Conversations with Tyler

Ezra Klein on Why We’re Polarized

Jan 29, 2020

Ezra Klein, Editor-at-large at Vox and author of "Why We're Polarized," dives into the complexities of America's growing political identity crisis. He explores how polarization now permeates various aspects of life, from sports fandom to faith communities. Klein discusses the implications of this trend and its efficiency in amplifying divisions. He shares personal reflections on fatherhood and its influence on his political views. The conversation also touches on the future of public broadcasting and the challenges faced by social media governance.

01:10:01

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Episode guests

\"Ezra Klein\"

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Episode notes

Intro

3min

Understanding Polarization in America

17min

Polarization and Political Complexity

14min

Overrated and Underrated: A Personal Journey

12min

Parenthood's Impact on Political Views

2min

Governing Mars: A Dilemma of Democracy vs. Corporatism

8min

The Future of Publicly Funded Broadcasting in a Competitive Media Landscape

2min

Governance Challenges in Social Media

10min

In his new book, Ezra Klein argues that polarization in America has become centered on partisan political identities, which has subsumed virtually every form of identity, be it where we live, what team we root for, the church we attend, or any other. This stacked form of polarization thus carries much more weight and is activated by a wider range of conflicts than before.

But is polarization really such a pressing concern? If it’s all merged into one form of identity politics then aren’t we just polarizing more efficiently? Over what percentage of GDP are we more polarized today versus in the past?

Tyler posed these questions to Ezra and more, including thoughts on Silicon Valley’s intellectual culture, his disagreement with Jonathan Haidt’s Moral Foundations Theory, the limits of telecommuting, how becoming a father made him less conservative, his post-kid production function, why Manhattan is overrated, the “cosmic embarrassment” of California’s governance, why he loved Marriage Story, the future of the BBC and PBS, what he learned in Pakistan, and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

Recorded December 27th, 2019 Other ways to connect

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