pandemicresponse

Nothing like a newborn and paternity leave to leave you feeling a bit out of the loop. So for my first podcast back since October, I wanted to wander through the thickets of where we are politically and how we got here.

Because where we are is strange: the Omicron wave and the breakdown of the liberal Covid consensus that preceded it; a hot economy with low unemployment, rising wages and high inflation; a Build Back Better bill for which the eventual compromise seems obvious even as the legislation is stalled; the anniversary of Jan. 6, which comes as both of the Democrats’ major democracy bills are languishing; and a Biden administration that has passed big, popular policies, only to watch its poll numbers fall.

Chris Hayes is the host of MSNBC’s “All In” and the podcast “Why Is This Happening?” He’s also one of my favorite people to process politics with, so I asked him to help me track back through the past few months of the news and look into how 2022 could be better.

Mentioned:

“The Ronald Reagan Guide to Joe Biden’s Political Future” by Jamelle Bouie

“How Michel Foucault Lost the Left and Won the Right” by Ross Douthat

“Ten Million a Year” by David Wallace-Wells

“On the Internet, We’re Always Famous” by Chris Hayes

Book recommendations:

The Braindead Megaphone by George Saunders

The Three-Body Problem Series by Cixin Liu

The Racial Contract by Charles W. Mills

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.

You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.

“The Ezra Klein Show” is produced by Annie Galvin, Jeff Geld and Rogé Karma; fact-checking by Michelle Harris; original music by Isaac Jones; mixing by Jeff Geld; audience strategy by Shannon Busta. Our executive producer is Irene Noguchi. Special thanks to Kristin Lin.

Clapton and Kennedy discuss music and current events in this episode.

During most campaigns, the job of the vice-presidential candidates focuses on boosting the person heading the ticket. Proving their suitability for the top job is secondary.

But this year is different. The president is 74 and spent much of the past week in the hospital, and his Democratic rival is 77. So it was vital for their running mates, Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris, to show in Wednesday night’s debate that they would be capable of stepping up if necessary.

We speak to Alexander Burns, a Times national political correspondent, about the candidates’ strategies and whether anything new emerged four weeks before the election.

Guest: Alexander Burns, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily

Background reading:

• The back-and-forth between Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris was more civil than the unruly presidential event, but featured sharp exchanges over the coronavirus, China policy, job creation and health care.
• Here are six takeaways from the night.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Swedish state epidemiologist Dr. Anders Tegnell discusses his country's controversial "herd immunity" COVID-19 strategy and outlines its metrics for success.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on the Matt Walsh Show, the Me Too movement has undergone a startling transition, from Believe Women to Believe Joe Biden. Talk about shifting the goalposts. Also Five Headlines including Ben Shapiro getting himself into trouble with Media Matters for stating the obvious. And for our Daily Cancellation segment today, something a little different. Hopefully you’ll find it inspiring.

Just head on over to dailywire.com/subscribe. That’s dailywire.com/subscribe, coupon code WALSH, and get the rarest of all beverage vessels, times two.

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