems to build boldly and swiftly. In their new book Abundance, Ezra Klein of The New York Times and Derek Thompson of The Atlantic lay out this ambitious vision. This week, Adam talks with Klein and Thompson about what's holding America back—and how we might finally get out of our own way. Find Ezra and Derek's book at factuallypod.com/books--SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconoverSEE ADAM ON TOUR: https://www.adamconover.net/tourdates/SUBSCRIBE to and RATE Factually! on:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/factually-with-adam-conover/id1463460577» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0fK8WJw4ffMc2NWydBlDyJAbout Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com.» SUBSCRIBE to Headgum: https://www.youtube.com/c/HeadGum?sub_confirmation=1» FOLLOW us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/headgum» FOLLOW us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/headgum/» FOLLOW us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headgum» Advertise on Factually! via Gumball.fmSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Deadline: White House
“Cancer growing within the government”

Deadline: White House

Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2025 85:55


Nicolle Wallace discusses the meeting between new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney amid Donald Trump's escalating trade wars, the impact that's already having on U.S. ports, new reporting on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and more. Joined by: David Gura, Derek Thompson, Susanne Craig, Tim Miller, Andrew Weissmann, Alex Ward, retired Brigadier General Steve Anderson, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and Executive Director of the port of Los Angeles Gene Seroka.

Keen On Democracy
Episode 2522: Edmund Fawcett on Trump as a Third Way between Liberalism and Conservatism

Keen On Democracy

Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2025 34:09


I've been in London this week talking to America watchers about the current situation in the United States. First up is Edmund Fawcett, the longtime Economist correspondent in DC and historian of both liberalism and conservatism. Fawcett argues that Trump's MAGA movement represents a kind of third way between liberalism and conservatism - a version of American populism resurrected for our anti-globalist early 21st century. He talks about how economic inequality fuels Trumpism, with middle-class income shares dropping while the wealthy prosper. He critiques both what he calls right-wing intellectual "kitsch" and the left's lack of strategic vision beyond its dogma of identity politics. Lacking an effective counter-narrative to combat Trumpism, Fawcett argues, liberals require not only sharper messaging but also a reinvention of what it means to be modern in our globalized age of resurrected nationalism. 5 Key Takeaways* European reactions to Trump mix shock with recognition that his politics have deep American roots.* Economic inequality (declining middle-class wealth) provides the foundation for Trump's political appeal.* The American left lacks an effective counter-narrative and strategic vision to combat Trumpism.* Both right-wing intellectualism and left-wing identity politics suffer from forms of "kitsch" and American neurosis.* The perception of America losing its position as the embodiment of modernity creates underlying anxiety. Full TranscriptAndrew Keen: Hello everybody, we are in London this week, looking westward, looking at the United States, spending some time with some distinguished Englishmen, or half-Englishmen, who have spent a lot of their lives in the United States, and Edmund Fawcett, former Economist correspondent in America, the author of a number of important books, particularly, Histories of Liberalism and Conservatism, is remembering America, Edmund. What's your first memory of America?Edmund Fawcett: My first memory of America is a traffic accident on Park Avenue, looking down as a four-year-old from our apartment. I was there from the age of two to four, then again as a school child in Washington for a few years when my father was working. He was an international lawyer. But then, after that, back in San Francisco, where I was a... I kind of hacked as an editor for Straight Arrow Press, which was the publishing arm of Rolling Stone. This was in the early 70s. These were the, it was the end of the glory days of Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, the anti-war movement in Vietnam. It was exciting. A lot was going on, a lot was changing. And then not long after that, I came back to the U.S. for The Economist as their correspondent in Washington. That was in 1976, and I stayed there until 1983. We've always visited. Our son and grandson are American. My wife is or was American. She gave up her citizenship last year, chiefly for practical reasons. She said I would always feel American. But our regular visits have ended, of course. Being with my background, my mother was American, my grandfather was American. It is deeply part of my outlook, it's part of my world and so I am always very interested. I read quite a bit of the American press, not just the elite liberal press, every day. I keep an eye on through Real Clear Politics, which has got a very good sort of gazetteer. It's part of my weather.Andrew Keen: Edmund, I know you can't speak on behalf of Europe, but I'm going to ask a dumb question. Maybe you'll give me a smarter answer than the question. What's the European, the British take on what's happening in America? What's happened in this first quarter of 2025?Edmund Fawcett: I think a large degree of shock and horror, that's just the first reaction. If you'll allow me a little space, I think then there's a second reaction. The first reaction is shock and terror, with good reason, and nobody likes being talked to in the way that Vance talked to them, ignorantly and provocatively about free speech, which he feels he hasn't really thought hard enough about, and besides, it was I mean... Purely commercial, in largely commercial interest. The Europeans are shocked by the American slide from five, six, seven decades of internationalism. Okay, American-led, but still internationalist, cooperative, they're deeply shocked by that. And anybody who cares, as many Europeans do, about the texture, the caliber of American democracy and liberalism, are truly shocked by Trump's attacks on the courts, his attacks on the universities, his attack on the press.Andrew Keen: You remember, of course, Edmund, that famous moment in Casablanca where the policeman said he was shocked, truly shocked when of course he wasn't. Is your shock for real? Your... A good enough scholar of the United States to understand that a lot of the stuff that Trump is bringing to the table isn't new. We've had an ongoing debate in the show about how authentically American Trump is, whether he is the F word fascist or whether he represents some other indigenous strain in US political culture. What's your take?Edmund Fawcett: No, and that's the response to the shock. It's when you look back and see this Trump is actually deeply American. There's very little new here. There's one thing that is new, which I'll come to in a moment, and that returns the shock, but the shock is, is to some extent absorbed when Europeans who know about this do reflect that Trump is deeply American. I mean, there is a, he likes to cite McKinley, good, okay, the Republicans were the tariff party. He likes to say a lot of stuff that, for example, the populist Tom Watson from the South, deeply racist, but very much speaking for the working man, so long as he was a white working man. Trump goes back to that as well. He goes back in the presidential roster. Look at Robert Taft, competitor for the presidency against Eisenhower. He lost, but he was a very big voice in the Republican Party in the 1940s and 50s. Robert Taft, Jr. didn't want to join NATO. He pushed through over Truman's veto, the Taft-Hartley bill that as good as locked the unions out, the trade unions out of much of the part of America that became the burgeoning economic America, the South and the West. Trump is, sorry, forgive me, Taft, was in many ways as a hard-right Republican. Nixon told Kissinger, professors are the enemy. Reagan gave the what was it called? I forget the name of the speech that he gave in endorsing Barry Goldwater at the 1964 Republican Convention. This in a way launched the new Republican assault on liberal republicanism. Rockefeller was the loser. Reagan, as it were, handed the palm to Rocket Goldwater. He lost to Johnson, but the sermon they were using, the anti-liberal went into vernacular and Trump is merely in a way echoing that. If you were to do a movie called Trump, he would star, of course, but somebody who was Nixon and Reagan's scriptwright, forgive me, somebody who is Nixon and Reagan's Pressman, Pat Buchanan, he would write the script of the Trump movie. Go back and read, look at some of Pat Buchanan's books, some of his articles. He was... He said virtually everything that Trump says. America used to be great, it is no longer great. America has enemies outside that don't like it, that we have nothing to do with, we don't need allies, what we want is friends, and we have very few friends in the world. We're largely on our, by our own. We're basically a huge success, but we're being betrayed. We're being ignored by our allies, we're being betrayed by friends inside, and they are the liberal elite. It's all there in Pat Buchanan. So Trump in that way is indeed very American. He's very part of the history. Now, two things. One is... That Trump, like many people on the hard right in Europe, is to some extent, a neurotic response to very real complaints. If you would offer a one chart explanation of Trumpism, I don't know whether I can hold it up for the camera. It's here. It is actually two charts, but it is the one at the top where you see two lines cross over. You see at the bottom a more or less straight line. What this does is compare the share of income in 1970 with the share of the income more or less now. And what has happened, as we are not at all surprised to learn, is that the poor, who are not quite a majority but close to the actual people in the United States, things haven't changed for them much at all. Their life is static. However, what has changed is the life for what, at least in British terms, is called the middle classes, the middle group. Their share of income and wealth has dropped hugely, whereas the share of the income and wealth of the top has hugely risen. And in economic terms, that is what Trumpism is feeding off. He's feeding off a bewildered sense of rage, disappointment, possibly envy of people who looked forward, whose parents looked forward to a great better life, who they themselves got a better life. They were looking forward to one for their children and grandchildren. And now they're very worried that they're not those children and grandchildren aren't going to get it. So socially speaking, there is genuine concern, indeed anger that Trump is speaking to. Alas, Trump's answers are, I would say, and I think many Europeans would agree, fantasies.Andrew Keen: Your background is also on the left, your first job was at the New Left Reviews, you're all too familiar with Marxist language, Marxist literature, ways of thinking about what we used to call late-stage capitalism, maybe we should rename it post-late-stage-capitalism. Is it any surprise, given your presentation of the current situation in America, which is essentially class envy or class warfare, but the right. The Bannonites and many of the others on the right fringes of the MAGA movement have picked up on Lenin and Gramsci and the old icons of class warfare.Edmund Fawcett: No, I don't think it is. I think that they are these are I mean, we live in a world in which the people in politics and in the press in business, they've been to universities, they've read an awful lot of books, they spend an awful lot of time studying dusty old books like the ones you mentioned, Gramsci and so. So they're, to some extent, forgive me, they are, they're intellectuals or at least they become, they be intellectualized. Lenin called one of his books, What is to be Done. Patrick Deneen, a Catholic right-wing Catholic philosopher. He's one of the leading right-wing Catholic intellectuals of the day, hard right. He named it What is To Be Done. But this is almost kitsch, as it were, for a conservative Catholic intellectual to name a book after Vladimir Lenin, the first Bolshevik leader of the Russian Revolution. Forgive me, I lost the turn.Andrew Keen: You talk about kitsch, Edmund, is this kitsch leftism or is it real leftism? I mean if Trump was Bernie Sanders and a lot of what Trump says is not that different from Sanders with the intellectuals or the few intellectuals left in. New York and San Francisco and Los Angeles, would they be embracing what's happening? Thanks, I've got the third again.Edmund Fawcett: No, you said Kitsch. The publicists and intellectuals who support Trump, there is a Kitsch element to it. They use a lot of long words, they appeal to a lot of authorities. Augustine of Hippo comes into it. This is really kind of intellectual grandstanding. No, what matters? And this comes to the second thing about shock at Trump. The second thing is that there is real social and economic dysfunction here that the United States isn't really coping with. I don't think the Trumpites, I don't think the rather kitschy intellectuals who are his mature leaders. I don't think they so much matter. What I think matters here is, put it this way, is the silence of the left. And this is one of the deep problems. I mean, always with my friends, progressive friends, liberal friends, it's terribly easy to throw rocks at Trump and scorn his cheerleaders but we always have to ask ourselves why are they there and we're here and the left at the moment doesn't really have an answer to that. The Democrats in the United States they're strangely silent. And it's not just, as many people say, because they haven't dared to speak up. It's not that, it's a question of courage. It's an intellectual question of lacking some strategic sense of where the country is and what kinds of policy would help get it to a better place. This is very bleak, and that's part of, underlies the sense of shock, which we come back to with Trump after we tell ourselves, oh, well, it isn't new, and so on. The sense of shock is, well what is the practical available alternative for the moment? Electorally, Trump is quite weak, he wasn't a landslide, he got fewer percentage than Jimmy Carter did. The balance in the in the congress is quite is quite slight but again you could take false comfort there. The problem with liberals and progressives is they don't really have a counter narrative and one of the reasons they don't have a counter-narrative is I don't sense they have any longer a kind of vision of their own. This is a very bleak state of affairs.Andrew Keen: It's a bleak state of affairs in a very kind of surreal way. They're lacking the language. They don't have the words. Do they need to reread the old New Left classics?Edmund Fawcett: I think you've said a good thing. I mean, words matter tremendously. And this is one of Trump's gifts, is that he's able to spin old tropes of the right, the old theme music of the hard right that goes back to late 19th century America, late 19th century Europe. He's brilliant at it. It's often garbled. It's also incoherent. But the intellectuals, particularly liberals and progressives can mishear this. They can miss the point. They say, ah, it doesn't, it's not grammatical. It's incoherent. It is word salad. That's not the point. A paragraph of Trump doesn't make sense. If you were an editor, you'd want to rewrite it, but editors aren't listening. It's people in the crowd who get his main point, and his main point is always expressed verbally. It's very clever. It's hard to reproduce because he's actually a very good actor. However, the left at the moment has nothing. It has neither a vocabulary nor a set of speech makers. And the reason it doesn't have that, it doesn't have the vocabularies, because it doesn't have the strategic vision.Andrew Keen: Yeah, and coming back to the K-word you brought up, kitsch. If anything, the kitsch is on the left with Kamala Harris and her presentation of herself in this kitschification of American immigration. So the left in America, if that's the right word to describe them, are as vulnerable to kitsch as the right.Edmund Fawcett: Yes, and whether it's kitsch or not, I think this is very difficult to talk to on the progressive left. Identity politics does have a lot to answer for. Okay, I'll go for it. I mean, it's an old saying in politics that things begin as a movement, become a campaign, become a lobby, and then end up as a racket. That's putting it much too strongly, but there is an element in identity politics of which that is true. And I think identity politics is a deep problem for liberals, it's a deep problem for progressives because in the end, what identity politics offers is a fragmentation, which is indeed happened on the left, which then the right can just pick off as it chooses. This is, I think, to get back some kind of strategic vision, the left needs to come out of identity politics, it needs to go back to the vision of commonality, the vision of non-discrimination, the mission of true civic equality, which underlay civil rights, great movement, and try to avoid. The way that identity politics is encouraged, a kind of segmentation. There's an interesting parallel between identity politics and Trumpism. I'm thinking of the national element in Trumpism, Make America Great Again. It's rather a shock to see the Secretary of State sitting beside Trump in the room in the White House with a make America it's not a make America great cap but it says Gulf of America this kind of This nationalism is itself neurotic in a way that identity politics has become neurotic.Andrew Keen: Yeah, it's a Linguistic.Edmund Fawcett: Neurosis. Both are neurotic responses to genuine problems.Andrew Keen: Edmund, long-time viewers and listeners to the show know that I often quote you in your wonderful two histories of conservatism and liberalism when you, I'm not sure which of the books, I think it may have been in conservatism. I can't remember myself. You noted that this struggle between the left and the right, between liberalism and conservatives have always be smarter they've always made the first move and it's always been up to the liberals and of course liberalism and the left aren't always the same thing but the left or progressives have always been catching up with conservatives so just to ask this question in terms of this metaphorical chess match has anything changed. It's always been the right that makes the first move, that sets the game up. It has recently.Edmund Fawcett: Let's not fuss too much with the metaphor. I think it was, as it were, the Liberals made the first move for decades, and then, more or less in our lifetimes, it has been the right that has made the weather, and the left has been catching up. Let's look at what happened in the 1970s. In effect. 30-40 years of welfare capitalism in which the state played ever more of a role in providing safety nets for people who were cut short by a capitalistic economy. Politics turned its didn't entirely reject that far from it but it is it was said enough already we've reached an end point we're now going to turn away from that and try to limit the welfare state and that has been happening since the 1970s and the left has never really come up with an alternative if you look at Mitterrand in France you look at Tony Blair new Labor in you look at Clinton in the United States, all of them in effect found an acceptably liberal progressive way of repackaging. What the right was doing and the left has got as yet no alternative. They can throw rocks at Trump, they can resist the hard right in Germany, they can go into coalition with the Christian Democrats in order to resist the hard right much as in France but they don't really have a governing strategy of their own. And until they do, it seems to me, and this is the bleak vision, the hard right will make the running. Either they will be in government as they are in the United States, or they'll be kept just out of government by unstable coalitions of liberal conservatives and the liberal left.Andrew Keen: So to quote Patrick Deneen, what is to be done is the alternative, a technocracy, the best-selling book now on the New York Times bestseller list is Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson's Abundance, which is a progressive. Technocratic manifesto for changing America. It's not very ideological. Is that really the only alternative for the left unless it falls into a Bernie Sanders-style anti-capitalism which often is rather vague and problematic?Edmund Fawcett: Well, technocracy is great, but technocrats never really get to do what they say ought to be done, particularly not in large, messy democracies like Europe and the United States. Look, it's a big question. If I had a Leninist answer to Patrick Deneen's question, what is to be done, I'd be very happy to give it. I feel as somebody on the liberal left that the first thing the liberal left needs to do is to is two things. One is to focus in exposing the intellectual kitschiness, the intellectual incoherence on the one hand of the hard right, and two, hitting back in a popular way, in a vulgar way, if you will, at the lies, misrepresentations, and false appeals that the hard-right coasts on. So that's really a kind of public relations. It's not deep strategy or technocracy. It is not a policy list. It's sharpening up the game. Of basically of democratic politics and they need to liberals on the left need to be much tougher much sharper much more vulgar much more ready to use the kinds of weapons the kinds of mockery and imaginative invention that the Trumpites use that's the first thing the second thing is to take a breath and go back and look at the great achievements of democratic liberalism of the 1950s, 60s, 70s if you will. I mean these were these produced in Europe and the United States societies that by any historical standard are not bad. They have terrible problems, terrible inequities, but by any historical standard and indeed by any comparative standard, they're not bad if you ask yourself why immigration has become such a problem in Western Europe and the United States, it's because these are hugely desirable places to live in, not just because they're rich and make a comfortable living, which is the sort of the rights attitude, because basically they're fairly safe places to live. They're fairly good places for your kids to grow up in. All of these are huge achievements, and it seems to me that the progressives, the liberals, should look back and see how much work was needed to create... The kinds of politics that underpinned that society, and see what was good, boast of what was and focus on how much work was needed.Andrew Keen: Maybe rather than talking about making America great again, it should be making America not bad. I think that's too English for the United States. I don't think that should be for a winner outside Massachusetts and Maine. That's back to front hypocritical Englishism. Let's end where we began on a personal note. Do you think one of the reasons why Trump makes so much news, there's so much bemusement about him around the world, is because most people associate America with modernity, they just take it for granted that America is the most advanced, the most modern, is the quintessential modern project. So when you have a character like Trump, who's anti-modernist, who is a reactionary, It's bewildering.Edmund Fawcett: I think it is bewildering, and I think there's a kind of bewilderment underneath, which we haven't really spoken to as it is an entirely other subject, but is lurking there. Yes, you put your absolutely right, you put your finger on it, a lot of us look to America as modernity, maybe not the society of the future, but certainly the the culture of the future, the innovations of the future. And I think one of the worrying things, which maybe feeds the neurosis of Make America Great Again, feeds the neurosis, of current American unilateralism, is a fear But modernity, talk like Hegel, has now shifted and is now to be seen in China, India and other countries of the world. And I think underlying everything, even below the stuff that we showed in the chart about changing shares of wealth. I think under that... That is much more worrisome in the United States than almost anything else. It's the sense that the United States isn't any longer the great modern world historical country. It's very troubling, but let's face it, you get have to get used to it.Andrew Keen: The other thing that's bewildering and chilling is this seeming coexistence of technological innovation, the Mark Andreessen's, the the Musk's, Elon Musk's of the world, the AI revolution, Silicon Valley, who seem mostly in alliance with Trump and Musk of course are headed out. The Doge campaign to destroy government or undermine government. Is it conceivable that modernity is by definition, you mentioned Hegel and of course lots of people imagine that history had ended in 1989 but the reverse was true. Is it possible that modernity is by-definition reactionary politically?Edmund Fawcett: A tough one. I mean on the technocracy, the technocrats of Silicon Valley, I think one of their problems is that they're brilliant, quite brilliant at making machines. I'm the machinery we're using right here. They're fantastic. They're not terribly good at. Messy human beings and messy politics. So I'm not terribly troubled by that, nor your other question about it is whether looming challenges of technology. I mean, maybe I could just end with the violinist, Fritz Kreisler, who said, I was against the telegraph, I was against the telephone, I was against television. I'm a progressive when it comes to technology. I'm always against the latest thing. I mean, I don't, there've always been new machines. I'm not terribly troubled by that. It seems to me, you know, I want you to worry about more immediate problems. If indeed AI is going to take over the world, my sense is, tell us when we get there.Andrew Keen: And finally, you were half-born in the United States or certainly from an American and British parent. You spent a lot of your life there and you still go, you follow it carefully. Is it like losing a lover or a loved one? Is it a kind of divorce in your mind with what's happening in America in terms of your own relations with America? You noted that your wife gave up her citizenship this year.Edmund Fawcett: Well, it is. And if I could talk about Natalia, my wife, she was much more American than me. Her mother was American from Philadelphia. She lived and worked in America more than I did. She did give up her American citizenship last year, partly for a feeling of, we use a long word, alienation, partly for practical reasons, not because we're anything like rich enough to pay American tax, but simply the business of keeping up with the changing tax code is very wary and troublesome. But she said, as she did it, she will always feel deeply American, and I think it's possible to say that. I mean, it's part of both of us, and I don't think...Andrew Keen: It's loseable. Well, I have to ask this question finally, finally. Maybe I always use that word and it's never final. What does it mean to feel American?Edmund Fawcett: Well, everybody's gonna have their own answer to that. I was just... What does it mean for you? I'm just reading. What it is to feel American. Can I dodge the question by saying, what is it to feel Californian? Or even what is to be Los Angelino? Where my sister-in-law and brother-in-law live. A great friend said, what it is feel Los Angeles you go over those mountains and you put down your rucksack. And I think what that means is for Europeans, America has always meant leaving the past behind.Edmund Fawcett was the Economist‘s Washington, Paris and Berlin correspondent and is a regular reviewer. His Liberalism: The Life of an Idea was published by Princeton in 2014. The second in his planned political trilogy – Conservatism: The Fight for a Tradition – was published in 2020, also by Princeton University Press. The Economist called it ‘an epic history of conservatism and the Financial Times praised Fawcett for creating a ‘rich and wide-ranging account' that demonstrates how conservatism has repeated managed to renew itself.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1034: Derek Thompson: Trump's War on Dolls

The Bulwark Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2025 65:19


Just imagine Fox's histrionics if a President AOC had said that American kids have too many dolls and that she's raising the price on them. Now the supposedly pro-family administration is doubling down on 'just pay more' for toys, while it waits for China to blink on tariffs—an unlikely event given that it makes a lot of the things the world needs and wants. Meanwhile, AI's economic threat may be here for recent college grads, Marc Andreessen has deep thoughts on VC, and the NIH (and future American Nobel Prizes) are being burned to own the libs. Plus, the Dems should zero in on how Trump is making America less affordable—and very much like 2020 again. show notes Derek's piece on the job market for recent college grads Derek's podcast, "Plain English" The book, "Abundance," by Derek and Ezra Klein Tim's playlist

RealClearPolitics Takeaway
Trump NSC Advisor Mike Waltz's New Job at the UN

RealClearPolitics Takeaway

Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2025 45:05


Andrew Walworth and RCP White House correspondent Phil Wegmann discuss the reassignment of National Security Advisor Mike Waltz to become the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Also, a look at the implications of the minerals agreement between Ukraine and the U.S., signed Wednesday night. Then, Andrew Walworth, Tom Bevan, and Carl Cannon discuss the battle between Democratic strategist James Carville and Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg. Also, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) faces a decision: whether to run for the top Democratic spot on the House Oversight Committee or pass in order to spend more time in the field. Next, Carl Cannon talks to RCP columnist John Maxwell Hamilton about Abundance, a new book by Ezra Kelin and Derek Thompson that provides advice to progressives. And finally, Andrew Walworth talks to RCP White House correspondent Phil Wegmann about President Trump's efforts to change the way senior government officials are compensated, and the future of DOGE after Elon Musk.

RadioWest
Does Utah Have the Right Stuff to Build its Way Out of the Housing Crisis?

RadioWest

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2025 50:30


The new book "Abundance," by journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, argues that blue-led cities struggle with housing more than red-led cities. We'll spend the hour asking local housing experts how Utah and Salt Lake City are doing.

The Ezra Klein Show
Abundance and the Left

The Ezra Klein Show

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2025 74:51


“Abundance,” the book I co-wrote with Derek Thompson, hit bookstore shelves a little over a month ago, and the response has been beyond anything I could have imagined. And it's generated a lot of interesting critiques, too, especially from the left. So I wanted to dedicate an episode to talking through some of them.My guests today are both on the left but have very different perspectives. Zephyr Teachout is a law professor at Fordham University and one of the most prominent voices in the antimonopoly movement. Saikat Chakrabarti is the president and co-founder of New Consensus, a think tank that has been trying to think through what it would take to build at Green New Deal scale and pace. And he is currently running to unseat Nancy Pelosi in Congress.I found this conversation wonderfully clarifying — both in the places it revealed agreement, and perhaps even more in the places it revealed difference.Mentioned:“How the Gentry Won: Property Law's Embrace of Stasis” by David Schleicher and Roderick M. Hills, Jr.“The High Cost of Producing Multifamily Housing in California” by Jason M. Ward and Luke SchlakeZephyr's Book Recommendations:The Promise of Politics by Hannah ArendtThe Populist Moment by Lawrence GoodwynListen, Liberal by Thomas FrankSaikat's Book Recommendations:Destructive Creation by Mark R. WilsonBad Samaritans by Ha-Joon ChangThe Defining Moment by Jonathan AlterThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.You 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.htmlThis episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Rollin Hu and Jack McCordick. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota and Isaac Jones. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show's production team also includes Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Elias Isquith, Marina King, Jan Kobal and Kristin Lin. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Animal Spirits Podcast
Talk Your Book: Derek Thompson Feels Like He's Taking Crazy Pills

Animal Spirits Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 26, 2025 33:46


On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, ⁠Michael Batnick⁠ and ⁠Ben Carlson⁠ speak with Abundance author Derek Thompson about his new book, what it means in the current environment, why the supply chain is so important for consumers and what comes next in the trade war. Find complete show notes on our blogs: Ben Carlson's ⁠A Wealth of Common Sense⁠ Michael Batnick's ⁠The Irrelevant Investor⁠ Feel free to shoot us an email at ⁠animalspirits@thecompoundnews.com⁠ with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation.   Check out the latest in financial blogger fashion at The Compound shop: ⁠https://www.idontshop.com⁠ Investing involves the risk of loss. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be or regarded as personalized investment advice or relied upon for investment decisions. Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are employees of Ritholtz Wealth Management and may maintain positions in the securities discussed in this video. All opinions expressed by them are solely their own opinion and do not reflect the opinion of Ritholtz Wealth Management. See our disclosures here: ⁠https://ritholtzwealth.com/podcast-youtube-disclosures/⁠ The Compound Media, Incorporated, an affiliate of ⁠Ritholtz Wealth Management⁠, receives payment from various entities for advertisements in affiliated podcasts, blogs and emails. Inclusion of such advertisements does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by the Content Creator or by Ritholtz Wealth Management or any of its employees. For additional advertisement disclaimers see here ⁠https://ritholtzwealth.com/advertising-disclaimers⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Possible
Derek Thompson on AI, abundance, and human progress

Possible

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2025 53:47


Why can the United States government help make a vaccine in a year but not build a high-speed train in a reasonable timeframe? What if our biggest problems—affordable housing shortages, energy limits, and scientific slowdowns—aren't inevitable, but chosen? This week, Reid and Aria sit down with Derek Thompson—staff writer at The Atlantic and host of the podcast Plain English—to explore how a scarcity mindset is holding American society back. They cover how AI can revolutionize scientific discovery; what Operation Warp Speed got right; and why real progress depends on bold policy, not just better technology. Plus, Reid joins Derek in the hotseat for some “Too Much, Too Little, or Just Right?”—a game co-created with ChatGPT to discuss ideas in Derek's new best-selling book, Abundance.  For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/  Select mentions:  Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson “The Anti-Social Century”  Every Cure co-founder Dr. David Fajgenbaum  Topics: 1:06 – Episode introduction 2:34 – What year would Derek choose to be born and why? 7:14 – What can AI do as a co-author that Ezra Klein can't, and what are Ezra's irreplaceable strengths? 9:08 – AI's impact on the future of work — what AI can and can't do — and what the enduring role of humans will be. 12:00 – The situation with current tariffs, and the potential fixes or silver linings. 14:28 – Operation Warp Speed and other examples of abundance in the U.S. and beyond. 19:39 – What specific government policies could effectively leverage AI to speed up the creation of abundance? 22:40 – Midroll 22:49 – Derek and Reid play a fun game based on Abundance: “Too much, too little, or just right?”  30:46 – What's needed to better incentivize scientific progress and foster innovation? 39:22 – How could society and our relationship with technology be reframed to combat the loneliness epidemic? 45:08 – Derek identifies specific policies that currently hinder abundance and suggests new ones that could promote it. 49:45 – Rapid-fire Questions Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Each episode seeks to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

Deadline: White House
“A bad bet”

Deadline: White House

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2025 86:07


Nicolle Wallace discusses the now characteristic instability of the second Trump term's impact on the markets and confidence in America abroad, new reporting that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared classified information in yet another group chat including his wife, the more than two hundred college presidents rebuking “government overreach,” and more.Joined by: Steve Liesman, Derek Thompson, David Jolly, Ty Cobb, Courtney Kube, Luke Broadwater, Retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Steve Anderson, Claire McCaskill, Mike Schmidt, and Harry Litman.

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer
The Abundance Doctrine (with Mike Konczal)

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2025 40:43


What does “abundance” actually mean—and who is it really for? In this episode, Goldy and Paul welcome back economic policy expert Mike Konczal to unpack the big new idea dominating political discourse: abundance. They dive into the buzz around Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's book “Abundance,” and Konczal's sharp critique of its deregulatory leanings, missed opportunities, and neoliberal undertones. From housing policy to green energy to the myth that deregulation alone can fix America's problems, this episode challenges the idea that more is always better, and asks what it would really take to build a future that's abundant for everyone—not just the rich. Mike Konczal is the Senior Director of Policy and Research at the Economic Security Project, where he oversees policy development, research, and strategic analysis to advance its ideas. Previously, he served as a Special Assistant to President Biden for Economic Policy and Chief Economist for the National Economic Council.  Social Media: @mtkonczal.bsky.social @mtkonczal Further reading:  Democracy Journal - The Abundance Doctrine Abundance By Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson  Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—and How to Bring It Back By Marc Dunkelman  NBER Working Paper - Supply constraints do not explain house price and quantity growth across U.S. cities Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer, @civicaction YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics Substack: The Pitch

What A Day
America At A Tipping Point

What A Day

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2025 27:04


President Donald Trump still hasn't hit the 100-day mark of his second term, but it feels like the country is already hitting some kind of inflection point. On Saturday, we saw a second day of mass protests against the Trump administration's agenda. Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healy compared this moment to the start of the Revolutionary War, saying, ‘Our freedoms are once again under attack.' Even New York Times conservative columnist David Brooks wrote about how it's ‘time for a comprehensive national civic uprising.' Amid all these proverbial alarm bells, it might seem a little perverse for some Democrats to advocate for a return to a kind of New Deal-era of politics, where more centralized power allowed the government to do big things. But that's exactly the argument made in the new book 'Abundance.' Co-author Derek Thompson joins us to talk about how America can go back to building and inventing new things, and how Democrats can get people to trust the government again.And in headlines: The Supreme Court issued an emergency decision blocking more flights of alleged Venezuelan gang members to an El Salvador super prison, Vice President JD Vance got an audience with the Pope, and the Israeli military admitted to several “professional failures” when it killed 14 Gaza rescue workers and a U.N. staffer last month.Show Notes:Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Conspirituality
253: The Politics of Abundance

Conspirituality

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 17, 2025 59:08


"In order to have the future we want, we have to build and invent more of the things we need." That's the central claim of Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's new book, Abundance. They argue that Democrat-run cities and states have suffered self-inflicted wounds that are causing a mass exodus to red states, where life is simply more affordable. To stop the bleeding, Dems need to take action on a bold new vision that cuts through red tape to improve people's lives and address the crises in housing, climate, healthcare and politics. But many on the left are suspicious. Is this just Reaganomics wrapped up in the intellectualized language of the NY Times? Is Abundance the privileged prosperity gospel for white liberals? Show Notes The Abundance Agenda: Neoliberalism's Rebrand Abundance: The Left Hates It Summary of Abundance Critiques Politico: False Choice Between Abundance and Antitrust Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Deadline: White House
“If you give a mouse a cookie”

Deadline: White House

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2025 87:20


Nicolle Wallace on Trump's handling of the economy deteriorating consumer confidence, massive crowds showing up for Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders' ‘Fighting Oligarchy' tour, and the Trump administration's escalating war on law firms.Joined by: Steve Liesman, David Frum, Mara Gay, Derek Thompson, John Heilemann, Mike Schmidt, Marc Elias, Mary McCord, and Rina Gandhi.

The Political Orphanage
Faster, Cheaper, Better Government: Derek Thompson on “Abundance”

The Political Orphanage

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2025 54:38


Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson are the authors of “Abundance” a book about removing artificial scarcity and embracing a worldview that focuses on end goals, building, growth, and increasing the supply of everything we need and want. He joins to discuss the book, zoning, why America can't have nice trains, and how we can better lean into federal research funding.

Intelligence Squared
Abundance: A New Blueprint for Liberal Politics, With Derek Thompson

Intelligence Squared

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2025 50:58


What if the biggest threat to liberal democracy isn't authoritarianism - but our failure to build? On today's episode we're joined by journalist Derek Thompson to unpack Abundance, a new vision of progressive politics co-authored by Thompson and Ezra Klein.  In it, Klein and Thompson trace the political, economic, and cultural barriers to progress and propose a path toward a politics of abundance.  Derek Thompson is a staff writer at The Atlantic, host of the Plain English podcast, and the author of the international bestseller Hit Makers. Carl Miller, writer and fellow at Demos, joins Thompson to discuss the book, and everything from housing policy to the failures of de-growth. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Next Big Idea
ABUNDANCE: Derek Thompson on How to Actually Rebuild the American Dream

The Next Big Idea

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2025 73:16


Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson is probably the most talked-about book in the country right now. And the most hotly debated. It's a book about how we got here — here being a country without enough housing, a country that has lost its ambitious optimism, a country that has forgotten how to build. The prescription Ezra and Derek offer to cure what ails us is conspicuously pro-growth: more housing, more clean energy, more scientific development and technological innovation. But to pull that off, they argue, will require Democrats to question their endemic zeal for regulation. This view has fired up some liberals while simultaneously drawing ire from others. Today, Rufus sits down with Derek Thompson to talk about the book, the reaction to it, and how to convince political leaders from both sides of the aisle to embrace a liberalism that builds.

Why Is This Happening? with Chris Hayes
How Process is Killing Progress with Ezra Klein

Why Is This Happening? with Chris Hayes

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2025 71:08


Why has America's 20th century vision of innovation and opportunity transformed into a stagnant and stunted dystopian reality? Our guest this week claims that “the crisis that's clicking into focus now has been building for decades” and it's all because we haven't been following building enough. Ezra Klein is host of The Ezra Klein Show podcast, a columnist for New York Times Opinion and the author of “Abundance,” which he co-wrote with Derek Thompson. He joins WITHpod to discuss how liberals have failed on progress, how they can shift gears in MAGA America, and how we might reimagine abundance for everyone.And an exciting announcement: “Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast” is now on YouTube! Watch at msnbc.com/withpod.Plus, we're nominated for a Webby Award! Please vote for us and your other favorite MSNBC podcasts by April 17th:Why Is This Happening? With Chris Hayes in the Podcasts - Interview/Talk Show category: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2025/podcasts/shows/interviewtalk-showInto America: Uncounted Millions in the Podcasts - News & Politics category: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2025/podcasts/limited-series-specials/news-politicsProsecuting Donald Trump in the Podcasts - Crime & Justice category: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2025/podcasts/shows/crime-justice 

The Realignment
546 | Rotimi Adeoye: Where Does Abundance, the Anti-Oligarchy Movement, and the Dem Tea Party Go Next?

The Realignment

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2025 71:07


An Abundance of Ambiguity | Washington MonthlyThe Abundance Agenda – People's Policy ProjectREALIGNMENT NEWSLETTER: https://therealignment.substack.com/PURCHASE BOOKS AT OUR BOOKSHOP: https://bookshop.org/shop/therealignmentEmail Us: realignmentpod@gmail.comRotimi Adeoye, columnist and MSNBC contributor, joins The Realignment. Marshall and Rotimi discuss the takeaways from Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's Abundance book tour as the abundance agenda picks up steam, the impact of Bernie Sanders and AOC's anti-oligarchy tour, the strengths and weaknesses of the very online attempts to build a Democratic Party equivalent of the GOP's 2010s Tea Party movement, and the difficulties of navigating immigration politics during an era of anti-establishment backlash.

Deadline: White House
“Ruination Day”

Deadline: White House

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2025 89:22


Nicolle Wallace on stock markets plummeting as Trump's tariffs wreak havoc across the global economy.Joined by: Steve Liesman, Steve Rattner, Gene Sperling, Charlie Sykes, Marc Elias, Kristy Greenberg, Mitch Landrieu, Sarah Longwell, Derek Thompson, and Tim Miller.

Pod Save America
Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson on How Democrats Can Build Their Way Back to Power

Pod Save America

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 30, 2025 60:11


In their new book, Abundance, journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson argue that Trump's scarcity mindset is suffocating the country: America doesn't do enough manufacturing? Better cut back on trade. Not enough jobs or housing? Get rid of immigrants.Klein and Thompson sit down with Jon to explain how faster (and better) infrastructure projects can re-engage Democrats' base, why tolerating government failure has made liberals look bad, and whether the accusations of neoliberalism that have been levied at the book are a fair criticism of the "abundance agenda." For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

Lex Fridman Podcast
#462 – Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson: Politics, Trump, AOC, Elon & DOGE

Lex Fridman Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2025


Ezra Klein is one of the most influential voices representing the left-wing of American politics. He is a columnist for the NY Times and host of The Ezra Klein Show. Derek Thompson is a writer at The Atlantic and host of the Plain English podcast. Together they have written a new book titled Abundance that lays out a set of ideas for the future of the Democratic party. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep462-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/ezra-klein-and-derek-thompson-transcript CONTACT LEX: Feedback - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring Other - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact EPISODE LINKS: Abundance (new book): https://amzn.to/4iZ1S8J Ezra's X: https://x.com/ezraklein/ Ezra's Instagram: https://instagram.com/ezraklein Ezra's YouTube: https://youtube.com/EzraKleinShow The New York Times: https://nytimes.com/by/ezra-klein Derek's X: https://x.com/dkthomp Plain English (podcast): https://www.theringer.com/podcasts/plain-english-with-derek-thompson The Atlantic: https://theatlantic.com/author/derek-thompson/ SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Call of Duty: First-person shooter video game. Go to https://callofduty.com/warzone LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drinks. Go to https://drinkag1.com/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex OUTLINE: (00:00) - Introduction (03:17) - Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (10:33) - Left-wing vs right-wing politics (19:54) - Political leaders on the left and the right (44:29) - Internal political divisions (47:29) - AOC (58:50) - Political realignment (1:10:32) - Supply-side progressivism (1:17:42) - Wealth redistribution (1:27:50) - Housing problem (1:44:09) - Regulation and deregulation (2:00:43) - DOGE, Elon, and Trump (2:59:46) - Sam Harris (3:09:24) - Future of America PODCAST LINKS: - Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast - Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 - RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ - Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 - Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips

The Ezra Klein Show
Democrats need to do something

The Ezra Klein Show

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2025 54:45


American government has a speed issue. Both parties are slow to solve problems. Slow to build new things. Slow to make any change at all. Until now. The Trump administration is pushing through sweeping changes as fast as possible, completely changing the dynamic. And the Democrats? They've been slow to respond. Slow to mount a defense. Slow to change tactics. Still. Ezra Klein — writer, co-founder of Vox, and host of The Ezra Klein Show for the New York Times — would like to offer a course correction. In a new book, Abundance, Klein and co-author Derek Thompson, argue that the way to make a better, brighter future, is to build and invent the things we need. To do that, liberals need to push past hyper-coalitional and bureaucratic ways of getting things done. In this episode, Ezra speaks with Sean about the policy decisions that have rendered government inert and how we can make it easier to build the things we want and need. Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling) Guest: Ezra Klein, co-author of Abundance and host of The Ezra Klein Show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Ezra Klein Show
The Origins of Abundance

The Ezra Klein Show

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2025 72:54


To mark the release of our new book “Abundance,” my co-author Derek Thompson had me on his podcast, “Plain English,” to talk about it. We're on book tour right now, so we're doing a lot of talking about this book. But this conversation is different. It's just Derek and me, and we get into the story of how the book came together, and all the people and ideas that influenced us – a kind of intellectual history of the abundance agenda. And I thought the audience of this show might find this interesting too.  This episode of “Plain English” was recorded on March 11.Mentioned:“Abundance” by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson“Abundance” book tour“The Political Fight of the Century” by Derek Thompson“The Economic Mistake the Left Is Finally Confronting” by Ezra KleinThis episode contains strong language. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The Bill Simmons Podcast
The Future of Everything With Derek Thompson

The Bill Simmons Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2025 98:03


The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Derek Thompson for another edition of The Future of Everything, during which they discuss Derek and Ezra Klein's new book ‘Abundance,' before sharing their predictions for the future of politics, tech, sports, and culture. Host: Bill Simmons Guest: Derek Thompson Producers: Kyle Crichton and Chia Hao Tat This episode is sponsored by State Farm®. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.® The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the Media
"Tough Love For Liberals"

On the Media

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2025 41:08


This week's midweek podcast is a segment from Tuesdays episode of the Brian Lehrer show -- the legendary live call-in show that airs every weekday morning on our producing station, WNYC. The segment features Derek Thompson, staff writer at The Atlantic, author of the "Work in Progress" newsletter and host of the podcast "Plain English," and Ezra Klein, New York Times opinion columnist and host of their podcast, the "Ezra Klein Show." They are co-authors of Abundance, their new book that argues limits placed by past generations to protect jobs and the environment are preventing solving shortages. On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.