POLITICAL POLARIZATION, with Ezra Klein

It’s not that simple

What is political polarization? Has social media contributed to its growth? What about Donald Trump? And where does this growing polarization leave “the center” of the political spectrum? To answer these questions, Pedro Pinto interviews Ezra Klein in this episode of “It’s Not That Simple”, a podcast by the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation.

A perceptive observer of American politics and society, Ezra Klein is a columnist on the New York Times opinion page, host of the award-winning “Ezra Klein Show” podcast, and author of the bestselling book, “Why We’re Polarized.” Before that, he was the founder, editor-in-chief, and then editor-at-large of Vox, the explanatory news platform, which has won a bevy of awards and now reaches more than 50 million people each month. He was also a creator and executive producer of its hit Netflix show, “Explained.” Prior to starting Vox, Klein founded and led The Washington Post’s Wonkblog. He is also a columnist for Bloomberg News and a regular contributor/policy analyst for MSNBC. The Economist named him one of the “Minds of the Moment.” In 2011, TIME named his blog one of the 25 best financial blogs and the Society of American Business Editors and Writers named Klein as their 2011 Opinion Columnist of the Year. In 2012, GQ named him to their 50 Most Powerful People in Washington list and Esquire named him to their 79 Things We Can All Agree On list saying, “Ezra Klein gives economics columnists a good name.”

In this episode, Klein comments on the growing political polarization in the United States of America, what explains it and its impact on the country. He argues that a more fragmented media landscape has contributed to the disappearance of a common ground for what people believe to be true. He also looks at how social media has turned what was an already polarized political landscape into a more extreme, radicalized one. Klein also tries to understand why political figures like Trump, Modri or Silvio Berlusconi have had success all around the world. Finally, Klein examines how the erosion of the political “center” is both a product and a cause of growing political polarization, in a conversation well worth listening to.

More on this topic

• Why We’re Polarized, Ezra Klein, 2020

• Ezra Klein’s columns in The New York Times

• The Ezra Klein Show archive

• Ezra Klein on “Why We’re Polarized”

•Ezra Klein on “roots of America's democracy problem”

• Ezra Klein on “American media's effect on democracy”

• Ezra Klein talks with Pippa Norris about the reasons why “the far right is thriving around the globe”

• Ezra Klein talks with Sean Illing about “how TV, Twitter and TikTok shape our brains — and our politics”

• Ezra Klein talks with Patrick Deneen about the “post-liberal right”