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Today on The Editors, Rich, Charlie, Dan, and MBD discuss the Democrat's denouncement of Hasan Piker, Meta's $18 billion settlement, and the Flock camera controversy. Editor's Picks: Rich: John Puri's piece, “Data Centers Use Little Water, So Where Does It All Go?” Charlie: Ross Douthat's Farewell column, “Reflecting on 20 Years as NR's Film Critic” Dan: The Editors' most recent about the Iran War, “Is Trump Prepared to Dig In on Economic War Against Iran?” MBD: Charlie's piece, “Spare America from the ‘Noblesse Oblige' of This DSA Duchess” Light Items: Rich: Attended a Marlins game in South Florida Charlie: Rewatching the show, Foyle's War Dan: Listening to a Star Trek podcast MBD: Kids are getting into the sport, hurling Sponsors: VaerCatholic CharitiesProfit from the Profit by David L. Bahnsen This podcast was edited and produced by Lauren Veldhuizen. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Hasan Piker is in the news once again, this time, for a “controversial” statement he made about antisemitism. This statement, that was no different than statements made uncontroversially by Ezra Klein, Haley Stevens, and Neera Tanden, drew condemnations from a wide variety of Democratic officials. From presidential hopefuls like Elissa Slotkin and Jon Ossoff to DNC chair Ken Martin, there has been a coordinated effort to disparage Hasan Piker. So much of this general election cycle has been eaten up by Hasan Piker discourse that voters are being robbed of a chance to learn about the two candidates that will actually be on the ballot: Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed. Oh also, Trump started a brand new trade war with Canada for no reason.(0:00) Ken Martin don't be a bum challenge failed(4:00) Intro(7:15) Unending Hasan Piker discourse(1:02:00) Trump launches a new trade war(1:08:30) Reviews/endingSeen on this episode:Piker-pocalypse - https://heartlandsignal.com/2025/09/10/mike-rogers-justifies-trumps-tariffs-with-return-of-manufacturing-jobs-which-are-decreasing/https://michigandems.com/coffee-prices-spike-41-due-to-tariffs-backed-by-price-hike-mike/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/12/opinion/hasan-piker-democrats.html?eafs_enabled=false https://hakg.uzi.uni-halle.de/editions/2?lang=de https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/canada-softens-us-tariff-reprisal-115226010.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADr7hs7hVWPJqDR9YBkwH9wOepKAk0mDuInNQ-NeM5RmLawxLkK_VgpAnlGElCKIacSESX_cKQ_yDDUoiAnUXXjeSOjqOdEbWDVEbjbcMwFpLG8DmdyDvWM1996yEtn5UGnKyz0DHwe_kxYxpRr99v3rWt7PO4PyTrjBnXmkS6QQhttps://www.newsweek.com/democrats-are-fighting-a-war-over-a-man-most-voters-have-never-heard-of-12366860New trade war with Canada dropped - https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6054237-trade-representative-jamieson-greer-trump-us-canada-trade-war/ https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3v4xg5klx7o https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/world/canada/canada-us-trade-war-trump-carney.html https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/world/canada/trump-carney-trade-war-tariffs.html
“Interesting Times” is on a brief hiatus. Before we return next month, we're bringing you an interview from “The Ezra Klein Show” with Ross Douthat about his 17 years as a conservative columnist at The New York Times. But Ross and Ezra go back even further, to the nascent days of political blogging. They talk about the seismic changes they've witnessed in the media industry over the years and the art of changing minds. (A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website here.) Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The President is now beefing with Hasan Piker. God, please save us. On today's episode, the boys talk about how the internet isn't real life (or at least, shouldn't be), why we don't trust Hakeem Jeffries to do anything positive in his secret meeting with Jared Kushner, a series of republican switch ups (on data centers & AIPAC), and Ezra Klein's latest think piece about Twitter. The internet is not real life, and this merger between online political discourse and actual politics is messy, to say the least.Early access on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headintheofficepodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4iJ-UcnRxYnaYsX_SNjFJQSubscribe to second channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3UoTN328OA7fK2dzicP-ZATikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headintheoffice?lang=enInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/headintheoffice/Twitter: https://twitter.com/headintheofficeThreads: https://www.threads.com/@headintheofficeDiscord: https://discord.gg/hito Collab inquiries: headintheofficepod@gmail.com(0:00) STOP TALKING ABOUT HASAN PIKER(9:30) Hakeem Jeffries meets with Jared Kushner(15:25) Mike Rogers distances himself from AIPAC(24:00) Republicans switch up on data centers(36:10) Ezra Klein, woke 1.0, conservative media bias(1:12:00) Reviews/endingSeen on this episode:Hakeem Jeffries meets with Kushner - https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/us/politics/jeffries-kushner-private-meeting.html Recent GOP flip flops on AIPAC & data centers - https://www.axios.com/2026/08/22/mike-rogers-aipac-michigan-senate https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/24/data-centers-oh-s-t-moment-01046465 https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/08/23/most-gop-politicians-now-talk-negatively-about-data-centers-data-shows/ https://www.axios.com/2026/08/23/greg-abbott-texas-data-centers-ai-backlash https://prospect.org/2026/08/20/mi-07-tom-barrett-scrambles-to-bury-his-data-center-past/ Ezra Klein article - https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/opinion/twitter-x-woke-1-elon-musk.htmlhttps://www.cnn.com/2025/09/10/politics/relationship-charlie-kirk-donald-trump
Local journalism is too important to lose—and it needs a new playbook.On August 18, Chicago Public Media CEO and Vox co-founder Melissa Bell and New York Times columnist and fellow Vox co-founder Ezra Klein explored what it will take to rebuild local news and restore trust in our communities. They discussed how the collapse of traditional media business models and the rise of tech platforms have pulled audiences and advertising away from local news. The answer, they argued, is not simply more investigative reporting. Local news organizations need to give people useful, everyday information that connects them to their communities while building sustainable businesses around it.They also called for news organizations to work together rather than compete, invest in technology they control, and find new ways to bring people together locally. Just as important, journalism must maintain a fair reporting process while building stronger relationships with audiences.The future of local news—and our communities—depends on building something better now.Learn more about Ezra Klein: https://www.nytimes.com/by/ezra-kleinCheck out Ezra's podcast here: https://www.nytimes.com/column/ezra-klein-podcastLearn more about Melissa Bell: https://chicago.suntimes.com/melissa-bellVisit Chicago Public Media's website: https://www.chicagopublicmedia.org/ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:Melissa Bell has been Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Media since September 2024. She co-founded Vox.com in 2014 and helped pioneer explainer journalism while leading multiplatform products including the Today, Explained podcast and Netflix's Explained. As publisher of Vox Media, she oversaw its editorial brands and helped lead its mergers with New York Magazine and Group Nine. Previously, Bell directed digital platforms at The Washington Post and was a founding Features Editor for Mint. In 2023, she became a visiting fellow at Oxford University's Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.Ezra Klein joined New York Times Opinion in 2021. He is the host of the podcast “The Ezra Klein Show” and the author of “Why We're Polarized” and, with Derek Thompson, “Abundance.” Previously, he was the founder, editor in chief and then editor at large of Vox. Before that, he was a columnist and editor at The Washington Post, where he founded and led the Wonkblog vertical. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bigtentnews.substack.com
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Loneliness isn't just about being alone, it's about being unseen, unwoven, unplaced. This week we name the deep human ache to belong to something larger than ourselves, and ask what it would take to become a community that tends that fire in each other. LINKS: Keepers of the Fire | Connect | YouTube | Coming Up TRANSCRIPT: The Ache This Week I want to describe a feeling and see if you know what I'm talking about: You're surrounded by people— at work, online, maybe even in a room full of friends— and you still feel somehow... unplaced. Like you're present but not quite part of something. Like everyone else knows how to belong and you missed the orientation. Literally happened to me. That's not just loneliness in the ordinary sense. It's something deeper. The ache to be woven in. To matter to a specific group of people who also matter to you. To not just be known, but needed. Do you know this feeling? Yeah! Today, on this final week of Keepers of the Fire, I want to name that ache directly. Because I think it might be the one underneath all the others we've explored this summer. One thing; this is actually an ache, a yearning that has gotten a lot of attention. The Epidemic Three years ago, in 2023, the United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy did something unusual; he issued a formal public health advisory declaring loneliness an epidemic. A crisis. The statistic he cited was that about one in two American adults reported experiencing loneliness— and social isolation increases the risk of premature death by 29 PERCENT. That's comparable to the health impact of smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. We have entire cultural infrastructures built around discouraging smoking. We have almost nothing built around discouraging isolation. And then to make it worse, the money-grabbing internet “manosphere” has very carefully and intentionally targeted young boys and young adult men to believe that they have no agency, and that their feelings of loneliness are the fault of others, like women or the feminist movement! I want to say outright: that's a lie. Loneliness isn't just an issue for boys and men, they've just been most successfully convinced they're especially isolated, and then that false premise has been weaponized against others. To be clear: loneliness is a problem, but it isn't isolated to a particular group of American adults. Some demographic groups seem to have more access to emotional and relational skills than others… catch my drift? In an interview with Kate Bowler, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said loneliness is like HUNGER or THIRST— a signal the body sends when something we need for survival is missing. This is biology. We were created— literally, neurologically— for each other. Matthew Lieberman, a neuroscientist at UCLA, found that the brain processes social pain— rejection, exclusion, being cut off— in the same regions it processes physical pain. Being unplaced from community doesn't just hurt emotionally. It hurts, the way a broken bone hurts. So when you feel the ache for belonging— that persistent, restless sense that you're APART FROM something you were made to be A PART OF— your nervous system is telling you the truth. Pay attention to it. Belonging vs. fitting in Just a quick tangent here to say that belonging is not the same as fitting in. Fitting in is when you adjust yourself to be ACCEPTABLE. You figure out what the group rewards, what gets you included, and you perform accordingly. It's exhausting. And it doesn't actually satisfy the ache— because the version of you that got accepted isn't really you. Belonging is different. Belonging is when you show up as you ACTUALLY ARE — complicated, unfinished, uncertain — and find that there's a place for that person anyway. That you don't have to earn your way in or maintain a performance to stay. Loneliness isn't just about being alone. It's about being unseen. Unwoven. You can be lonely in a crowd, in a marriage, even in a congregation— if the version of you that's present isn't the real one. The ache for belonging is the ache to stop PERFORMING and start BEING YOURSELF. Bring your weird into the room. Let that freak flag fly, baby. What the early community attempted There's a description in the book of Acts of the earliest Jesus community that has always struck me as both beautiful and worth taking seriously: 'All those who trusted in Jesus were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.' Now, I'm not going to tell you to sell everything and move into a commune (this isn't actually a cult!). But I want to linger here for a moment. In the ancient Greco-Roman world, your identity was determined by your bloodline, your ethnicity, your class, your gender. In Greco-Roman culture, people claimed ethnic identity from ancestors— you were literally born into your customs and beliefs. Religion was in the blood. The idea that people from different ethnic backgrounds, different economic classes, enslaved people alongside free people, women alongside men, could gather at the same table as equals— that was radical. Historically disruptive. The earliest Jesus communities articulated a vision— particularly in Paul's letter to the Galatians: 'neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female'— that cut directly against the social order of their world. Now— did they always live up to it? No. The historical record is honest about that. The vision outran the practice, as it usually does. Early Christianity quickly developed its own in-group dynamics, its own hierarchies, its own failures. This is not a fairy tale. But here's what matters: they attempted something the world around them said was impossible. They tried to build a community where the usual sorting mechanisms— wealth, status, ethnicity, gender— didn't get to have the final word. Where the table was wider than the culture thought was reasonable. That attempt— that stubborn, imperfect attempt— became one of the most transformative ongoing social experiments in human history. Not because they got it perfectly right. But because they kept reaching toward a vision that the world kept calling naive. Sound familiar? We get to be a part of that legacy. I want that for us. What we're up against Cynicism, though, is alive and well. When someone talks about building systems that actually take care of people — a real safety net, genuine healthcare, communities where everyone has enough — they hear: too expensive. naive. Unrealistic. Even the christian-adjacent politicized wing of the American Church has mostly taken that vision and turned it into an afterlife destination called “Heaven” that has little to do with the here and now, and is only attained through perfect behavior and putting up with unjust systems without reacting to it. When someone talks about the kind of belonging where you don't have to earn your place, where you're welcomed as you are regardless of what you produce or contribute— they hear: that's not how the world works. grow up. When someone talks about the vision Jesus articulated… a world where the hungry are fed, the lonely are placed, the marginalized are centered… they hear: nice idea. impractical. The cynics have always tried to be louder than the dreamers. And the dreamers have always been the ones who got anything done. Here's what I've been thinking about all summer, across these six weeks: the barriers to our yearning are real. The barriers to belonging are real. Some of them are structural; the way adult life is organized makes deep community hard to build. The built-in consistent access we had in school doesn't recreate itself automatically. The institutions that used to create connection have weakened. Many only experience anything resembling that kind of connection as a “perk” of staying employed in the same job long enough. But some of the barriers are internal. I think we can say that, without shame. We wait. We wait for someone else to organize it. We wait for the perfect moment, the house clean enough to host in, the enough energy, the right invitation. We treat belonging as something that should come find us rather than something we actively, courageously seek out... Priya Parker, who has spent her career studying how and why humans gather (The Art of Gathering), makes this point: when the focus of a gathering is on the 'stuff' of the event, we shrink a human challenge down to a logistical one. The mess isn't what keeps people away. The story we tell ourselves about why now isn't the right time— that's what keeps people away. VIDEO: Priya Parker x Ezra Klein on The Art of Gathering Connection takes courage. Belonging takes risk. Showing up and saying I want to be part of something, and I want you to be part of it with me— that's vulnerable in ways our culture doesn't reward. But it is, I believe, exactly what we were made for. The barrier practice and the vision As I wrap up here— one question. What gets in the way of your own belonging? What keeps you from reaching toward the connection you actually ache for? Maybe it's a wound— a time you tried and got hurt. Maybe it's the pace of your life. Maybe it's the belief that you're too much, or not enough, or that it's too late to start. Maybe it's the persistent, inculturated voice that says: just be content with what you have. stop wanting more. Whatever it is — write it down. Or draw it. Don't overthink it. Just name it. In a few minutes we're going to take those outside to the fire. And we're going to offer them to it as a symbolic act of saying: I don't want this to have as much power over me as it has. I want to keep reaching. Because here's the vision I want to leave you with— the one that has anchored this whole series for me. Ever heard of the book of Revelation? It's at the tail-end of the Bible, and when read literally, it admittedly sounds insane. But it's not a history book, it's a vision, a poem, a love-letter to a Church positioned against empire dominance— and at the end of it, there's an image of the world finally, fully healed. And here's how it's described: 'God's dwelling place is now among the people.' Among the people. The ache for belonging, finally answered— not by escape from community, but by the deepest possible immersion in it. That's the direction the whole story has been pointing. A world where the hungry are fed and the lonely are placed and the fearful are made safe and the weary finally rest and everyone gets to play and purpose gets to flourish— not someday in a far-off future, but here, practiced imperfectly, begun now, by us. The cynics will always call it naive. You know by now I think that's a compliment. The fire in your belly— The Ache— is not a problem. It's a compass. And the world needs more people willing to follow it together, rather than carrying it alone. Tend the fire. For yourself. For each other. For the world that could be. May it be so.
“Intelligence is 100 percent human. AI is a tool created by humans to distill, digest, and distribute intelligence.” — Keith Teare The working class died this week — at least in Palo Alto. Delivering the eulogy in our regular That Was The Week tech summary is my co-host Keith Teare. “Humans create intelligence,” (whatever that means) the Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur tells us. And so, in our AI age of supposedly abundant intelligence, he pronounces, human knowledge “should not be trapped inside experts, institutions, or companies.” Check your pockets, everyone. Silicon Valley has another freebie for you. With AI, the entrepreneur promises, intelligence is democratized. Everybody gets it. We will all have the intelligence of a Nobel laureate at our fingertips. Even Keith. And so he attacks Daron Acemoglu, the Nobel Prize-winning MIT economist who has called for a “pro-worker AI.” But, for Keith — a council-estate kid from Yorkshire whose lifetime ambition was to evacuate the working class — this is “complete bullshit.” Acemoglu's ideas, he says, are an example of the “fetishization of workers” when, in fact, we should be celebrating the end of the “working class.” What Acemoglu is calling for in his pro-worker AI manifesto is more government planning for today's transition to the AI epoch. But Keith disagrees. So I asked him three times what government should do while AI kills the working (and middle) class. “Allow it to happen,” he finally answers. “A good upheaval.” Good? The former “worker” will lack jobs, wages, healthcare, housing. Even food in an America now eliminating food stamps. No matter. Let them eat intelligence. Five Takeaways • Humans Create Intelligence. Keith's editorial thesis distinguishes individual intelligence — where experts live, and always will — from the collective sum of everything all humans, living and dead, have ever contributed. That collective stock was once locked in encyclopedias, libraries, and universities; for the first time, AI can aggregate, distill, digest, and distribute it, at a price falling toward everyone. Knowledge, he writes, “should not be trapped inside experts, institutions, or companies” — but note the fine print: experts don't disappear in this democratization. If anything, they get elevated: the expert reading an AI's output about viruses understands it very differently than the rest of us.• The End of the Age of Heroes? Noah Smith's much-shared essay argues that AI ends the era of the mathematical hero — and that's fine, since most people (truck drivers, financial advisers, executive assistants) never got to be heroes anyway. Keith's rebuttal turns on his central distinction: AI and intelligence are not the same word. There is no evidence, he argues, that AI creates new knowledge — it understands and distributes the existing stock. Innovation still takes individuals, and those individuals now start from a far higher floor, leveled up to everything already known. Heroes don't go away; they multiply. In the world of AI, he suspects, every single teacher becomes one.• “What Even Is Pro-Worker AI?” The week's main event: Daron Acemoglu — via Yascha Mounk's Persuasion interview and an Atlantic essay, with What Happened to Liberal Democracy out next week — wants AI agencies, grant programs, and public competitions to build “pro-worker AI.” Keith's verdict: “complete bullshit.” The middle-class “fetishization of workers” is paternalistic; the wage is a temporary power relationship between employer and employee; and the end of the working class is precisely the progressive outcome — says the council-estate kid from Yorkshire whose aspiration was not to be working class. Pressed three times on what government should do amid the upheaval, Keith finally answered: “Allow it to happen… a good upheaval.” Though swap workers for people, he conceded, and he'd almost entirely agree — every teacher a hero, even in East Palo Alto.• Bandwagons and Silences. Regular people are being arrested protesting data centers; Erin Brockovich — a Keen On guest some years back — is assembling class actions; Ezra Klein has begun folding anti-big-tech language into abundance. A politician-led bandwagon, Keith argues, regressive but keyed to genuine local concerns. The stranger fact is the silence on the other side: neither Altman nor Amodei nor Demis Hassabis is making the public case that AI benefits everybody — astonishing, Keith says, and the vacuum Acemoglu is trying to fill. Hassabis himself stepped aside at Google this week — a scientist returning to science as Sergey Brin becomes AI czar — while the Nobel-winning AlphaFold team has been quietly broken up. “Something strange is going on there.”• A Drama in a Teacup. Is the AI economy real? Ed Zitron's stat — 70 percent of Amazon, Microsoft, and Google's AI revenue comes from OpenAI and Anthropic — is two-thirds right, says Keith, and no problem at all: beneath the concentration, the money comes from some two billion distributed users paying real subscriptions, and the revenues are sustainable. The Aschenbrenner postscript, via Porter Stansberry's post of the week: he bet the chip layer (Samsung, SK Hynix) when the value sat a layer up, got the timing wrong more than the thesis, sold to Citadel at a discount — and kept his Anthropic shares, remaining a multi-billionaire. As for the coming reality check: Anthropic and OpenAI will IPO only when public capital beats private, and SpaceX's wobble from $135 to $108 — through a 20 percent lockup release — counts as no catastrophe. Public markets, Keith reminds us, don't determine the success of the underlying business. About the Co-Host Keith Teare is the publisher of That Was The Week, the essential weekly tech newsletter, and founder and CEO of SignalRank Corporation. A serial entrepreneur — co-founder of, among others, EasyNet and RealNames — he was present at the creation of the UK internet and has spent four decades at the intersection of technology, capital, and ideas. He joins Keen On America every Sunday to make sense of the week in tech. His AI-assisted book in progress is titled Who Owns Intelligence. References: • That Was The Week — Keith's newsletter, including this week's editorial, “Humans Create Intelligence.”• Noah Smith — “The End of the Age of Heroes,” on what happens to human ambition when the machines do the math.• Daron Acemoglu — the Yascha Mounk interview at Persuasion, the Atlantic essay on pro-worker AI, and What Happened to Liberal Democracy, out next week.• The Financial Times — “Google's AI shakeup boosts Brin as DeepMind's Hassabis steps aside.”• Ed Zitron — on the 70 percent of hyperscaler AI revenue that flows from OpenAI and Anthropic.• Porter Stansberry — post of the week, on Leopold Aschenbrenner's losses, Citadel's discount, and the drama in a ...
Maggie Haberman is one of the most connected reporters to Trump and his world and just released a new book with Jonathan Swan about the first year of Trump's second term. Pat Kahnke and Adam Swenson discuss issues raised during Haberman's recent appearance on the Ezra Klein podcast. We will ask, "Can the white Evangelicals who said Trump was chosen by God STILL justify that belief, given the fruit?"
Stephen Dziedzic of the ABC returns to catch up on a remarkable month in Australian foreign policy. The conversation begins with China's submarine-launched ballistic missile test into the South Pacific. Stephen and Darren ask who Beijing was really signalling, what the test says about China's nuclear deterrent, and why Pacific governments responded much more strongly than they did to China's 2024 launch. They then turn to Australia's rapidly expanding Pacific integration agenda: the Nakamal Agreement with Vanuatu, the new Vuvale Union and Ocean of Peace Alliance with Fiji, and the wider web of Australian agreements across the region. The discussion examines why Fiji and Vanuatu struck such different bargains; whether Australia coerced Vanuatu; the risks of strategic overstretch; and what happens when Canberra eventually has to enforce one of the new agreements' red lines. Darren also offers an alliance-theory puzzle: these treaties appear designed less to deter a clear external threat than to institutionalise alignment and deny rival security access. The episode also covers Taiwan's decision to suspend spot purchases of PNG LNG after Port Moresby moved against Taiwan's representative office; the fragile stabilisation of Australia–China relations and an Australian variation on Kevin Rudd's “managed strategic competition”; and Narendra Modi's visit, including whether India now truly qualifies as a top-tier Australian security partner. Recommendations: Ezra Klein's interviews with Kevin Rudd and Maggie Haberman, and Sam Dalrymple's Shattered Lands. Australia in the World is written, hosted and produced by Darren Lim, with research and audio editing by Hannah Nelson and theme music composed by Rory Stenning. Relevant links Stephen Dziedzic's relevant ABC reporting Stephen Dziedzic and Lillyrose WelWel, “Vanuatu critical infrastructure to remain ‘free from militarisation' under Nakamal pact,” ABC News, 29 June 2026, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-29/australia-vanuatu-sign-strategic-pact-nakamal-agreement/106852624 Stephen Dziedzic, “Vanuatu deal a sign of what's to come in ‘permanent contest' for Pacific influence with China,” ABC News, 1 July 2026, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-01/how-vanuatu-deal-shapes-pacific-influence-contest-with-china/106863266 Lice Movono and Stephen Dziedzic, “Solomon Islands PM says ‘growing consensus' in support of regional security agreement,” ABC News, 3 July 2026, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-03/solomon-islands-pm-says-growing-consensus-for-security-deal/106874902 Stephen Dziedzic and Lice Movono, “Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signs Ocean of Peace Alliance with Fiji,” ABC News, 6 July 2026, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-06/albanese-signs-major-new-treaty-fiji/106882252 Stephen Dziedzic and Tom Lowrey, “‘Destabilising' Chinese ballistic missile test in Pacific prompts government concerns,” ABC News, 6 July 2026, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-06/china-test-ballistic-missile-south-pacific/106885076 Stephen Dziedzic, “China warns Australia over military alliance with Fiji that promises to ‘act to meet the common danger',” ABC News, 6 July 2026, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-06/china-warns-australia-over-alliance-with-fiji/106886394 Stephen Dziedzic and Tom Lowrey, “Pacific leaders criticise Chinese nuclear-capable missile test as ‘reckless',” ABC News, 7 July 2026, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-07/china-missile-nuclear-pacific-nauru-tuvalu/106887324 Stephen Dziedzic and Doug Dingwall, “Anthony Albanese says India a ‘top-tier security partner' for Australia as nations deepen defence ties,” ABC News, 9 July 2026, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-09/narendra-modi-arrives-in-melbourne/106894868 Tim Swanston and Stephen Dziedzic, “China demands Australia stop ‘exaggerating tensions' over South China Sea,” ABC News, 22 July 2026, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-22/china-australia-south-china-sea-philippines-tension/106946822 Stephen Dziedzic, “Chinese diplomats leave Labor conference in Adelaide after requesting Taiwan representatives be ejected,” ABC News, 23 July 2026, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-23/chinese-diplomats-leave-labor-conference-in-adelaide/106951960 Stephen Dziedzic, “Australia supplants China as Pacific's biggest lender,” ABC News, 28 July 2026, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-28/new-lowy-pacific-aid-map-australia-lending-investor/106967764 Stephen Dziedzic and Marian Faa, “Taiwan to stop buying PNG gas on spot market over ‘One China' spat,” ABC News, 29 July 2026, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-29/taiwan-to-stop-buying-png-gas-on-spot-market/106972968 Other links Siobhan McDonnell, “The Nakamal Agreement has been signed, but at what cost?”, Devpolicy Blog, 24 July 2026: https://devpolicy.org/the-nakamal-agreement-has-been-signed-but-at-what-cost/ Ezra Klein, “What Xi Jinping Wants (with Kevin Rudd)” The Ezra Klein Show, The New York Times, 14 July 2026, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/14/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-kevin-rudd.html Ezra Klein, “How Trump Has Changed, With Maggie Haberman,” The Ezra Klein Show, The New York Times, 31 July 2026, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-maggie-haberman.html Sam Dalrymple, Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia, HarperCollins, 19 June 2025, https://harpercollins.com.au/products/9780008466831
In the immediate aftermath of Charlie Kirk's murder, the NFL was holding moments of silence, Ezra Klein was waxing about how he was ‘practicing politics the right way,” and criticizing Kirk online could get you fired. Now, as the trial of Tyler Robinson, Kirk's alleged killer, begins, something has replaced that reverence. Guest: Will Sommer, senior reporter for the Bulwark and writer of False Flag, a newsletter about the online culture and communities now running our country. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.Podcast production by Rob Gunther, Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In the immediate aftermath of Charlie Kirk's murder, the NFL was holding moments of silence, Ezra Klein was waxing about how he was ‘practicing politics the right way,” and criticizing Kirk online could get you fired. Now, as the trial of Tyler Robinson, Kirk's alleged killer, begins, something has replaced that reverence. Guest: Will Sommer, senior reporter for the Bulwark and writer of False Flag, a newsletter about the online culture and communities now running our country. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.Podcast production by Rob Gunther, Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In the immediate aftermath of Charlie Kirk's murder, the NFL was holding moments of silence, Ezra Klein was waxing about how he was ‘practicing politics the right way,” and criticizing Kirk online could get you fired. Now, as the trial of Tyler Robinson, Kirk's alleged killer, begins, something has replaced that reverence. Guest: Will Sommer, senior reporter for the Bulwark and writer of False Flag, a newsletter about the online culture and communities now running our country. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.Podcast production by Rob Gunther, Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sam Harris speaks with Kathryn Paige Harden about behavioral genetics, moral luck, and the problem of blame. They discuss Harden's book Original Sin, the controversy over Charles Murray and Ezra Klein, why behavioral genetics remains taboo, the meaning of heritability, nature and nurture as feedback loops, why biological explanations can increase blame, psychopathy as a continuum, a hypothetical cure for evil, embryo selection and IVF, and other topics. Related Episode: #212 - A Conversation with Kathryn Paige Harden If the Making Sense podcast logo in your player is BLACK, you can SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes at samharris.org/subscribe.
This special episode features the full Munk Debate on Trump's America, held before a live audience of 3,000 at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall in May 2025.The debate resolution was: Be it Resolved, this is America's golden ageArguing in favour of the motion was the political consultant, pollster and senior counselor to President Trump during his first term in office, Kellyanne Conway. Her debate partner was the President of the right-wing think tank the Heritage Foundation, and the architect of Project 2025, Kevin Roberts. Arguing against the motion was the New York Times columnist, podcaster, bestselling author, and one of America's most influential commentators, Ezra Klein. His debate partner was Ben Rhodes, who served as President Obama's senior advisor and is the co-host of the popular current affairs podcast Pod Save the World.Become a Munk Donor ($50 annually) to get 72-hour advanced access to the full length editions of Friday Focus and Munk Dialogues. Go to www.munkdebates.com to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Learn more about Alpha School at https://go.alpha.school/howiwrite AI and creativity. I've asked dozens of writers for their take; some think it's a godsend, while others believe it's the literal scum of the earth. Here are 12 of the best responses from literary award winners like Robert Macfarlane, builders like Sam Altman, and journalists like Ezra Klein. This is what people at the cutting edge are saying about how AI will impact writing, creativity, and culture. 00:00 Introduction 00:29 Ezra Klein 08:02 Maria Popova 09:55 Tyler Cowen 17:39 Tom Junod 22:30 Sam Altman 26:32 Steven Pinker 29:12 Jimmy Soni 40:14 Riva Tez 42:43 Yann Martel 46:01 Marc Andreessen 48:14 Robert Macfarlane 50:48 Jon Yaged About the host Hey! I'm David Perell and I'm a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Fem minuter om dagen räcker inte i sommar. Så här är listan jag faktiskt preppar mina kunder med.Sommaren är den bästa tiden att gå på djupet, så idag återanvänder jag material och ger er fem boktips och fem poddtips (plus bonus). Böckerna gör en resa från system till samhälle till människa: Kevin Kellys ″What Technology Wants″ (han som gav mig det bästa rådet jag fått, ″make one new mistake every week″), Mattias Sundins ″Den femte accelerationen″, Fei-Fei Lis ″The World I See″, Ethan Mollicks ″Co-Intelligence″ (där mina fyra principer kommer ifrån), och Kazuo Ishiguros ″Klara och solen″, som du ska läsa med glasögonen att leta efter det vackra, inte dystopin. (och Framtidig av Judith Wolst som bonus)Poddarna går från daglig puls till djup reflektion: AI Daily Brief, Hard Fork, Possible, Dwarkesh Podcast (spara den till en lång flygtur), Ezra Klein och No Priors, plus en bonus jag tjatat om i åratal: Acquired.Jag delar också en PDF med alla tipsen och fem saker du faktiskt kan göra med AI i sommar, från att planera resan till att rädda regndagen när familjen blir rastlös.Vad ligger i din sommarhög? Släng in dina bästa läs-, lyssnings- och gör-tips i kommentarerna, så håller vi grytan kokande tillsammans.CC-BY 4.0
La premisa del Fuck you money es que el ahorro compra libertad y que con esa libertad sales al mercado para competir sin miedo. No se trata entonces de adivinar un futuro incierto, sino de darte margen de maniobra para operar en él. Con ahorro compras las opciones. Me gusta por esta razón que el profesor Carlos Rodríguez Braun defienda la necesidad del ahorro en su nuevo libro, definiendo la estrategia junto al inversor José Ramón Iturriaga. Ahora, ahorra es el plan de la hormiga en una sociedad de cigarras.Este es el último episodio de la temporada.Gracias, un año más, por escuchar este podcast.Kapital regresa en otoño con nuevas madrigueras.Kapital es posible gracias a sus colaboradores:Página Internacional. La mejor prensa global, en una revista.En los primeros meses de Página Internacional hemos contado historias desde Tel Aviv, Shanghái y Teherán. Hemos hablado de literatura, de Dios, de natalidad, de vino y de algoritmos. Y hemos publicado a grandes firmas como Fukuyama, Nick Cave o Ezra Klein. En Página queremos entender el contexto geopolítico, económico y cultural global a través de las mejores voces: los artículos esenciales de The Economist, The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Le Monde o The Atlantic, en español y en una sola revista. Filtro, acceso y selección. Cada día somos más socios y socias haciéndolo posible. Puedes suscribirte con 30€ de descuento usando el código KAPITAL30, vigente hasta el 7 de julio a medianoche. Elige la suscripción anual o la vitalicia —solo quedan 3 para este año—. Nuestra promesa es sencilla: una vida entera de buena lectura y sabiduría a través de la mejor prensa del mundo.Patrocina Kapital. Toda la información en este link.Índice:1:32 El maná no existe en la política.7:56 La tentación del escenario lúgubre.13:26 ¿Votaríamos distinto con un IRPF transparente?16:21 La inflación como un impuesto oculto.21:09 Bastos sobre la hiperinflación alemana.26:55 Invertir con Iturriaga.29:23 Ahorrar para controlar tu vida.33:42 Estirar más el brazo que la manga.42:04 La cigarra y la hormiga.43:37 Un Krugerrand para Teseu.Apuntes:Ahora, ahorra. Carlos Rodríguez Braun & José Ramón Iturriaga.La cultura de la libertad. Carlos Rodríguez Braun.¿Tú también retienes, Bruto? Carlos Rodríguez Braun.Hacienda somos todos, cariño. Carlos Rodríguez Braun & Luis Daniel Ávila & María Blanco.Camino de servidumbre. Friedrich Hayek.La riqueza de las naciones. Adam Smith.La culpa es nuestra. Benito Arruñada.El obelisco negro. Erich Maria Remarque.Breve tratado sobre la reforma monetaria. John Maynard Keynes.
In this special Books episode of Breakthroughs, five HEC Paris academics share the works that nudged, shook or sharpened the way they think about research: Seungah Sarah Lee with Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson; Olivier Darmouni with Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson; Quirin Fleckenstein with Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely; Michelangelo Rossi with Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman and The Power of Experiments by Michael Luca and Max Bazerman; and Brian Hill with Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber. From nationalism and public capacity to behavioral economics, experiments and the human stakes of exchange, the episode is a reminder that research sometimes begins when a book makes a familiar question feel strange again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Alejandro Fajardo es biólogo y matemático. Su tesis de doctorado es sobre la persistencia del chavismo en Venezuela. Link a la tesis: https://alejandrofajardo.substack.com/p/agradecimientos-tesis-doctoralDonaciones Venezuela: https://donate.alimentalasolidaridad.org/campaign/815565/donateLibros mencionados:The rise of rentier populism - Sebastian Mazzuca (https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/lessons-from-latin-america-the-rise-of-rentier-populism)Precarious democracies - Ana Maria Bejarano (https://amzn.to/4wkDPXW)Why we are polarized - Ezra Klein (https://amzn.to/4wjLRjM)Los golpistas - Jaime Bayly (https://amzn.to/4asB0LX)15% de descuento en cafe fresco Pergamino yendo a pergamino.co con el código ATEMPORAL. Capítulos:00:00 intro02:15 Introducción e interés por la crisis de Venezuela09:58 El origen de Hugo Chávez y el movimiento bolivariano14:33 Relación política entre Colombia y Venezuela24:21 Historia de una chavista y el carisma de Hugo Chávez29:58 Qué es la polarización política en Venezuela40:14 El mesianismo político y el culto al líder47:01 Errores de la oposición venezolana y el antichavismo01:04:55 Represión del régimen venezolano y conexión popular01:20:01 Consejos estratégicos para la oposición venezolana01:28:12 Geopolítica e influencia extranjera en Venezuela01:33:38 La diáspora venezolana y el impacto de perder el 25% de la población01:36:09 Las élites vs. el fenómeno popular del chavismo01:42:05 El legado y carisma de Hugo ChávezRecibe mi newsletter: https://acevedoandres.com/newsletter/Apoyar Atemporal en Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Atemporalpodcast
Ezra Klein is one of the sharpest voices in American politics, but this conversation is not about left versus right. It's about virtue, responsibility, and character. Ryan and Ezra talk about why virtue matters in a democracy, what liberalism has lost by failing to speak clearly about responsibility, and why institutions alone can't save a society if the people inside them abandon restraint, honesty, and self-critique. They also get into what Ezra thinks Stoicism gets right, where it falls short, and why Stoicism, or any philosophy, has to be tested in real life.Ezra Klein is a New York Times columnist and the host of The Ezra Klein Show. He is also the co-founder of Vox, where he served as editor-in-chief and later editor-at-large, and previously worked at The Washington Post, The American Prospect, Bloomberg, and MSNBC.
¿Qué es el psicoanálisis? ¿Cuáles son las preferencias verdaderas? ¿De dónde surgen? ¿Por qué recibe el método tantas críticas? Estas son preguntas que intento responder junto a la psicóloga clínica Lola López Mondéjar. Freud, padre del psicoanálisis, diría que las preferencias no están escondidas pero tienes que encontrarlas. Lo que hay entonces es un proceso de descubrimiento, somos exploradores en busca de los deseos originales. Interrogar al inconsciente es el trabajo que todos tenemos por delante.Kapital es posible gracias a sus colaboradores:Página Internacional. La mejor prensa global, en una revista.En los primeros meses de Página Internacional hemos contado historias desde Tel Aviv, Shanghái y Teherán. Hemos hablado de literatura, de Dios, de natalidad, de vino y de algoritmos. Y hemos publicado a grandes firmas como Fukuyama, Nick Cave o Ezra Klein. En Página queremos entender el contexto geopolítico, económico y cultural global a través de las mejores voces: los artículos esenciales de The Economist, The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Le Monde o The Atlantic, en español y en una sola revista. Filtro, acceso y selección. Cada día somos más socios y socias haciéndolo posible. Puedes suscribirte con 30€ de descuento usando el código KAPITAL30, vigente hasta el 7 de julio a medianoche. Elige la suscripción anual o la vitalicia —solo quedan 3 para este año—. Nuestra promesa es sencilla: una vida entera de buena lectura y sabiduría a través de la mejor prensa del mundo.Patrocina Kapital. Toda la información en este link.Índice:0:32 Libre asociación freudiana.7:21 El ello, el yo y el superyó de Norman Bates.13:00 Origen de las preferencias sexuales.19:49 La liberación sexual feminista pendiente.25:36 Protégeme de lo que quiero.31:15 La represión es civilizadora.40:39 Masculinidad tóxica.50:28 La mentira del amor romántico.54:57 Mito de Edipo.1:00:21 El cuerpo femenino que desean los hombres no es el que sale en los anuncios.1:09:13 Máscaras en redes sociales.1:13:44 Fantasia de invulnerabilidad.1:22:10 Presión social para nunca bajar una marcha.1:32:18 Los que más gastan son los más infelices.1:36:53 El peligro de definirte en la competición.1:40:22 Interrogar al inconsciente.Apuntes:Lazos de sangre. Lola López Mondéjar.Sin relato. Lola López Mondéjar.Cada noche, cada noche. Lola López Mondéjar.Invulnerables e invertebrados. Lola López Mondéjar.Una espina en la carne. Lola López Mondéjar.El retorno de lo real. Hal Foster.Psicosis. Alfred Hitchcock.Lolita. Vladimir Nabokov.Yo siempre a veces. Marta Bassols & Marta Loza.¡Lo quiero! Luke Burgis.Diarios. John Cheever.El amor dura tres años. Frédéric Beigbeder.13,99. Frédéric Beigbeder.Advertised waist-to-hip ratios of online female escorts: an evolutionary perspective. Gad Saad.
Everything is an emergency! There's genocide(s), environmental collapse, capitalism, patriarchy -- and it all has to be taken care of now! Revolution! It's the attention economy, baby -- and everyone wants your attention on the emergency because it is making them a lot of money. Jessa and Nico look at the off-putting and unpersuasive language of the Emergency and wonder if there's a way of talking about these issues in a more reasonable way. If everything is trauma, and trauma makes us helpless and overreactive, then how is anything going to change? Also discussed: Ezra Klein cozying up to the antichrist, the natural birth movement kills another woman, and Bosnia is probably not going to win the World Cup........... but maybe? Shownotes and references: http://theculturewedeserve.substack.com
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comNancy bravely went alone to see Backrooms and is not sure if she's right yet. Backrooms is one of two movies Gen Z is currently obsessing over (the other is called, um, Obsession). Sarah and Nancy talk about art in the age of YouTube, what gets people to the theater, the spookiness of the unknown, and whatever “creepypasta” turns out to be. They also discuss Sarah's semi-viral tweet about men changing tires and RFK's push to help Americans get off anti-depressants.Also discussed:* Nancy is an easy lay* “Death before AAA”* Sarah is an aspirational engagement farmer* The Safelite jingle is … a jam?* Broken-window theory, men vs. women * Happy 21st birthday Kane Parsons, you miserable overachiever* Liminal spaces as metaphor for the Internet (and the subconscious)* The Blair Witch Project, remembered* “Don't go in the shaft!!!”* David Lynch + Salvador Dali + Severance + The Shining + Being John Malkovich* Why Sarah went on antidepressants, version 100* Sarah will not join Nancy's running group* “There's something going on with Ezra Klein, and I dig it.”Plus, Sarah tries to pronounce the names of actors Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, Nancy flexes her 4chan knowledge, solvitur ambulando, and much more!DO NOT GO INTO THE SHAFT!!! But we encourage you to become a paid subscriber.
Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman review recent shifts in global politics. The discussion begins by examining the legacy of Alan Greenspan. They detail how his monetary policies and devotion to Ayn Rand laid the groundwork for modern neoliberalism. UK Leadership Collapse: Keir Starmer has resigned as Prime Minister amidst plummeting approval ratings. Jared and Nick explore how this signifies a broader rejection of centrist politics. Andrew Burnham is poised to potentially shift the Labour Party leftward. Vetting Failures: Attention then shifts to reports regarding Tulsi Gabbard. Her connections to Chris Butler and the Science of Identity Foundation highlight massive vetting failures within the Democratic Party. The conversation reveals how cult influence mirrors the mechanics of corporate think tanks. Soft Power: The episode scrutinizes Ezra Klein's defense of Peter Thiel's private Dialog conference. Jared breaks down the insidious nature of elite networking. Cults of Denial: Finally, they examine Donald Trump's claims about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Rather than accepting basic science regarding algae, the former president blames political subterfuge. This serves as a metaphor for the reality-denying nature of political cults. Support independent media by joining the Patreon community. Become a patron at patreon.com/muckrakepodcast to gain access to weekend episodes and keep the podcast editorially independent.
America doesn't tax wealth. It taxes people who need paychecks. In this episode, we break down Ray Madoff's The Second Estate and the playbook behind America's new aristocracy: buy, borrow, die. Billionaires can borrow against appreciated stock, avoid selling assets, donate shares for tax benefits, use trusts to move wealth, and die with a stepped-up basis that can erase decades of capital gains. From Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk paying zero federal income tax in certain years, to Peter Thiel turning a $2,000 Roth IRA into a $5 billion tax-free account, this isn't tax evasion. It's the system working as designed. The deeper problem: untaxed dynastic wealth doesn't just buy yachts. It buys media, think tanks, policy influence, and power.
Ezra Klein is a journalist & political commentator. What's actually happening in politics? The right says it's winning. The left says democracy is at risk. Yet the country feels more divided than ever. So what's really going on, and is it still possible for a leader on either side of the aisle to unite America? Expect to learn we're being fracked by the politics of attention, if the left's version of Joe Rogan could have swayed the political tides their way in 2024, why the Left has zero leaders in contention for the 2028 ticket, the correct way we should regulate AI, how to seperate yourself from political anger, what to pay attention to over the next few years and much more… Sponsors: See discounts for all the products I use and recommend: https://chriswillx.com/deals Get 35% off your first subscription on the best supplements from Momentous at https://livemomentous.com/modernwisdom Get a free bottle of D3K2, an AG1 Welcome Kit, and more when you first subscribe at https://ag1.info/modernwisdom Get up to $50 off the RP Hypertrophy App at https://rpstrength.com/modernwisdom Get a Free Sample Pack of LMNT's most popular flavours with your first purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom Get ChatGPT to explore ideas, solve problems, and learn faster at https://chatgpt.com Timestamps: (0:00) How Ezra Klein Became an Unlikely Thirst Trap (3:40) The Benefits of Keeping Your Private Life Boring (13:44) Are The Democrats' Tweets Getting Out of Hand? (18:20) Could a Liberal Joe Rogan Have Changed the Election? (25:53) Is Ezra in the Middle of a Democrat Civil War? (30:35) The Risk of Criticising Your Own Side (40:41) Have Ezra's Politics Evolved? (46:02) What Makes the Ideal Democratic Candidate? (49:02) Why Authenticity Wins (53:53) What Does Deregulation Actually Mean? (59:47) How Should We Regulate AI? (01:09:00) The Urgent Problem of AI Safety (01:16:34) How Ezra Would Approach AI Safety (01:25:00) Distinguishing What's Productive From Unproductive (01:30:47) Are the Left Losing Young Men? (01:47:46) Why We Need to Unify the Sexes (01:50:30) How to Not Let Criticism Get to You (01:56:24) Does Better Information Create Better Politics? (01:59:09) What is Ezra Focusing On Next? (02:08:22) What's Next For Ezra? Extra Stuff: Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: https://chriswillx.com/books Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom Episodes You Might Enjoy: #577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins #712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson #700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman - Get In Touch: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
I'm not saying AI is superintelligent or can decide better than you can. I'm saying that if you - like me - spend an hour or so doing research before voting on local seats, AI can aid that research very effectively. And if you don't do that research - because you weren't willing to waste an hour on it before - AI makes it so much faster that you might want to start. I gave Claude a prompt something like (edited for coherence): I'll be voting in the June 2026 California primary. I'm a centrist liberal abundance YIMBY whose favorite political writers are Kelsey Piper, Matt Yglesias, and Ezra Klein. I'm wary of government overreach, but I'm not a doctrinaire libertarian and want to help people when we can figure ways to do it that work. I'm going to ask you about each race on my ballot, and I'd like for you to list the various candidates' bios, policies, endorsements, your read on the most important differences between them, and your advice for me as I try to make my choice. …and got back answers like the following: https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/use-ai-this-election
Donate (no account necessary) | Subscribe (account required) Join Bryan Dean Wright, former CIA Operations Officer, as he dives into today's top stories shaping America and the world. In this Listener Q&A episode of The Wright Report, Bryan answers your sharpest questions on the Iran Peace Memo, walking through exactly why the text still hasn't been released, what we know for certain about the money Iran is already collecting, and why his own CIA sources align with Director Ratcliffe's assessment that the IRGC simply cannot be trusted on its nuclear promises. Bryan also takes on the toughest pushback of the week, including a listener threatening to cancel over his Iran coverage, fielding it directly and on the record. He breaks down the rare earth mineral crisis and whether the US can rebuild its supply chain before a potential conflict with China, explains why climate change has functionally become a religion for the American Left, and shares his view on a domestic terror plot targeting the White House that he believes previews what the next 9/11 will actually look like. Plus, Bryan closes with a question about whether America can survive another 250 years, delivering a blunt, geopolitical case for why the answer is yes, but only if the country deals with the threat he considers more immediate than Iran. "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32 Keywords: Wright Report, Bryan Dean Wright, Iran Peace Memo, IRGC, nuclear program, JD Vance, CIA intel, John Ratcliffe, rare earth minerals, China supply chain, US military munitions, Gavin Newsom, climate change Democrats, Ezra Klein, domestic terror plot, drone attack White House, UFC plot, Mossad, Israel Lebanon, American exceptionalism, midterm elections, SpaceX IPO, Gina Rinehart, mining minerals
Co-hosts Josh Zive, Dylan Pasiuk, and Paul Nathanson welcome back Liam Donovan—fresh off his appearance on Ezra Klein's podcast—to break down the 2026 midterm landscape. The discussion includes each party's path to a majority with a spotlight on key races, the importance of candidate quality, President Trump's approach to endorsements, and what it all could mean for the legislative agenda in the final stretch of the current Congress.
Yuval Noah Harari's conversation with Ezra Klein exposes something theologians have been slow to name: MAGA is not a political movement — it's a redemption narrative. And redemption narratives are the most powerful force in human history. Pat Kahnke and Adam Swenson break down what Harari gets right, where theology goes further, and why Christian nationalism has succeeded by replacing the Gospel with a story that feels better than the truth.
“The same creative and political forces that gave rise to [San Francisco's] boom nearly engineered its collapse.” — Jonathan Weber In Hitchcock's Vertigo, the quintessential San Francisco movie, the villain points to an old painting of the city and tells Jimmy Stewart that San Francisco has changed. The real city has been lost, he says. Somebody has stolen San Francisco's soul. The veteran tech journalist Jonathan Weber is the latest writer to search for that soul. In City on the Edge: Technology, Politics, and the Fight for the Soul of San Francisco, Weber bemoans the disappearance of the real San Francisco — the city not just of the Beats and the Counterculture but also of ordinary teachers and policemen. We've had thirty years of boom, bust, and Big Tech. The ordinary folks of San Francisco have been replaced by a new class of tech bros. In 1992, just 2% of San Franciscans worked in tech. By 2019 it was 35%. As a longtime San Franciscan, Weber had a front-row seat on the dot-com mania, the rise of social media, Uber and Airbnb, the pandemic's great emptying of downtown, and now the AI boom driven by the San Francisco-based Anthropic and OpenAI. In City on the Edge, Weber argues that the same creative and political forces that gave rise to the boom — the counterculture's anarchic spirit, the city's love affair with eccentricity, the tech industry's utopian self-belief — also engineered its near-collapse. Digital vertigo, so to speak. Once again somebody has stolen San Francisco's soul. Five Takeaways • From 2% to 35%: The Numbers Behind the Transformation: In 1992, just 2% of San Francisco workers were in tech. By 2019 it was 35%. The book traces how this happened: a city economically troubled in the early 1990s, still reeling from AIDS and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, with its manufacturing base gone and its corporate headquarters thinning out. Into this vacuum came a group of free-thinking technologists immersed in the city's creative counterculture. They invented the contemporary internet. What followed was one of the most rapid urban transformations in American history. • The Cacophony Society and the Founding of Burning Man: Before the tech boom, San Francisco in the early 1990s had a remarkable underground culture. Weber writes about the Cacophony Society — the group of anarchic free spirits who effectively founded the Burning Man festival. The Cacophony Society emerged from the counterculture of the 1960s through various evolutions — Situationist pranks, urban exploration, radical creativity. Burning Man began as their annual trip to the Black Rock Desert. The spirit of that founding: go somewhere, build something, be someone different, leave no trace. That spirit was the soul of the city too. • The City of Nostalgia: Always Believing Yesterday Was Better: Weber takes his Vertigo reference seriously. San Francisco is structurally a city of nostalgia — people arrive with a fixed idea of what the city is, and it inevitably becomes something different. The gap between the idea and the reality generates permanent mourning. This is not unique to San Francisco — Trump has built a presidency on the idea that things were better in the 1950s — but it is intensified here by the height of the hopes people bring. The city means something bigger than itself. That is both its greatest asset and its permanent wound. • The AI Boom and the Coming IPO Earthquake: The current AI boom is, in Weber's reading, likely to be the largest yet. OpenAI and Anthropic are both based in the city. When those IPOs happen, San Francisco real estate — already rising 25–50% in some neighbourhoods, Andrew notes — will go, in Weber's words, “really, really crazy again.” Hundreds of thousands of millionaires will be created overnight. The city is gradually becoming uniformly wealthy. Some of the old tensions may be less intense for that reason. But Weber does not think the cycles are over. The current boom will bust, as all booms do. What comes next is the question. • Burning Man, the Internet, and the Future of Cities: Weber ends the book at Burning Man. His closing observation: when the internet arrived on the playa, Burning Man lost the sense that it was a separate world — a place where you could be a different person, because nothing from your regular life could reach you. Now everyone has a phone. The privacy is gone. The sense of separation is gone. For cities: part of the power of cities is that they bring people together, and good things arise from that friction. But if technology no longer requires you to be in the same place, cities become less essential. What is the future of the city in the age of technology? Weber doesn't have a tidy answer. Neither does anyone else. About the Guest Jonathan Weber is a veteran technology journalist and the author of City on the Edge: Technology, Politics, and the Fight for the Soul of San Francisco (Atria Books, June 9, 2026). He was the founding editor-in-chief of The Industry Standard, former editor-in-chief of the San Francisco Standard, and covered the technology industry for the Los Angeles Times. He lives in San Francisco. References: • City on the Edge: Technology, Politics, and the Fight for the Soul of San Francisco by Jonathan Weber (Atria Books, June 9, 2026). • David Talbot, Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance in the City of Love — referenced in the conversation; Weber's recommended companion read on 1970s San Francisco. • Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, Abundance — referenced in the closing exchange. • Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem — the opening epigraph to Weber's book, referenced in the conversation. • Alfred Hitchcock, Vertigo (1958) — Andrew's reference; the film's own meditation on San Francisco as a city of nostalgia. About Keen On America Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States — hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 2,900 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting. WebsiteSubstack
Esta semana, na estante, temos “Salamaleques”, de Manuel de Novaes Cabral; “Abundância”, de Ezra Klein e Derek Hompson; “Do Sentimento Trágico da Vida nos Homens e nos Povos”, de Miguel de Unamuno; e “Contar uma História”, de John Berger e Susan Sontag.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What part does CEQA really play in why we can't have nice things? Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson makes the case that systemic barriers, not lack of resources or will, prevent progress on ambitious projects. Environmental regulations, including CEQA and NEPA, are part of that conversation. In this live panel recording from the 2026 AEP Conference, we are joined by environmental professionals with experience across government, lobbying, development, and consulting to ask what the Abundance Agenda actually means for California's environmental review process. The conversation covers how much of project delay is really attributable to CEQA or whether California's reforms are meaningful progress or a way of avoiding harder structural questions. Other topics include what BACA (Building an Affordable California Act) could change, and which parts of CEQA, like the fair argument standard, deserve a closer look. This session was recorded live with audience participation that includes real-time reactions, honest disagreement, and perspectives from across the profession.
Part 3 of our book club series on Yoni Appelbaum's 'Stuck', covering chapters 9–10. Appelbaum himself joins us to wrap up the series. Show notes:Appelbaum, Y. (2025). Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity. Penguin Random House.UCLA Housing Voice episode 112: ‘Stuck' Book Club pt. 1 with Attorney General Rob Bonta.UCLA Housing Voice episode 114: ‘Stuck' Book Club pt. 2 with Giselle Hale.Sahn, A. (2025). Racial diversity and exclusionary zoning: Evidence from the great migration. The Journal of Politics, 87(4), 1302-1318.Reny, T. T., & Newman, B. J. (2018). Protecting the right to discriminate: the second great migration and racial threat in the American West. American Political Science Review, 112(4), 1104-1110.The Ezra Klein Show: What We Got Right — and Wrong — in ‘Abundance' (YouTube) (Apple Podcasts)Stephanie Nakhleh's chapter-by-chapter review of Stuck (part 1).Books: Leah Boustan, Streets of GoldAbundance, Ezra Klein and Derek ThompsonWhy Nothing Works, Marc DunkelmanPublic Citizens, Paul SabinUrban Fortunes, John Logan and Harvey Molotch
Ezra Klein (Abundance, The Ezra Klein Show, Why We're Polarized) is a political commentator, journalist, podcast host and New York Times columnist. Ezra joins Armchair Expert to discuss becoming a father, getting serious about longevity and strength training, and why self-improvement became politically coded. Ezra and Dax talk about how attention became the most valuable currency in politics, why there's no liberal Joe Rogan, and how cancellation can backfire into shadow influence. Ezra explains why democracy requires moral imagination, how telling people you hate them pushes them away, and why the desire to become a better person shouldn't belong to one political side.Sign up now in the app or at grubhub.com/plus/golddays to unlock exclusive Gold Days deals.Check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds: https://www.allstate.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Over the last eight years, streamer and leftist political commentator Hasan Piker has built a following of millions on Twitch, where he streams seven to ten hours a day, discussing current events and interacting with followers in a rapid-fire chat. Lately, Piker, who has hit the campaign trail for Democratic candidates like Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, has become the object of a raging debate about the direction of the Democratic Party. For many progressives, establishment attacks on Piker and the candidates he supports are evidence that the party is out of touch with its base, especially young people. For the establishment, embrace of Piker by Israel-critical candidates is evidence that the party is becoming too radical. A recent op-ed in The Wall Street Journal by leaders of the centrist think tank Third Way labeled Piker a “Jew hater,” and urged Democrats to denounce him. The irony is that Piker, who appeals to exactly the sorts of young men who are being lured to the right in large numbers by the “manosphere,” is unique in how often he speaks about the principled fight against antisemitism. As figures like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and Nick Fuentes become more prominent in the pro-Palestine digital ecosystem, Piker may be one of the most important figures on the left countering a simplistic narrative of Jewish control and American innocence. On this episode of On the Nose, Arielle Angel speaks with Piker about keeping the nuance in a media environment that wants easy answers, using electoral politics to build class consciousness, and why he keeps talking about antisemitism.Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for editing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Media Mentioned and Further ReadingHasan Piker on Twitch“Hasan Piker Has a Few Choice Words for His Bad-Faith Critics,” Aaron Regunberg, The New Republic“The Right Is Capturing the Online Palestine Conversation,” On the Nose“Charlie Kirk and American Innocence,” On the Nose“Where Cenk Uygur and I Disagree,” Beinart Notebook on Substack“The Many Equivocations of Curt Mills,” Will Alden, Jewish Currents“Ocasio-Cortez warns against associating with Greene, calling her a ‘proven bigot,'” Ryan Mancini, The Hill“AOC vs. MTG on Palestine: the voting records don't lie,” Mehdi Hassan on Zeteo“This Is Why There's No Liberal Joe Rogan,” Ezra Klein, The New York Times“Democrats Are Too Cozy With Hasan Piker,” Jonathan Cowan and Lily Cohen, The Wall Street Journal“Some Democrats Shun Him, but Young Voters Want a Selfie,” Nathan Taylor Pemberton, The New York Times“House Democratic leaders condemn Texas candidate for antisemitic comments,” Ben Kamisar, NBC NewsTranscript forthcoming.
Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing virtually every facet of our lives. While there's a lot of doom and gloom predictions, what does a future look like if we're more intentional about using AI to actually better lives? We're sharing a recording of Chris and the New York Times' Ezra Klein's discussion at the Center for American Progress 2026 CAP IDEAS conference. They discuss what a new approach to artificial intelligence might look like–one intended to maximize AI's benefits for the public good. And for more on AI, be sure to check out "WITHpod: The AI End Game," our new special series all about the revolutionary impact of AI, right here on the WITHpod feed. Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content from this and other shows. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing virtually every facet of our lives. While there's a lot of doom and gloom predictions, what does a future look like if we're more intentional about using AI to actually better lives? We're sharing a recording of Chris and the New York Times' Ezra Klein's discussion at the Center for American Progress 2026 CAP IDEAS conference. They discuss what a new approach to artificial intelligence might look like–one intended to maximize AI's benefits for the public good. And for more on AI, be sure to check out "WITHpod: The AI End Game," a new special series all about the revolutionary impact of AI, wherever you get your podcasts. Want more of Chris? Download and follow his podcast, “Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes podcast” wherever you get your podcasts.To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Ezra Klein of the New York Times recently released a podcast about liberalism in crisis. In a surprisingly insightful moment, Klein recognized that liberalism was failing because it had been severed from its traditions, but Klein spent the rest of the episode explaining why he hates so many of the people who founded those traditions. We'll dive in and analyze why this inability to reconcile the past with the goals of the current progressive movement will ultimately doom the Left. Follow on: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-auron-macintyre-show/id1657770114 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3S6z4LBs8Fi7COupy7YYuM?si=4d9662cb34d148af Substack: https://auronmacintyre.substack.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuronMacintyre Gab: https://gab.com/AuronMacIntyre YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/c/AuronMacIntyre Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-390155 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@AuronMacIntyre:f Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/auronmacintyre/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE!Hello - SURVEY. Fill out the SURVEY. Last one to fill out the SURVEY is an antisemite. Plus you have a chance to win Chaya Leah's baked goods, made especially for you! If you already filled it out, you are our favorite! If you are the listeners from Japan, Barbados, Scotland or Pakistan - email us! We want to get to know you (you can all email us actually. It is called Ask A Jew you know….).askajewpod@gmail.comAlso, this just in - Mark your calendars for Monday, June 1st at 6pm!! Come have a drink with some other AJJers (Jew-pies?) and meet your two favorite Jewish podcasters (not Ezra Klein and Dan Senor) at:Spring Lounge48 Spring St, New York, NY 10012Comment if you plan to attend! Special guests may make an appearance…Now that logistics are out of the way - we gathered around the microphone last night to discuss Chaya Leah's favorite holiday, Shavuout, and her two least favorite things in the world: antizionist Jews and Eurovision. We also have some TV and book recommendations for you, discuss Mayor Mamdani's stupid party, and send some special love to Albania.Turns out I was partially right about our Albanian brethren, I said they didn't lose a single Jew during the holocaust, turns out they actually GAINED Jews. You should use this super fun fact to impress your Albanian doormen in New York, they are very proud of it (rightfully so), as well as their impeccable Eurovision voting history (doormen may not care about that). Shout out to my dad Ronnie for this information! Some links:* JVP barfy tweet* J-Street mamdani Substack, what do you think?* Great book recommendation following our shipping recommendation - thank you to whoever suggested it!* ICYMI - my Eurovision recap (you don't need to enjoy or like or even know what Eurovision is to read)* Some listeners suggested a book club, but we all know books are for nerds. How about we all pick a season of 90 Day Fiance and watch together?? Meisha and Nicola — a gorgeous American and painfully average Israeli united by their love of Jesus — agree! (Season 6)See you in NYC June 1st!!(Did we mention there is a survey?) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe
Ralph welcomes back Adolph Reed, Professor Emeritus of political science at the University of Pennsylvania and Distinguished Visiting Professor at Mount Holyoke College to discuss the latest Supreme Court decision gutting the Voting Rights Act. Then, Ralph and our resident constitutional scholar, Bruce Fein, talk about what ordinary citizens can do to pressure their reps to impeach Donald Trump.Adolph Reed is Professor Emeritus of political science at the University of Pennsylvania and Distinguished Visiting Professor at Mount Holyoke College. His most recent books are The South: Jim Crow and Its Afterlives, No Politics but Class Politics (co-authored with Walter Benn Michaels), and Black Studies, Cultural Politics, and the Evasion of Inequality: The Farce this Time (co-authored with Kenneth W. Warren).I think the issues are a lot more complex than they seem to be or than seems to be the way that they are represented in the debate [over the Voting Rights Act]…To cut straight to the political case, I think there's a distinction between the Act's guarantee that black citizens and others (where pertinent) who live in areas where there's been a history of suppression of the right to vote have the support of the federal government to make certain that Black voters have the ability to vote for and to elect candidates of their choosing. Which is not the same thing as a right of Black individuals to be elected to office. And I think that's one of the confusions that characterizes, frankly, both sides of the debate at this point. And I think that's definitely something that needs to be clarified.Adolph ReedSome of my friends and I have been talking about this, and have been bouncing this idea back and forth since, frankly, even before the court handed down the [Louisiana v Callais] decision. In thinking about developments in black politics across the board, the idea that all that Black voters are supposed to get out of politics is the representation of people who look like them and share in the same racial identification has also fueled backward turns. Like how all of a sudden the biggest issue in Black American politics supposedly had become the racial wealth gap, which boils down to a complaint that rich Black people aren't as rich as rich white people are. So, yeah, shaking up or reshuffling the deck for how we might begin to try to determine the stakes of Black Americans' engagement in national politics is something that needs to happen. No matter what brings it about.Adolph ReedBruce Fein is a Constitutional scholar and an expert on international law. Mr. Fein was Associate Deputy Attorney General under Ronald Reagan and he is the author of Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy, and American Empire: Before the Fall.My website is www.lawofficesofbrucefein.com and my email address is Bruce@feinpoints.com. And I'll respond and give you guidance as to how you can help be part of this effort to impeach and remove by far the most dangerous President in the history of the United States. And he's most dangerous to the world as well.Bruce FeinNews 5/8/26* Our top story this week comes to us from the Bulwark, which reports that dissatisfaction with Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin is reaching a fever pitch. Martin has faced criticism over the course of his tenure for reneging on his promise to release an autopsy on the 2024 presidential campaign and for his decidedly lackluster fundraising efforts. The DNC has reportedly “spent more money than it has raised” and “has more debt than cash on hand,” while the Republican National Committee enjoys a “roughly seven-to-one money advantage.” According to this report, high-level DNC members are now privately discussing ousting Martin, only tabling these discussions “after members failed to identify an alternative candidate willing to step into the role.” Martin's failures have even led Democrats to openly wonder “whether the 178-year-old committee should even exist anymore.” Martin was elected DNC Chair last year, beating out Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler, who helped rebuild the party and raise tremendous amounts of money in that critical swing state.* Speaking of money in politics, this week POLITICO released a damning report on End Citizens United, the good-government focused 501(c)(4) that has in past years been a “fundraising behemoth” but has now faded nearly into complete irrelevancy. The issues highlighted in this piece will be familiar to many who have worked in this world. Despite raising $14.8 million, the group's PAC arm is burning through the money more quickly than it can raise it, having just $324,000 on hand at the end of March. What are they spending the money on? According to POLITICO, about $650,000 has gone to candidates and party groups and about the same amount has been bundled. Meanwhile, payments to fundraising firms have eaten up an astonishing $5.3 million. This is just another case of Democratic Party aligned consulting firms run amok and growing fat off of small dollar donations.* Another disappointing story comes to us from the Teamsters. According to Bloomberg, the union has forfeited a hard-won union foothold – the first ever unionized Chipotle – following three years of battling the company and failing to secure a contract. A Teamsters local president said in an email to the National Labor Relations Board that the union “officially withdraws and disclaims interest” at the Lansing, Michigan location. Legally speaking, this means the company will no longer be “required to recognize or negotiate with the union.” The employees of this location voted to unionize in 2022 by a margin of 11-to-3. Chipotle corporate has been decried for seeking to bust this union, with Biden NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo accusing them of employing illegal anti-union tactics like “withholding raises from the store's staff and telling workers that the union was keeping their pay frozen…[and punishing] a pro-union employee to discourage activism.” However, it was the Teamsters themselves who ultimately gave up, paving the way for the demise of the workers' heroic stand against corporate power. As the saying goes, with friends like these.* In more positive political news, during the Washington DC mayoral debate last week, the Washington Post reports democratic socialist mayoral hopeful Janeese Lewis George seemed to endorse the idea of opening municipal grocery stores in DC food deserts, including the impoverished and majority Black Wards 7 and 8. Asked about this topic, Councilmember Lewis George committed to bringing at least one more grocery store to Ward 7 and at least two more to Ward 8, noting that she would seek to shore up investor confidence with public dollars. If private options do not materialize however, she vowed that “we will work towards” a publicly-owned store. Municipally-owned grocery stores were a much publicized part of the Zohran Mamdani campaign platform and, if Lewis George is elected, his success or failure in carrying out that pledge is sure to impact her decision making on this issue.* Meanwhile, in media news, the New York Times reports Lupa Systems – the private holding company representing the interests of James Murdoch, son of conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch – is “in talks to acquire major parts of Vox Media.” Vox, founded in the 2010s by journalists Ezra Klein, Matt Yglesias, and Melissa Bell, now owns major media properties including New York magazine, the Verge, Eater and a podcast network featuring Kara Swisher and others. Murdoch, through Lupa, owns a “majority stake in Tribeca Enterprises, the parent company of the Tribeca Film Festival.” Additionally, the Times notes that Quadrivium, the foundation founded by Mr. Murdoch and his wife, Kathryn, has financial interests in “The 19th, a nonprofit newsroom focused on gender and politics, and The Bulwark, a so-called ‘Never Trump' digital media company.” James Murdoch, along with his sister Elisabeth, are seen as far more liberal than the Murdoch patriarch and his other son, Lachlan, who together successfully ousted the other family members from control of the family trust in a recent legal battle.* Turning to international news, yet another deadlocked presidential election in Peru is looming. A new Ipsos poll, taken near the end of April, shows an exact 50-50 split between the two candidates in the runoff: the left-wing member of Congress Roberto Sánchez and Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former Peruvian dictator Alberto Fujimori. This election was always going to be close – Peruvian politics have been deadlocked for years, resulting in ultra-narrow presidential victories frequently followed by impeachments. Fujimori has been a runoff candidate in every presidential election going back to 2011, losing each by extremely narrow margins. Most recently, she lost to Pedro Castillo by a margin of 50.13% to 49.87% in 2021. Castillo however was thwarted by, and ultimately ousted by, the Congress. The runoff will be held on June 7th.* In India, the Left suffered catastrophic defeats in this week's state elections, Al Jazeera reports. The state of Kerala – “the first in the world to have a democratically elected communist government” and “the last state in India where communists were in power” – will now be led by the United Democratic Front, a coalition headed by the Congress party, which won over 100 out of 140 seats. The Left bloc will likely capture around 35 seats. Beyond Kerala however, the Left has seen setbacks throughout the country, with no state now being ruled by the Left for the first time since 1977 and the national parliamentary Left bloc declining from 62 in the 2004 election to just eight seats today. Different factors are cited for the general decline of the Left in India, including an inability to adapt Marxist analysis to non class-related issues in the country, such as caste and gender, as well as the decline of industrial trade unions and a general trend towards Right-wing Hindu nationalism. Hopefully, the Left will take this electoral rout as an opportunity to rebuild itself into a viable force for 21st century Indian politics.* Turning to East Asia, the Financial Times reports North Korea has subtly revised its constitution to drop references to reunification of the two Koreas. Specifically, the new text reads “the territory of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea includes the territory bordering the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation to the north and the Republic of Korea to the south, and the territorial sea and airspace established on it”. In acknowledging the existence of the Republic of Korea, more commonly known as South Korea, experts see a move away from the long-held North Korean contention that the peninsula is a single country illegally partitioned. The revision was “disclosed by an academic at a press conference hosted by the South Korean Ministry of Unification on Wednesday.” Though this article notes that “North Korea has not made any comment on the revised constitution and the source of the text revealed by the unification ministry was not disclosed,” it highlights that Kim Jong-un has increasingly moved in this direction in recent years, renaming Tongil (“reunification”) metro station in Pyongyang and dismantling an Arch of Reunification monument.* Our last two stories have to do with the People's Republic of China. First, Reuters reports China's Commerce Ministry has issued an injunction to “block U.S. sanctions imposed on five Chinese refiners accused of buying Iranian oil.” Hengli Petrochemical, one of the five small “teapot” refineries primarily located in China's Shandong province, was slapped with sanctions last month, when the Trump administration accused the company of purchasing billions of dollars in Iranian oil. The other four have been sanctioned since last year. However, the Ministry now argues that the sanctions violate “international law and the basic norms of international relations,” and with the injunction in place, “the United States cannot recognize, implement, or comply with the sanctions imposed on the aforementioned five Chinese companies.” This is perhaps the most significant challenge to the American-led international sanctions regime in decades and whatever reaction issues from the U.S. will surely inform other states on just how far they can go in flouting such sanctions.* Finally, in a stunning legal decision, Fortune reports Chinese courts have ruled that “companies cannot terminate employees just to replace them with artificial intelligence systems.” The case in question hinged on whether a tech firm in eastern China had acted illegally when firing one of its workers, a “quality assurance professional…identified only as Zhou” after he “refused to take a demotion” and a 40% pay cut, when his job was automated by AI. The court found that the termination did not meet established standards, such as business downsizing or operational difficulties, and the court separately stated that “Companies cannot unilaterally lay off employees or cut salaries due to technological progress.” This stunning legal victory for workers in the face of challenges by technology is bittersweet – heartening in that it's happening at all, yet at the same time depressing because it is almost impossible to imagine an equivalent worker protection regime being implemented in the United States.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe
The AI Breakdown: Daily Artificial Intelligence News and Discussions
This week-in-review episode looks at a week when the AI narrative started to fork, from job-apocalypse panic toward a more mature picture of how AI will actually diffuse through the economy, markets, infrastructure, and enterprise work. NLW connects Ezra Klein's job-apocalypse rethink, Wall Street's renewed confidence in AI infrastructure, the Elon–Anthropic deal, the rise of harness engineering, and new voice and coding agent tools into one bigger story.April AI Usage Pulse Survey: https://tally.so/r/LZEyGySee previous results: https://pulse.aidailybrief.ai/Check out the new AI Executive Catch-Up Program from AIDB Training: https://aiexecutivecatchup.com/Also registering for Cohort 3: http://enterpriseclaw.ai/Brought to you by:KPMG – Agentic AI is powering a potential $3 trillion productivity shift, and KPMG's new paper, Agentic AI Untangled, gives leaders a clear framework to decide whether to build, buy, or borrow—download it at www.kpmg.us/NavigateGranola - The AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings. 100% off your first 3 months with code AIDAILY at http://granola.ai/aidailyMercury - Modern banking for business and now personal accounts. Learn more at https://mercury.com/personal-bankingZenflow Work - Agents for knowledge work - https://zenflow.free/Drata - The agentic trust management platform - https://drata.com/Blitzy - Want to accelerate enterprise software development velocity by 5x? https://blitzy.com/AssemblyAI - The best way to build Voice AI apps - https://www.assemblyai.com/briefRobots & Pencils - Cloud-native AI solutions that power results https://robotsandpencils.com/The AI Daily Brief helps you understand the most important news and discussions in AI. Subscribe to the podcast version of The AI Daily Brief wherever you listen: https://pod.link/1680633614Our Newsletter is BACK: https://aidailybrief.beehiiv.com/Interested in sponsoring the show? sponsors@aidailybrief.ai
It's News Day Tuesday on The Majority Report On today's program: Pete Hegseth responds to critics who claim there is no strategy behind this war on Iran with proof that there is no strategy for this war on Iran. Donald Trump hosts a group of children in the oval office to talk to them about nuclear bombs, the stock market and the Nobel Peace Prize. Amy Goodman, journalist and host of "Democracy Now!" and subject of the new documentary, "Steal This Story, Please!" joins the show to discuss the film. In the Fun Half: Tim Miller from The Bulwark joins three streamers for a conversation about Democratic messaging in the midterms, in which he promotes economic populism and argues for creating distance from the Kamala Harris–Joe Biden–Hillary Clinton triumvirate. Ezra Klein on the distinction Bernie Sanders raises between ideology and common sense — and the need to make government work better. Tucker Carlson claims to a New York Times interviewer that he never called Donald Trump the antichrist, unfortunately for Tucker, she had receipts All that and more. To connect and organize with your local ICE rapid response team visit ICERRT.com The Congress switchboard number is (202) 224-3121. You can use this number to connect with either the U.S. Senate or the House of Representatives. Follow us on TikTok here: https://www.tiktok.com/@majorityreportfm Check us out on Twitch here: https://www.twitch.tv/themajorityreport Find our Rumble stream here: https://rumble.com/user/majorityreport Check out our alt YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/majorityreportlive Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! https://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: https://majority.fm/app Go to https://JustCoffee.coop and use coupon code majority to get 10% off your purchase Check out today's sponsors: ZOCDOC: Go to Zocdoc.com/MAJORITY and download the Zocdoc app to sign-up for FREE and book a top-rated doctor AURA FRAMES: Exclusive $25-off Carver Mat at https://on.auraframes.com/MAJORITY. Promo Code MAJORITY SUNSET LAKE CBD: Now through May 11th, you can save 35% on all CBD and THC Gummies when you use code Mom26 at SunsetLakeCBD.com Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech On Instagram: @MrBryanVokey Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on YouTube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.
Listen to the full episode The Democratic Party is in free fall. Still suffering the aftershocks of the 2024 election, a civil war is brewing internally between those who want to build coalitions that can win elections and those who see radicalization as the only way forward. In April, debate about whether Dems should embrace hugely popular leftist streamer Hasan Piker,or distance themselves from him dominated the discourse. A week later, two popular online personalities of the left—acclaimed transgender video essayist, Contrapoints, and artist/author Josh Citarella—sat down for an episode of his Doomscroll podcast. Contrapoints made the case for coalition building and pragmatic Democratic electoral politics. Their frank mutual criticisms of the online left outraged some. Meanwhile, NYT writer and podcaster, Ezra Klein's controversial comments on Charlie Kirk and highly-charged interviews with Ta Na-Hesi Coates and Sarah McBride (the first openly transgender person to serve in Congress) hovered in the background. Julian clips key moments from these interactions and offers his thoughts on a way forward for Democrats as we approach the midterms and looming presidential race in 2028. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The AI Breakdown: Daily Artificial Intelligence News and Discussions
Faint but converging signals suggest the AI doom narrative may finally be cracking — and they're showing up in the chattering class and the markets at the same time. This episode walks through the evidence: Ezra Klein's New York Times pushback on the AI job apocalypse, Alex Imas's scarcity framework, Atlassian's blowout earnings, and Sam Altman's rhetorical pivot from replacement to augmentation.April AI Usage Pulse Survey: https://tally.so/r/LZEyGySIGN UP FOR OUR NEW FREE PROGRAM: AGENTOShttps://aidbagentos.ai/Brought to you by:KPMG – Agentic AI is powering a potential $3 trillion productivity shift, and KPMG's new paper, Agentic AI Untangled, gives leaders a clear framework to decide whether to build, buy, or borrow—download it at www.kpmg.us/NavigateGranola - The AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings. 100% off your first 3 months with code AIDAILY at http://granola.ai/aidailyMercury - Modern banking for business and now personal accounts. Learn more at https://mercury.com/personal-bankingZenflow Work - Agents for knowledge work - https://zenflow.free/Drata - The agentic trust management platform - https://drata.com/Blitzy - Want to accelerate enterprise software development velocity by 5x? https://blitzy.com/AssemblyAI - The best way to build Voice AI apps - https://www.assemblyai.com/briefRobots & Pencils - Cloud-native AI solutions that power results https://robotsandpencils.com/The Agent Readiness Audit from Superintelligent - Go to https://besuper.ai/ to request your company's agent readiness score.The AI Daily Brief helps you understand the most important news and discussions in AI. Subscribe to the podcast version of The AI Daily Brief wherever you listen: https://pod.link/1680633614Our Newsletter is BACK: https://aidailybrief.beehiiv.com/Interested in sponsoring the show? sponsors@aidailybrief.ai
“Abundance” came out a little over a year ago. It's been exciting — and a little disorienting — seeing how it's rippled out into the world, and the ways it's been embraced and debated and critiqued. So I wanted to take a moment to talk through what's really happened in the last year – with Derek Thompson, my “Abundance” co-author, and Marc Dunkelman, whose book “Why Nothing Works” came out around the same time, and circles the same ideas. What has the abundance movement actually achieved in the last year? Where has it fallen short? And what have the three of us learned from our critics? Mentioned: Ezra is moderating a forum on housing and affordability with some of the top California gubernatorial candidates. The event is on Friday, May 8, in Oakland, CA. You can buy tickets here. Use the code EKSHOW for 20 percent off your order. Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson Why Nothing Works by Marc J. Dunkelman Derek Thompson's Substack The Power Elite by C. Wright Mills The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro “The Most Expensive Mile of Subway Track on Earth” by Brian M. Rosenthal “Why Are Palantir and OpenAI Scared of Alex Bores?” by The Ezra Klein Show “The Anti-Social Century” by Derek Thompson Bowling Alone by Robert D. Putnam The Permanent Problem by Brink Lindsey “Bernie Sanders: ‘There Ain't Much of a Democratic Party” by Bernie Sanders and David Leonhardt Book Recommendations: Making a New Deal by Lizabeth Cohen Stuck by Yoni Appelbaum Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis The Secret History by Donna Tartt Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Narrated by Richard Poe Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com. You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs. This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Annika Robbins and Kate Sinclair. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Isaac Jones and Aman Sahota. Our recording engineer is Aman Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show's production team also includes Marie Cascione, Rollin Hu, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, Jack McCordick, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Lauren Reddy. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. And special thanks to Brianna Johnson. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Co-host of Citations Needed Podcast & author of the newly released How to Sell a Genocide joins Bad Faith to apply his considerable media criticism talents to the current news cycle. He weighs in on Ezra Klein's sudden willingness to acknowledge the apartheid reality of Israel's occupation, and on the broader shift in the discourse around AIPAC donations and US funding for the Iron Dome. Are these signs of genuine political evolution, or is this hasbara intended to get Democrats back on board with America's increasingly unpopular ally? How complicit are AOC and Bernie Sanders in all this? Also, Adam weighs in on the Democrats' policing of Hasan Piker, including during his recent sit down with Pod Save America co-host Jon Favreau. With Briahna, Adam evaluates the rhetorical value of Hasan's "Hamas is better than Israel" argument, and Abdul El-Sayed's viral "define a Jewish state" response to Zionist reporter Olivia Reingold. But first, Adam discusses his book: An important accounting of all the ways establishment liberal media manufactured consent for genocide. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).