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

About this episode

<p>Ezra Klein is one of the most influential voices representing the left-wing of American politics. He is a columnist for the NY Times and host of The Ezra Klein Show. Derek Thompson is a writer at The Atlantic and host of the Plain English podcast. Together they have written a new book titled Abundance that lays out a set of ideas for the future of the Democratic party.<br /> Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep462-sc">https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep462-sc</a><br /> See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.</p> <p><b>Transcript:</b><br /> <a href="https://lexfridman.com/ezra-klein-and-derek-thompson-transcript">https://lexfridman.com/ezra-klein-and-derek-thompson-transcript</a></p> <p><b>CONTACT LEX:</b><br /> <b>Feedback</b> &#8211; give feedback to Lex: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/survey">https://lexfridman.com/survey</a><br /> <b>AMA</b> &#8211; submit questions, videos or call-in: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/ama">https://lexfridman.com/ama</a><br /> <b>Hiring</b> &#8211; join our team: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/hiring">https://lexfridman.com/hiring</a><br /> <b>Other</b> &#8211; other ways to get in touch: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/contact">https://lexfridman.com/contact</a></p> <p><b>EPISODE LINKS:</b><br /> Abundance (new book): <a href="https://amzn.to/4iZ1S8J">https://amzn.to/4iZ1S8J</a><br /> Ezra&#8217;s X: <a href="https://x.com/ezraklein/">https://x.com/ezraklein/</a><br /> Ezra&#8217;s Instagram: <a href="https://instagram.com/ezraklein">https://instagram.com/ezraklein</a><br /> Ezra&#8217;s YouTube: <a href="https://youtube.com/EzraKleinShow">https://youtube.com/EzraKleinShow</a><br /> The New York Times: <a href="https://nytimes.com/by/ezra-klein">https://nytimes.com/by/ezra-klein</a><br /> Derek&#8217;s X: <a href="https://x.com/dkthomp">https://x.com/dkthomp</a><br /> Plain English (podcast): <a href="https://www.theringer.com/podcasts/plain-english-with-derek-thompson">https://www.theringer.com/podcasts/plain-english-with-derek-thompson</a><br /> The Atlantic: <a href="https://theatlantic.com/author/derek-thompson/">https://theatlantic.com/author/derek-thompson/</a></p> <p><b>SPONSORS:</b><br /> To support this podcast, check out our sponsors &#38; get discounts:<br /> <b>Call of Duty:</b> First-person shooter video game.<br /> Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/call_of_duty-ep462-sc">https://callofduty.com/warzone</a><br /> <b>LMNT:</b> Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.<br /> Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/lmnt-ep462-sc">https://drinkLMNT.com/lex</a><br /> <b>AG1:</b> All-in-one daily nutrition drinks.<br /> Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/ag1-ep462-sc">https://drinkag1.com/lex</a><br /> <b>Shopify:</b> Sell stuff online.<br /> Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/shopify-ep462-sc">https://shopify.com/lex</a></p> <p><b>OUTLINE:</b><br /> (00:00) &#8211; Introduction<br /> (03:17) &#8211; Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections<br /> (10:33) &#8211; Left-wing vs right-wing politics<br /> (19:54) &#8211; Political leaders on the left and the right<br /> (44:29) &#8211; Internal political divisions<br /> (47:29) &#8211; AOC<br /> (58:50) &#8211; Political realignment<br /> (1:10:32) &#8211; Supply-side progressivism<br /> (1:17:42) &#8211; Wealth redistribution<br /> (1:27:50) &#8211; Housing problem<br /> (1:44:09) &#8211; Regulation and deregulation<br /> (2:00:43) &#8211; DOGE, Elon, and Trump<br /> (2:59:46) &#8211; Sam Harris<br /> (3:09:24) &#8211; Future of America</p> <p><b>PODCAST LINKS:</b><br /> &#8211; Podcast Website: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/podcast">https://lexfridman.com/podcast</a><br /> &#8211; Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://apple.co/2lwqZIr">https://apple.co/2lwqZIr</a><br /> &#8211; Spotify: <a href="https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8">https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8</a><br /> &#8211; RSS: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/">https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/</a><br /> &#8211; Podcast Playlist: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4">https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4</a><br /> &#8211; Clips Channel: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/lexclips">https://www.youtube.com/lexclips</a></p>