Ezra Klein

So I spent a good chunk of my Saturday blowing through Season 1 of Coupling (the BBC version). That’s a really, really, really funny show — props to those who kept recommending it. But guffawing aside, three questions: • Did anyone else find the fifth episode, the one where Jeff hits on the absurdly attractive […]

Speaking of alarmism, this Marburg virus sure is scary. Big ups to Angola for doing nothing. Big ups to the tribal chiefs for inciting violence against epidemiologists who are risking their lives to help. Big ups to the radio speeches accusing hospital heads of creating the virus through witchcraft so they can get a promotion. […]

Matt Yglesias and Brad Plumer are talking about oil’s impact on the collapse of the Soviet Union. Piffle. Those discussions are so 1993. The real cutting-edge blogger-alarmism is over natural gas, of which over half the known reserves are in Russia and Iran. Which is why we should be so remarkably unhappy that Tehran and […]

Regarding Daniel’s point on child poverty and the promise the internet has for linking kids to a world that’d otherwise remain inaccessible, I want to tell a quick story. Grant, one of my closest friends, works with Amnesty International going into urban areas of Chicago and teaching the students about human rights. A recent lesson […]

Ever wanted to learn about your friendly neighborhood majority leader and all the congressional Republicans who’re friendly with him? Sure you did.

I’m downright intrigued by the new effort to paint the filibustering of judges as a broadside against Christians everywhere. Fascinating, fascinating stuff. Part of it, of course, is Bill Frist’s understanding that his presidential hopes rely wholly on his reputation as a Christian crusader, a term I use carefully. Because that’s what keep pinging my […]

Saying Wal-Mart is antiunion is slightly less shocking than calling Tom DeLay unethical, or noting that I have an elbow*. Nothing could be better known. But I think most are confused, like I was for a long time, over how Wal-Mart can actually stop the unions. So one day, I called up an organizer buddy […]

While reading some post-mortems of the just passed Screw The Poor Bankruptcy Bill, I came across this sneaky little stat: “With 90% of bankruptcies attributable to job loss, divorce or excessive medical bills, it is clear that better economic policies, social services and affordable healthcare is the way to reduce bankruptcy,” said Rep. Lynn Woolsey […]

Kevin Drum dismisses Kunstler’s book The Long Emergency on the grounds that he tries to explain most everything through entropy. Well sure, the blatant misappropriation of physics concepts is one reason to dismiss the guy’s post-apocalyptic predictions, but why stop at just one? How about the fact that Kunstler really isn’t an oil expert? He […]

According to Jason Spitalnik, the House is planning 30 minutes of debate before passing the Bankruptcy Bill tomorrow. 30 minutes! I spend more than 30 minutes picking out movies at Blockbuster. I spend more than 30 minutes deciding on takeout with my friends. I spend more than 30 minutes on the treadmill. You’re telling me […]