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Ezra Klein

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Ezra Klein
Klein in 2020
Born(1984-05-09)May 9, 1984(age 40)
Irvine, California,U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Los Angeles(BA)
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • political commentator
  • podcasthost
Years active2003–present
Employers
Spouse
​
(m.2011)​
Children2
RelativesAbel Klein(father)

Ezra Klein(born May 9, 1984) is an American journalist,political analyst,New York Timescolumnist, and the host ofThe Ezra Klein Showpodcast.[1][2][3]He is a co-founder ofVoxand formerly was the website'seditor-at-large.[1]He has held editorial positions atThe Washington PostandThe American Prospect,and was a regular contributor toBloomberg NewsandMSNBC.[1][4]His first book,Why We're Polarized,was published bySimon & Schusterin January 2020.[2][5]

Klein rose to prominence as a blogger who became well known for his in-depth analysis on a range of policy issues.[6][7]By 2007, Klein's blog had gained a substantial following and was acquired byThe American Prospect,where he was an associate editor.[8]AtThe Washington Post,Klein managedWonkblog,a branded blog that featured his writing on domestic policy.[9]

In 2014, alongside fellow journalistsMatthew YglesiasandMelissa Bell,Klein co-founded Vox,a website for explanatory news owned byVox Media.[10]He was the editor-in-chief, and later as editor-at-large.[11]Klein also contributed articles to the site, hosted an associated podcast (The Ezra Klein Show), and worked as an executive producer for Vox'sNetflixseriesExplained.[2]In November 2020, Klein announced he would be leavingVoxto joinThe New York Timesas a columnist and podcast host.[12][13]

Early life and education

[edit]

Klein is Jewish and was raised in[14]Irvine, California.[7]His father,Abel Klein,is a professor of mathematics at theUniversity of California, Irvine;his mother is an artist.[7][15]Klein attendedUniversity High School,where he was a poor student and graduated in 2002 with a 2.2GPA.[15]Klein attended theUniversity of California, Santa Cruzfor two years before transferring to theUniversity of California, Los Angeles,from which he graduated in 2005 with a BA inpolitical science.While at UCSC, he applied to write forCity on a Hill Pressbut was rejected.[16]He said school was never a great fit for him academically or socially.[17]

Career

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Klein worked onHoward Dean's primary campaign in Vermont in 2003 and interned for theWashington Monthlyin Washington, D.C., in 2004. "The media is as effective and important an agent for change as the legislative bodies, and I think it's where I'm happiest and most effective," Klein said.[18]In 2003, he andMarkos Moulitsaswere two of the earliest bloggers to report from a political convention, that of theCalifornia State Democratic Party.[19]In 2006, Klein was one of several writers pseudonymouslyflamedbyThe New RepublicwriterLee Siegel(posting as asock puppetcalledsprezzatura).[20]

On December 10, 2007, Klein moved his blog full-time toThe American Prospect.[8]

Klein's prolific blogging caught the attention ofSteven Pearlstein,The Washington Post'sveteran business columnist. "I was blown away by how good he was—how much the kid wrote—on so many subjects," Pearlstein said. Pearlstein sent samples of Klein's work to managing editorRaju Narisetti.A few weeks after he heard from Pearlstein,Washington Postforeign correspondent John Pomfret asked Klein to have lunch with him and financial editor Sandy Sugawara. Narisetti hired Klein to be the Post's first pure blogger on politics and economics.[7]On May 18, 2009, he began writing at the newspaper.[21]

In May 2011, whenBloomberg Viewlaunched, Klein became a columnist there in addition to his work atThe Washington Postand MSNBC.[22]

Klein announced he would be leavingThe Washington Postin January 2014, with the intent to start a new media venture with several other veteran journalists.[23]The new media venture was later identified as the politics siteVox.[24]Klein had previously "proposed the creation of an independent, explanatory journalism website—with more than three dozen staffers" and an annual budget of more thanUS$10 millionto remain atThe Washington Post.During negotiations, Post publisherKatharine Weymouthand new ownerJeff Bezosdid not make a counteroffer.[25]

Klein was editor-in-chief atVox,later editor-at-large, and formerly wrote for and edited Wonkblog atThe Washington Post.He frequently provides political commentary onMSNBC'sThe Rachel Maddow Show,Hardball with Chris Matthews,andThe Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell.He is a former contributor toCountdown with Keith Olbermann.On March 14, 2013,The Weekmagazine reported that Klein was among those being considered to host MSNBC's yet-unnamed 8 p.m.weekdayprime-time show that would replaceThe Ed Show.[26]Ultimately, the time slot was filled withAll In with Chris Hayes.

In October 2015, Klein, along with Sarah Kliff andMatt Yglesias,launchedThe Weeds,aVoxpodcast of detailed discussions on public policy.[27]Klein also hosts the podcastThe Ezra Klein Show.[28]Klein is an executive producer ofVox'sNetflixseriesExplained,which debuted in 2018.[29][30]

In October 2019, Klein, along with other reporters fromVox Media,started the podcastImpeachment, Explained.[31]Klein joined theNew York Timesin 2020 and became one of their opinion columnists in 2021.[12][32]According to an analysis by British digital strategistRob Blackie,Klein was one of the most commonly followed political writers amongBiden administrationstaff on Twitter.[33]

Health care debate

[edit]

In December 2009, Klein wrote an article inThe Washington Post,stating that U.S. SenatorJoe Liebermanwas "willing to cause the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in order to settle an old electoral score", because Lieberman "was motivated to oppose health care legislation in part out of resentment at liberals for being defeated in the2006 Connecticut Democratic Primary".[34]Klein based his estimate on anUrban Institutereport that estimated that 22,000 people died in 2006 because they lacked health insurance.[35]This article was criticized byJonah Goldbergof theNational Review,who called it a "silly claim".[36]Charles Lane,also ofThe Washington Post,described Klein's article as an "outrageous smear". ButE. J. Dionne,also ofThe Washington Post,agreed with Klein's claim, saying that "Klein is right that there is not a shred of principle in Lieberman's opposition."[37]Klein later said he regretted the phrasing[38]and his position is that despite universal coverage, thesocial determinants of healthare still powerful predictors that, on average, ensure the lower socioeconomic classes die sooner than those with more income and education.[39][40]

JournoList

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In February 2007, Klein created aGoogle Groupsforum called "JournoList"for discussing politics and the news media. The forum's membership was controlled by Klein and limited to" several hundred left-leaning bloggers, political reporters, magazine writers, policy wonks and academics ".[41] Posts within JournoList were intended only to be made and read by its members.[42]Klein defended the forum saying that it "[ensures] that folks feel safe giving off-the-cuff analysis and instant reactions". JournoList member andTimemagazine columnistJoe Klein(no relation to Ezra Klein) added that the off-the-record nature of the forum was necessary because "candor is essential and can only be guaranteed by keeping these conversations private".[41]

The existence of JournoList was first publicly revealed in a July 27, 2007, blog post by bloggerMickey Kaus.[43]However, the forum did not attract serious attention until March 17, 2009, when an article published onPoliticodetailed the nature of the forum and the extent of its membership.[41]The Politico article set off debate within theblogosphereover the ethics of participating in JournoList and raised questions about its purpose. The first public excerpt of a discussion within JournoList was posted by Mickey Kaus on his blog on March 26, 2009.[44]

In addition to Ezra Klein, membership of JournoList includedJeffrey Toobin,Eric Alterman,Paul Krugman,Joe Klein,Matthew Yglesias,andJonathan Chait.[citation needed]

On June 25, 2010, Ezra Klein announced in hisWashington Postblog that he would be terminating the JournoList group. This decision was instigated by fellow bloggerDave Weigel's resignation from thePostfollowing the public exposure of several of his JournoList emails about conservative media figures.[45][46]

Klein had justified excluding conservative Republicans from participation as "not about fostering ideology but preventing a collapse intoflame war.The emphasis is on empiricism, not ideology. "[47]

Awards

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In 2010, he was named Blogger of the Year byThe Weekmagazine andThe Sidney Hillman Foundation.[48][49]In 2011, he was named one of the 50 most powerful people inWashington, D.C.,byGQ.[50]His blog was also named one of the 25 best financial blogs byTimemagazine in 2011.[51]In 2013, Klein won theOnline News AssociationAward for Best Online Commentary.[52]He also won theAmerican Political Science Association'sCarey McWilliams Award,[53]for "a major journalistic contribution to our understanding of politics". He appeared as one of 80 men featured inEsquire's80th anniversary issue[54]and in a feature inTmagazine.[55]

Personal life

[edit]

Klein is married toAnnie Lowrey,[56]an economic policy reporter atThe Atlantic.[57]They have two children, the first born in February 2019 and the second in fall 2021.[58]Klein is vegan.[59]

Bibliography

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  • Why We're Polarized.Avid Reader Press.2020.ISBN978-1-4767-0032-8.[60]

References

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  1. ^abc"Ezra Klein Profile and Activity - Vox".www.vox.com.November 30, 2020.RetrievedJanuary 28,2021.
  2. ^abc"Ezra Klein".Simon & Schuster.RetrievedFebruary 1,2021.
  3. ^"The boy in the bubble".Columbia Journalism Review.Archivedfrom the original on January 25, 2017.RetrievedDecember 6,2018.
  4. ^"Ezra Klein".Prospect.org.Archivedfrom the original on April 28, 2019.RetrievedAugust 8,2016.
  5. ^Ornstein, Norman J. (January 28, 2020)."Why America's Political Divisions Will Only Get Worse (Published 2020)".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedFebruary 1,2021.
  6. ^Shin, Caroline (March 23, 2011)."Here Are The 5 Most Liberal And Conservative Media Twitter Feeds".Business Insider.Archivedfrom the original on September 24, 2018.RetrievedDecember 6,2018.
  7. ^abcdJaffe, Harry (March 4, 2010)."Post Watch: Whiz Kid on the block".The Washingtonian.Archivedfrom the original on June 10, 2011.RetrievedJanuary 30,2011.
  8. ^abKlein, Ezra (December 9, 2007)."Ezra Klein: Moving Day".Ezraklein.typepad.com.Archivedfrom the original on March 5, 2010.RetrievedFebruary 17,2014.
  9. ^"Down with the GVP!".Washington Post.April 7, 2010.Archivedfrom the original on September 27, 2011.RetrievedJanuary 30,2011.
  10. ^Marx, Greg."Vox.com is going to be a great test of Ezra Klein's critique of journalism".Columbia Journalism Review.Archivedfrom the original on June 25, 2018.RetrievedAugust 21,2018.
  11. ^Stelter, Brian (September 26, 2017)."Lauren Williams named editor in chief of Vox; Ezra Klein to be editor at large".CNNMoney.Archivedfrom the original on June 8, 2019.RetrievedDecember 6,2019.
  12. ^ab"Ezra Klein Joins Times Opinion as Columnist and Podcast Host".The New York Times Company.November 20, 2020.RetrievedNovember 21,2020.
  13. ^Fischer, Sara (November 20, 2020)."Ezra Klein and Lauren Williams are leaving Vox".Axios.RetrievedNovember 21,2020.
  14. ^"What Does It Mean To Be Jewish Today? What Do Jews Bring To The World?".Moment Magazine.May 2011. Archived fromthe originalon October 4, 2013.RetrievedFebruary 17,2014.
  15. ^abWallace, Benjamin (January 31, 2014)."Here, Let Ezra Explain".New York.Archivedfrom the original on September 24, 2015.
  16. ^Saney, Loully (October 9, 2013)."Q&A: Washington Post reporter and Wonkblog editor Ezra Klein".The Daily Princetonian.Archivedfrom the original on October 19, 2014.RetrievedApril 9,2014.
  17. ^Pierce, Jacob (February 12, 2020)."Lessons on Polarization from Journalist Ezra Klein".GoodTimes.SC.Good Times.Archivedfrom the original on February 21, 2020.RetrievedFebruary 21,2020.
  18. ^"A Conversation With Political Blogger Ezra Klein of Pandagon".LAist.com.November 2, 2004. Archived fromthe originalon April 14, 2013.RetrievedJanuary 30,2011.
  19. ^Weiss, Joanna (May 10, 2004)."Blogs colliding with traditional media: Convention credentials expected for Web logs".Boston Globe. Archived fromthe originalon February 19, 2007.RetrievedJanuary 12,2008.
  20. ^Carr, David (September 11, 2006)."A Comeback Overshadowed by a Blog".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on December 28, 2016.RetrievedJanuary 12,2008.
  21. ^Klein, Ezra."Ezra Klein - Introduction".Voices.washingtonpost.com.Archivedfrom the original on October 9, 2012.RetrievedFebruary 17,2014.
  22. ^Hagey, Keach (April 29, 2011)."Bloomberg View reveals columnists, editorial board".Politico.Archivedfrom the original on May 2, 2011.RetrievedAugust 6,2011.
  23. ^McCarthy, Tom (January 21, 2014)."Washington Post's Ezra Klein leaving newspaper to start 'new venture'".TheGuardian.com.Archivedfrom the original on July 10, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 21,2014.
  24. ^Carlson, Nicholas (January 27, 2014)."Here's What Everyone Is Too Polite To Say About Ezra Klein, Wonkblog, And Vox".Business Insider.Archivedfrom the original on January 30, 2014.RetrievedJanuary 28,2014.
  25. ^Byers, Dylan;Hadas Gold(January 21, 2014)."Why The Washington Post passed on Ezra Klein".Politico.Archivedfrom the original on January 25, 2014.RetrievedJanuary 28,2014.
  26. ^"Why MSNBC is demoting Ed Schultz [Updated]".The Week.Archivedfrom the original on July 9, 2013.RetrievedFebruary 17,2014.
  27. ^Klein, Ezra (October 2, 2015)."The Weeds, Vox's new policy podcast, launches today".Vox.Archivedfrom the original on April 24, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 2,2017.
  28. ^Thompson, Matt (November 5, 2016)."A Podcast Listener's Guide to the 2016 Election".The Atlantic.Archivedfrom the original on August 8, 2018.RetrievedAugust 7,2018.
  29. ^"Vox steps out of the news cycle in Netflix series".NBC News.May 23, 2018.Archivedfrom the original on November 3, 2020.RetrievedAugust 7,2018.
  30. ^Benton, Joshua(May 23, 2018)."Vox's new Netflix series is really good, but it doesn't get us any closer to figuring out what news on streaming platforms looks like".Nieman Lab.Archivedfrom the original on August 21, 2018.RetrievedAugust 21,2018.
  31. ^"Impeachment, explained".vox.com.Archivedfrom the original on November 24, 2019.RetrievedNovember 23,2019.
  32. ^"Ezra Klein".The New York Times.RetrievedMay 16,2021.
  33. ^Thompson, Alex; Meyer, Theodoric (January 20, 2021)."Biden 'is planning to run again' in 2024".Politico.RetrievedNovember 22,2021.
  34. ^Klein, Ezra (December 14, 2009)."Joe Lieberman: Let's not make a deal!".The Washington Post.Archived fromthe originalon July 20, 2010.RetrievedMay 3,2010.
  35. ^Dorn, Stan (January 8, 2008)."Uninsured and Dying Because of It: Updating the Institute of Medicine Analysis on the Impact of Uninsurance on Mortality".Archivedfrom the original on February 26, 2010.Urban Institute.
  36. ^Goldberg, Jonah (December 15, 2009)."Lieberman Loves Death More than Ezra Klein Loves Life".The Corner.National Review Online. Archived fromthe originalon July 3, 2012.RetrievedJuly 29,2010.
  37. ^Dionne, E.J. (December 15, 2009)."The public option died last summer".The Washington Post.Archived fromthe originalon August 22, 2018.RetrievedMay 3,2010.
  38. ^Pappu, Sridhar (March 25, 2010)."Washington's Brat Pack Masters Media".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on August 22, 2018.RetrievedMarch 31,2011.
  39. ^Carney, Timothy (February 28, 2011)."Turns out ObamaCare might not save hundreds of thousands of lives".The Washington Examiner.Archived fromthe originalon March 4, 2011.
  40. ^Klein, Ezra (February 28, 2011)."Health care doesn't keep people healthy -- even in Canada".The Washington Post.Archived fromthe originalon October 17, 2011.RetrievedJuly 14,2011.
  41. ^abcCalderone, Michael (March 17, 2009)."JournoList: Inside the echo chamber".The Politico.Archivedfrom the original on March 24, 2009.RetrievedMarch 30,2009.
  42. ^"Google Discussiegroepen".Archivedfrom the original on May 28, 2013.RetrievedFebruary 17,2014.
  43. ^Mickey Kaus (July 27, 2007)."Educating Ezra Klein".Slate.Archivedfrom the original on March 23, 2009.RetrievedMarch 30,2009.
  44. ^Mickey Kaus (March 26, 2009)."JournoList Revealed! Inside the Secret Liberal Media Email Cabal".Slate.Archivedfrom the original on March 29, 2009.RetrievedMarch 30,2009.
  45. ^Klein, Ezra (June 25, 2010)."On Journolist, and Dave Weigel".The Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on July 23, 2010.RetrievedJune 25,2010.
  46. ^Keach Hagey, "David Weigel quits – and a debate begins,Politico.com, June 25, 2010ArchivedJune 28, 2010, at theWayback Machine.Retrieved June 27, 2010.
  47. ^"EzraKlein Archive".The American Prospect.Archivedfrom the original on July 3, 2010.RetrievedJuly 29,2010.
  48. ^"Winners of The Week Opinion Awards".The Week.Archivedfrom the original on January 12, 2012.RetrievedJanuary 21,2012.
  49. ^"Sidney Hillman Foundation 2010 Prizes".Archived fromthe originalon May 15, 2010.RetrievedJanuary 21,2012.
  50. ^"The 50 Most Powerful People in Washington".GQ.February 2012.Archivedfrom the original on October 5, 2013.RetrievedJanuary 21,2012.
  51. ^"The 25 Best Financial Blogs".Time Magazine.March 7, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon January 16, 2012.RetrievedJanuary 21,2012.
  52. ^"2013 Awards - Online News Association".Journalists.org.Archivedfrom the original on November 22, 2013.RetrievedFebruary 17,2014.
  53. ^"2013 American Political Science Association Awards"(PDF).Apsanet.org. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on February 1, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 17,2014.
  54. ^"Esquire: October 2013".September 16, 2013.Archivedfrom the original on November 1, 2013.RetrievedOctober 28,2013.
  55. ^"Kids These Days".The New York Times.May 31, 2013.Archivedfrom the original on December 18, 2016.RetrievedFebruary 17,2014.
  56. ^Stoeffel, Kat (January 15, 2013)."Mazel Tov, Media Power Couple".Observer.com.Archivedfrom the original on October 7, 2013.RetrievedAugust 21,2018.
  57. ^"The Atlantic Names Columnists Ibram X. Kendi, Annie Lowrey, Alex Wagner, and Kevin D. Williamson".The Atlantic(Press release). March 22, 2018.Archivedfrom the original on September 4, 2018.RetrievedAugust 21,2018.
  58. ^Ezra Klein and Jane Coaston (February 25, 2019)."Noah Rothman on the" unjustice "of social justice politics".The Ezra Klein Show(Podcast). Vox Media Podcast Network. Event occurs at 00:00:20.Archivedfrom the original on February 6, 2020.RetrievedMarch 8,2019.
  59. ^"Transcript: Ezra Klein Interviews Ted Chiang".The Ezra Klein Show.The New York Times. March 30, 2021.
  60. ^Klein, Ezra (January 28, 2020).Why We're Polarized.Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster.ISBN9781476700328.Archivedfrom the original on April 4, 2020.RetrievedFebruary 9,2020.
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