Ezra Klein | |
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 Klein in 2025 | |
| Born | (1984-05-09)May 9, 1984 (age 41) Irvine, California, U.S. |
| Education | University of California, Santa Cruz University of California, Los Angeles (BA) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2003–present |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Abel Klein (father) |
Ezra Klein (born May 9, 1984) is an American political commentator and journalist. He has been aNew York Times columnist since 2021[1] and the host ofThe Ezra Klein Showpodcast.[2][3][4] He is a co-founder ofVox and was formerly the website'seditor-at-large.[2] He has held editorial positions atThe Washington Post andThe American Prospect, and was a regular contributor toBloomberg News andMSNBC.[2][5] Klein has written two books, both published bySimon & Schuster:Why We're Polarized in January 2020,[3][6] andAbundance, cowritten withDerek Thompson, in March 2025.[7]
Klein rose to prominence as a blogger who became well known for his in-depth analysis on a range of policy issues.[8][9] By 2007, Klein's blog had gained a substantial following and was acquired byThe American Prospect, where he was an associate editor.[10] AtThe Washington Post, Klein managedWonkblog, a branded blog that featured his writing on domestic policy.[11]
In 2014, alongside fellow journalistsMatthew Yglesias andMelissa Bell, Klein co-foundedVox, a website for explanatory news owned byVox Media.[12] He was the editor-in-chief, and later the editor-at-large.[13] Klein also contributed articles to the site, hosted an associated podcast (The Ezra Klein Show), and worked as an executive producer for Vox'sNetflix seriesExplained.[3] In November 2020, Klein leftVox to joinThe New York Times as a columnist and podcast host.[14][15]
Klein was raised in[16]Irvine, California.[9] His father,Abel Klein, is a professor of mathematics at theUniversity of California, Irvine; his mother is an artist.[9][17] He isJewish.[18] Klein attendedUniversity High School, where he was a poor student and graduated in 2002 with only a 2.2GPA.[17] Klein attended theUniversity of California, Santa Cruz, for 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 Press but was rejected.[19] He said school was never a great fit for him academically or socially.[20]
Klein worked onHoward Dean's 2004presidential primary campaign in Vermont in 2003, and interned for theWashington Monthly in 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.[21] In 2003, he andMarkos Moulitsas were two of the earliest bloggers to report from a political convention, that of theCalifornia State Democratic Party.[22] In 2006, Klein was one of several writers pseudonymouslyflamed byThe New Republic writerLee Siegel (posting as asock puppet calledsprezzatura).[23]
On December 10, 2007, Klein moved his blog full-time toThe American Prospect.[10]
Klein's prolific blogging caught the attention ofSteven Pearlstein,The Washington Post's veteran 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 Post foreign 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.[9] On May 18, 2009, he began writing at the newspaper.[24]
In May 2011, whenBloomberg View launched, Klein became a columnist there in addition to his work atThe Washington Post and MSNBC.[25]
Klein announced he would be leavingThe Washington Post in January 2014, with the intent to start a new media venture with several other veteran journalists.[26] The new media venture was later identified as the politics siteVox.[27] 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 million to remain atThe Washington Post. During negotiations, Post publisherKatharine Weymouth and new ownerJeff Bezos did not make a counteroffer.[28]
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 Week magazine reported that Klein was among those being considered to host MSNBC's yet-unnamed 8 p.m.weekday prime-time show that would replaceThe Ed Show.[29] Ultimately, the time slot was filled withAll In with Chris Hayes.
In October 2015, Klein, along with Sarah Kliff andMatt Yglesias, launchedThe Weeds, aVox podcast of detailed discussions on public policy.[30] Klein also hosts the podcastThe Ezra Klein Show.[31] Klein is an executive producer ofVox'sNetflix seriesExplained, which debuted in 2018.[32][33]
In October 2019, Klein, along with other reporters fromVox Media, started the podcastImpeachment, Explained.[34] Klein joinedThe New York Times in 2020 and became one of its opinion columnists in 2021.[14][35] According to an analysis by British digital strategistRob Blackie, Klein was one of the most commonly followed political writers amongBiden administration staff on Twitter.[36]
Klein co-authored the bookAbundance withDerek Thompson, which was published on March 18, 2025. In an interview withThe Atlantic, Klein expressed his preference for prioritizing outcomes over processes and pursuing policies that increase construction. He cited his 2021 essay in support ofsupply-side progressivism, titled "The Economic Mistake the Left Is Finally Confronting", as reflective of his approach in scrutinizing existing policies that run contrary to the goals of countering scarcity.[37] On September 15, 2025, Klein published an op-ed in the New York Times titled "Charlie Kirk was Practicing Politics the Right Way", which garnered criticisms and controversies largely from the liberal and left side of the political spectrum. The title of the op-ed has since changed to "Charlie Kirk and the ‘Right Way’ to Practice Politics".[38][39]
In December 2009, Klein wrote an article inThe Washington Post, stating that U.S. SenatorJoe Lieberman was "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."[40] Klein based his estimate on anUrban Institute report that estimated that 22,000 people died in 2006 because they lacked health insurance.[41] This article was criticized byJonah Goldberg of theNational Review, who called it a "silly claim."[42]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."[43] Klein later said he regretted the phrasing[44] and his position is that despite universal coverage, thesocial determinants of health are still powerful predictors that, on average, ensure the lower socioeconomic classes die sooner than those with more income and education.[45][46]
In February 2007, Klein created aGoogle Groups forum 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."[47] Posts within JournoList were intended only to be made and read by its members.[48] Klein defended the forum saying that it "[ensures] that folks feel safe giving off-the-cuff analysis and instant reactions." JournoList member andTime magazine 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."[47]
The existence of JournoList was first publicly revealed in a July 27, 2007, blog post by bloggerMickey Kaus.[49] However, the forum did not attract serious attention until March 17, 2009, when an article published onPolitico detailed the nature of the forum and the extent of its membership.[47] The Politico article set off debate within theblogosphere over 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.[50]
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 Post blog that he would be terminating the JournoList group. This decision was instigated by fellow bloggerDave Weigel's resignation from thePost following the public exposure of several of his JournoList emails about conservative media figures.[51][52]
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."[53]
In September 2025, after theassassination of a right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk, Ezra Klein wrote an article titled, "Charlie Kirk Was Practicing Politics the Right Way" onNew York Times, in which he argued that Kirk's way of setting up debates in campuses is the right way of practicing politics and that "liberalism could use more of his moxie and fearlessness".[54] The article was shared and praised byFox News on their social media.[55]
The commentary prompted wide spread reactions from liberals.Ta-Nehisi Coates criticized Klein for ignoring theracist and violent comments of Kirk.[56] Scholars questioned Klein's definition of the "right way of politics". Professor Jed Forman fromSimpson College wrote that Klein confusedfree speech with speech that is good for society. Professor Carrie N. Baker fromSmith College wrote that Kirk's attempt to intimidate college professors from speaking out publicly about societal issues is "not practicing politics the right way.”[57] Professor Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò atGeorgetown University criticized Klein's "breathtaking carelessness or outright dishonesty in deflecting objections to the specific accuracy of this portrayal of Kirk with claims about the general appropriateness ofpolitical violence."[58]
In 2010, he was named Blogger of the Year byThe Week magazine andThe Sidney Hillman Foundation.[59][60] In 2011, he was named one of the 50 most powerful people inWashington, D.C., byGQ.[61] His blog was also named one of the 25 best financial blogs byTime magazine in 2011.[62] In 2013, Klein won theOnline News Association Award for Best Online Commentary.[63] He also won theAmerican Political Science Association'sCarey McWilliams Award,[64] for "a major journalistic contribution to our understanding of politics." He appeared as one of 80 men featured inEsquire's 80th anniversary issue[65] and in a feature inT magazine.[66]
Klein is married toAnnie Lowrey,[67] an economic policy reporter atThe Atlantic.[68] They have two children, born in 2019 and 2021.[69] Klein isvegan.[70]
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