Ezra Klein
Ezra Klein (born May 9, 1984) is an American journalist, political analyst, New York Times columnist, and the host of The Ezra Klein Show podcast.[1][2][3] He is a co-founder of Vox and formerly was the website's editor-at-large.[1] He has held editorial positions at The Washington Post and The American Prospect, and was a regular contributor to Bloomberg News and MSNBC.[1][4] His first book, Why We're Polarized, was published by Simon & Schuster in January 2020.[2][5]
Ezra Klein
May 9, 1984
- Journalist
- political commentator
- podcast host
2003–present
2
Abel Klein (father)
Klein rose to prominence as a blogger who became well known for his in-depth analysis on a range of policy issues.[6][7] By 2007, Klein's blog had gained a substantial following and was acquired by The American Prospect, where he was an associate editor.[8] At The Washington Post, Klein managed Wonkblog, a branded blog that featured his writing on domestic policy.[9]
In 2014, alongside fellow journalists Matthew Yglesias and Melissa Bell, Klein co-founded Vox, a website for explanatory news owned by Vox Media.[10] He was the editor-in-chief, and later as editor-at-large.[11] Klein also contributed articles to the site, hosted an associated podcast (The Ezra Klein Show), and worked as an executive producer for Vox's Netflix series Explained.[2] In November 2020, Klein announced he would be leaving Vox to join The New York Times as a columnist and podcast host.[12][13]
Early life and education[edit]
Klein is Jewish and was raised in[14] Irvine, California.[7] His father, Abel Klein, is a professor of mathematics at the University of California, Irvine; his mother is an artist.[7][15] Klein attended University High School, where he was a poor student and graduated in 2002 with a 2.2 GPA.[15] Klein attended the University of California, Santa Cruz for two years before transferring to the University of California, Los Angeles, from which he graduated in 2005 with a BA in political science. While at UCSC, he applied to write for City on a Hill Press but was rejected.[16] He said school was never a great fit for him academically or socially.[17]
Awards[edit]
In 2010, he was named Blogger of the Year by The Week magazine and The Sidney Hillman Foundation.[48][49] In 2011, he was named one of the 50 most powerful people in Washington, D.C., by GQ.[50] His blog was also named one of the 25 best financial blogs by Time magazine in 2011.[51] In 2013, Klein won the Online News Association Award for Best Online Commentary.[52] He also won the American Political Science Association's Carey McWilliams Award,[53] for "a major journalistic contribution to our understanding of politics". He appeared as one of 80 men featured in Esquire's 80th anniversary issue[54] and in a feature in T magazine.[55]
Personal life[edit]
Klein is married to Annie Lowrey,[56] an economic policy reporter at The Atlantic.[57] They have two children, the first born in February 2019 and the second in fall 2021.[58] Klein is vegan.[59]