Ezra Klein
Ezra Klein is an American journalist, columnist and podcast host who founded the Wonkblog vertical at the Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is an American daily newspaper founded in Washington in 1877, known for its role in the Pentagon Papers case and the Watergate investigation. Run by the Meyer–Graham family for eighty years from 1933, it has been owned personally by Jeff Bezos since 2013.Open the full entry, co-founded the explanatory news site Vox in 2014, and since 2021 has been an opinion columnist at The New York Times and host of The Ezra Klein Show. He wrote Why We’re Polarized and co-wrote Abundance with Derek ThompsonDerek ThompsonDerek Thompson is an American journalist, author and podcast host who spent 17 years at The Atlantic as a senior editor and staff writer and since 2021 has hosted the podcast Plain English for The Ringer. He wrote Hit Makers and co-wrote Abundance with Ezra Klein, and after leaving The Atlantic in 2025 he moved his writing to Substack.Open the full entry.
Contents14 sections
Key facts
Before 2009Growing Up in Irvine and Studies
Klein grew up in Irvine, California, the son of UC Irvine mathematics professor Abel Klein; he spent much of his childhood on and around the campus and attended University High.[1]
He has said he went to UC Santa Cruz and then UCLA.[2]
2009Joins the Washington Post
In 2009 he joined the Washington Post as a blogger.[3]
He worked there as a columnist and editor and founded and led the Wonkblog vertical.[4]
January 2014Leaves the Washington Post
In January 2014, after five years at the Washington Post, he announced his departure; his proposal for a new venture had not won the backing of owner Jeff BezosJeff BezosJeff Bezos is an American entrepreneur and investor who founded Amazon in 1994, led it as chief executive for many years, and became its executive chair in 2021. He also founded the spaceflight company Blue Origin, bought The Washington Post in 2013, and set up philanthropic funds including the Bezos Earth Fund.Open the full entry and publisher Katharine Weymouth.[3]
He announced that he would build a new site focused on explanatory journalism with Vox Media, saying he wanted to “improve the technology of news.”[5]
2014Co-Founds Vox
In 2014 he co-founded Vox with Melissa Bell and Matthew Yglesias.[1]
At Vox he served as editor in chief and then editor-at-large.[4]
2019Living in Oakland
As of 2019 he lived in Oakland; his wife, Annie Lowrey, is a writer for The Atlantic, and they have a son.[1]
January 2020Publishes Why We’re Polarized
In January 2020 Avid Reader published his first book, Why We’re Polarized; a review called it a “precise and persuasive guide” but said its modest principles may disappoint readers looking for more comprehensive solutions.[6]
On January 30, 2020, he discussed the book with Malcolm Gladwell at 92NY in New York, examining why American politics has polarized around identity.[7]
At the time he was Vox’s editor-at-large and hosted the podcasts The Weeds and The Ezra Klein Show.[2]
November 20, 2020Announces Departure from Vox
On November 20, 2020, he announced that he was leaving Vox to join The New York Times as a columnist and podcast host in January; he wrote that founders should know when to “let new generations take the reins.”[8]
January 2021Joins New York Times Opinion
On January 19, 2021, The New York Times announced The Ezra Klein Show, a podcast from New York Times Opinion released each Tuesday and Friday, with the first episode on January 26.[4]
February 2024Argues Democrats Should Choose Another Nominee
In February 2024 he published the column “Democrats Have a Better Option Than Biden,” arguing that Democrats should replace Joe Biden as their presidential nominee through an open convention in Chicago.[9]
Joan Walsh of The Nation opposed the idea, arguing that an open convention would rip the party apart and calling it “hugely ill-advised.”[9]
March 18, 2025Publishes Abundance with Derek Thompson
On March 18, 2025, Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster published Abundance, which he co-wrote with Derek Thompson.[10]
In a review, Zephyr Teachout summarized the book as arguing that America’s failure to build housing and energy stems from policy choices and an “ideology of scarcity” rather than real limits; she called Klein compelling and worth engaging but criticized the agenda as unclear, leaving it uncertain whether it meant limited zoning reform or broader deregulation.[11]
March 26, 2025Appears on the Lex Fridman Podcast
On March 26, 2025, he and Derek Thompson appeared as guests of episode 462 of the Lex FridmanLex FridmanLex Fridman is a Soviet-born, US-raised computer scientist and podcast host who works as an MIT research scientist on human-AI interaction and autonomous driving. His Lex Fridman Podcast is known for hours-long conversations with guests including heads of state and technology leaders.Open the full entry Podcast, discussing supply-side progressivism, housing, regulation, and DOGE, Elon MuskElon MuskElon Musk is an entrepreneur who founded SpaceX and has long served as chief executive of Tesla; he also took part in creating PayPal, OpenAI, Neuralink, The Boring Company, and xAI. He acquired Twitter in 2022, and his businesses span spaceflight, electric vehicles, energy, artificial intelligence, and social media.Open the full entry and Trump.[12]
September 2025Column on Charlie Kirk Draws Criticism
After Charlie Kirk was killed in September 2025, he wrote in a column that “Kirk was practicing politics in exactly the right way.” Current Affairs editor Nathan J. Robinson criticized him for treating that claim as uncontroversial.[13]
Klein responded to his critics that “it is too little to just say we oppose political violence.”[14]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
X: Public account: https://x.com/ezraklein (opens in a new window)[12]
The New York Times: Official website: https://www.nytimes.com/ (opens in a new window)[8]
Vox: Official website: https://www.vox.com/ (opens in a new window)[2]
Sources
- Vox Co-Founder and Editor-at-Large Ezra Klein On Politics and His Irvine Roots - Orange Coast (opens in a new window)
- Ezra Klein — How We Walked Into This and How We Can Walk Out | The On Being Project (opens in a new window)
- Ezra Klein's WaPo departure (opens in a new window)
- New York Times : Introducing “The Ezra Klein Show,” a Podcast from New York Times Opinion (opens in a new window)
- Popular Political Writer Ezra Klein Announces Move From Washington Post To Vox Media (opens in a new window)
- Why We’re Polarized (opens in a new window)
- Ezra Klein with Malcolm Gladwell: Why We’re Polarized (opens in a new window)
- Vox Co-Founder Ezra Klein Exits to Become NY Times Columnist, Podcast Host (opens in a new window)
- Are Democrats Over That Ezra Klein Piece Yet? (opens in a new window)
- Abundance | Ezra Klein; Derek Thompson | 9781668023501 | NetGalley (opens in a new window)
- An Abundance of Ambiguity (opens in a new window)
- #462 – Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson: Politics, Trump, AOC, Elon & DOGE | Lex Fridman Podcast (opens in a new window)
- As The Far Right Rises, Don't Be Ezra Klein (opens in a new window)
- Ezra Klein Hits Back at Critics Who Accused Him of 'Whitewashing' Charlie Kirk (opens in a new window)