Ezra Klein

Ezra Klein
Born	9 5, 1984
Birthplace	Irvine, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Journalist, political commentator, author, podcaster
Employer	The New York Times
Known for	Co-founding Vox, The Ezra Klein Show, Wonkblog
Education	University of California, Los Angeles (BA)
Children	2

Ezra Klein (born May 9, 1984) is an American journalist, political commentator, author, and podcaster who has emerged as one of the most prominent voices in American policy journalism since the mid-2000s. A New York Times opinion columnist and host of The Ezra Klein Show podcast since 2021, Klein first gained attention as a political blogger whose detailed policy analysis attracted a devoted readership at a time when the boundaries between traditional journalism and digital media were rapidly shifting. He co-founded Vox, an explanatory news website, in 2014 alongside journalists Matthew Yglesias and Melissa Bell, serving first as editor-in-chief and later as editor-at-large. Before Vox, Klein held editorial positions at The American Prospect and The Washington Post, where he created and managed Wonkblog, a policy-focused blog that became one of the newspaper's most widely read features. He has been a regular contributor to Bloomberg News and MSNBC. Klein is the author of two books published by Simon & Schuster: Why We're Polarized (2020), an examination of political polarization in the United States, and Abundance (2025), co-written with Derek Thompson. His career has traced the arc of digital journalism's evolution, from early political blogging through the rise of explanatory media to the contemporary landscape of newsletter and podcast-driven commentary.

Early Life

Ezra Klein was born on May 9, 1984, in Irvine, California. His father is Abel Klein, a mathematician. Klein grew up in California and showed an early interest in politics and public policy.

Klein began blogging while still a young adult, entering the political blogosphere during a period of rapid expansion in online political commentary. By 2004, he was already attracting attention as a political blogger. In a November 2004 interview with LAist, Klein discussed his work as a political blogger at Pandagon, a group blog where he contributed political commentary and analysis. A Boston Globe article from May 2004 noted the emerging collision between blogs and traditional media, a dynamic in which Klein was becoming an active participant.

Klein's early blogging output was characterized by detailed engagement with domestic policy, particularly health care, economic policy, and the mechanics of the legislative process. This focus on substance over polemics distinguished him from many political bloggers of the era and helped build his readership among policy professionals, political staffers, and journalists.

Education

Klein attended the University of California, Santa Cruz before transferring to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he earned a bachelor's degree. His time in the University of California system coincided with the early years of his blogging career, as he began writing about politics and policy while still an undergraduate.

Career

Early Blogging and The American Prospect

Klein's career in journalism began in the early 2000s with political blogging. He contributed to the group blog Pandagon, where he wrote about politics and policy, drawing readership through his analytical approach to current events. By 2007, Klein's independent blog had gained a substantial following within the political blogosphere. In December 2007, Klein announced that his blog would be moving to The American Prospect, where he would serve as an associate editor. This move represented an early example of a traditional media outlet acquiring a popular political blog, a trend that would accelerate in subsequent years.

At The American Prospect, Klein continued to develop his reputation as a policy-focused commentator. His writing concentrated on health care reform, economic inequality, and the structure of American political institutions. During this period, Klein also founded JournoList, a private email listserv for liberal journalists, bloggers, and academics. In a post on The American Prospect, Klein described the listserv and its purpose. The existence of JournoList became a subject of media controversy, particularly after it was reported on by Slate and other outlets.

The Washington Post and Wonkblog

In 2009, Klein joined The Washington Post as a blogger and columnist. In an introductory post, he outlined his approach to covering policy and politics for the newspaper. At the Post, Klein managed Wonkblog, a branded blog focused on domestic policy that became one of the newspaper's most popular digital properties. The blog featured Klein's writing on health care, economic policy, and the legislative process, along with contributions from other writers.

Klein's coverage of health care reform during the passage of the Affordable Care Act was particularly notable. He wrote extensively about the public option debate, the legislative strategy surrounding the bill, and the policy details of the proposed reforms. In December 2009, Klein wrote about Senator Joe Lieberman's role in the health care debate. He also analyzed the demise of the public option in a separate piece for the Post.

In February 2011, Klein wrote about the relationship between health care policy and public behavior, further solidifying his position as a leading voice on health policy in the blogosphere. Klein's policy analysis often drew on academic research and think tank reports, including work from institutions such as the Urban Institute.

During his time at The Washington Post, Klein also wrote about broader political dynamics. In April 2010, he discussed what he termed the "GVP" (a critique of the structure of political governance) in a piece for the newspaper.

The JournoList controversy resurfaced in June 2010, following the resignation of Washington Post blogger Dave Weigel, whose comments on the listserv had been leaked. Klein addressed the situation in a blog post and subsequently shut down the listserv.

Klein was profiled by The Washingtonian during his tenure at the Post, a reflection of his growing profile in Washington media circles. His commentary also drew attention from conservative media outlets, including the Washington Examiner and National Review.

Co-founding Vox

In 2014, Klein co-founded Vox alongside fellow journalists Matthew Yglesias and Melissa Bell. Vox, owned by Vox Media, was conceived as a platform for explanatory journalism — an approach that aimed to provide readers with the context and background necessary to understand complex policy issues and news events. Klein served as editor-in-chief of the site at its launch.

At Vox, Klein oversaw the editorial direction of the website while continuing to write articles and analysis. He also hosted The Ezra Klein Show, a podcast featuring long-form interviews with politicians, academics, authors, and other public figures on topics ranging from political polarization to technology policy to philosophy. The podcast became one of the most prominent interview shows in the political media landscape.

Klein later transitioned from the editor-in-chief role to editor-at-large, a position that allowed him to focus more on his own writing and the podcast. During his time at Vox, Klein also served as an executive producer for Explained, a documentary series produced by Vox for Netflix that covered a wide range of topics in an explanatory format.

Klein's tenure at Vox coincided with a broader shift in digital media toward explanatory and context-driven journalism. The site, along with competitors like FiveThirtyEight and The Upshot at The New York Times, represented a new model of policy-focused digital news aimed at providing depth and analysis rather than breaking news coverage.

The New York Times

In November 2020, Klein announced his departure from Vox to join The New York Times as an opinion columnist and podcast host. He began his role at the Times in 2021, where he writes a regular opinion column and continues to produce The Ezra Klein Show under the newspaper's banner.

At the Times, Klein has continued his focus on political polarization, institutional reform, and policy analysis. His columns and podcast episodes frequently address the structural forces shaping American politics, including questions about democratic governance, political identity, and the relationship between media and politics.

In recent years, Klein's column and podcast have addressed topics including the Trump administration's policy approach, immigration enforcement, and international perspectives on American power. In February 2026, Klein wrote a column analyzing what he described as the Trump administration's strategy of "muzzle velocity" and its consequences. His podcast episodes have featured conversations with historians, policy experts, and political figures. In January 2026, he interviewed historian Adam Tooze about international perspectives on the United States. He also produced an episode examining immigration enforcement policy with journalist Caitlin Dickerson. In February 2026, he hosted a conversation with author Priya Parker about social life and community. Additional episodes have examined topics such as the Jeffrey Epstein files, with an interview featuring Congressman Ro Khanna.

Books

Klein is the author of two books, both published by Simon & Schuster. His first book, Why We're Polarized, was published in January 2020. The book examines the structural and psychological forces driving political polarization in the United States, drawing on political science research, historical analysis, and Klein's own reporting experience. It explores how identity — including partisan identity, racial identity, and ideological identity — has become increasingly aligned in American politics, contributing to a cycle of escalating polarization.

His second book, Abundance, co-written with journalist Derek Thompson, was published in March 2025. The book addresses questions about economic growth, scarcity, and policy approaches to increasing material abundance in the United States.

Television and Other Media

In addition to his print and digital journalism, Klein has maintained a presence in broadcast media. He was a regular contributor to MSNBC and Bloomberg News, appearing as a commentator on political and policy topics. At Vox, his role as executive producer of the Netflix series Explained expanded his work into documentary television. The series, which premiered in 2018, covered topics ranging from the racial wealth gap to the global water crisis in short-format documentary episodes.

Personal Life

Klein has two children. His father, Abel Klein, is a mathematician. Klein has kept much of his personal life out of public discussion, consistent with a focus on his professional work in journalism and policy commentary.

In February 2026, Klein was the subject of protests when anti-Zionist demonstrators disrupted an event at which he was speaking, accusing him of being a "Nazi normalizer." The Times of Israel reported that a campus branch of Students for Justice in Palestine had organized ahead of the disruption, despite Klein himself being described as a critic of Israel in the report's framing.

Recognition

Klein has received several awards and honors over the course of his career. In 2010, the Sidney Hillman Foundation awarded Klein one of its annual prizes, recognizing his contributions to journalism.

The Week recognized Klein's work with one of its opinion awards, reflecting his standing as a commentator within the broader media landscape.

Klein was named to Time magazine's list of influential figures, further indicating his prominence in American media and political commentary.

Slate has also noted Klein's influence, with commentary on his growing readership and impact within the political blogosphere during his early career.

Legacy

Klein's career has tracked closely with the transformation of American political journalism in the digital age. Beginning as a blogger in the early 2000s, he was part of a generation of writers who demonstrated that online commentary could achieve the depth, influence, and readership traditionally associated with print journalism. His move from independent blogging to The American Prospect to The Washington Post and then to founding Vox illustrated a path that many digital-native journalists would follow in subsequent years.

The founding of Vox in 2014 represented a significant moment in the development of explanatory journalism as a distinct genre within digital media. The site's model — providing detailed context and background on news events rather than focusing primarily on breaking news — influenced the broader media landscape and contributed to the growth of similar ventures.

Klein's focus on political polarization, both in his journalism and in Why We're Polarized, has contributed to public discourse about the structural forces shaping American democracy. His work at The New York Times has continued this focus, with his columns and podcast episodes frequently exploring questions about institutional design, political identity, and the media's role in democratic governance.

His career has also been marked by the controversies that accompany prominent positions in American media, including the JournoList episode and ongoing debates about the boundaries between journalism and advocacy. Klein has been featured in Moment Magazine in discussions about Jewish identity and public life.