Journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson on Why the Left is Bad at Governing

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

California in 2023 experienced a net loss of nearly 270,000 residents. The main reason given by those surveyed? The state’s cost of living is too high for working families. According to journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, much of the blame for that lies with Democrats, who they say have “failed at the work of governing” by pushing policies that make it too hard to build homes, mass transit and clean energy infrastructure. We talk to Klein and Thompson about how they think the left can govern better and smarter. Their new book is “Abundance.” Guests: Ezra Klein, columnist, The New York Times; co-author of "Abundance" and "Why We're Polarized;" his podcast is "The Ezra Klein Show" Derek Thompson, staff writer and author of the Work in Progress newsletter; The Atlantic; co-author of "Abundance" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for Forum comes from Rancho La Puerta, a wellness resort in Baja, California, just an hour from San Diego.
0:07.6	Three, four, and seven-night summer packages include fitness classes, hiking, live music, mindfulness, and culinary adventures, featuring fruits and veggies straight off the vine.
0:18.9	Special rates and offers are available for summer stays and first-time guests.
0:23.8	Saver summer at Rancho LaPuerta.com.
0:28.3	Greetings, boomtown.
0:29.7	The Xfinity Wi-Fi is booming!
0:32.0	Xfinity combines the power of internet and mobile.
0:35.2	So we've all got lightning fast speeds at home and on the go.
0:38.5	Learn more at Xfinity.com.
0:40.6	Restrictions apply.
0:41.3	Xfinity internet required.
0:42.4	Actual speeds vary.
0:44.6	From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Mina Kim.
1:04.6	Coming up on forum, the New York Times, Ezra Klein, and the Atlantic's Derek Thompson,
1:09.5	want Democrats to adopt a politics of abundance,
1:12.9	a politics that, quote, asks what it is that people really need, and then organizes government
1:17.2	to make sure there's enough of it, like housing. Too often, they say, Blue State Governance
1:22.3	makes it too hard to build homes, or mass transit, or clean energy because of too many rules, laws, and entrenched
1:28.8	political cultures.
1:30.7	Listeners, do you agree?
1:32.3	Is this the time for the left to face up to its failures of governance?
1:36.6	Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson join us to make their case right after this news.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.