Book · 2020 · Political Science
Why We're Polarized
- mentions
- 12
- people
- 9
- podcasts
- 7
- episodes
- 10
- critical mentions
- 0
Great book gets more relevant every day unfortunately.
What they say about it
- Explains political polarization“understand why we're polarized”3
- Highly recommended book2
The best things said about it
It is an incredibly smart book that will help you understand what has happened in politics and I think really help you understand what is at stake in this upcoming election in 2020.
Tommy Vietor Pod Save America · Jan 2020 Ezra has actually written the signal book on that topic.
Why We're Polarized basically goes through this decades-long analysis in the U.S. before I was born basically talking about some of the forces and kind of partisan politics.
Mark Zuckerberg Lex Fridman Podcast · Feb 2022 If you look at my first book, Why We're Polarized, that's a highly descriptive book.
Ezra Klein How I Write · May 2025 As our Klein's book, Why We're Polarized, he goes through the fifties, the sixties, where the Democrats and Republicans are essentially interchangeable. They have like the same outlook, the same policy prescriptions.
Where and when it comes up
Mentions per year
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How it comes up
Most mentions, by podcast
9 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
Why We're Polarized by Ezra Klein is a deep dive into the structural forces driving American political division. Tim Urban mentioned the book on the Lex Fridman Podcast to emphasize the deep complexities of the modern political landscape, noting that Klein discusses these tribal dynamics thoroughly. Mark Zuckerberg also brought up the work on the Lex Fridman Podcast, arguing that decades-long partisan shifts and media forces like Fox News show how political polarization actually predates social media. Tommy Vietor enthusiastically recommended the title on Pod Save America on multiple occasions, telling listeners it is an incredibly smart book that helps explain both the current state of politics and what was at stake in the 2020 election. Lee Drutman discussed the work on The Ezra Klein Show, remarking that the analysis of nationalized partisanship grows more relevant every single day. Furthermore, Ezra Klein himself appeared on How I Write to reflect on the title, describing it as a highly descriptive and largely non-normative look at political alignment. Finally, Jonathan Karp discussed the volume on The Book Review, calling it the signal book for anyone trying to understand the roots of modern polarization.
Every mention
Tommy Vietor I would encourage everyone to run out and buy Why We're Polarized. It is an incredibly smart book that will… 3
Discussed
“it is just like basically an escrow client podcast but in ezra client's book why we're polarized he talks about how the remember those buzzfeed quizzes”
Recommended
“and uh and pick up uh pick up his book why we're polarized outstanding book”
Recommended
“I would encourage everyone to run out and buy Why We're Polarized. It is an incredibly smart book that will help you understand what has happened in politics and I think really help you understand what is at stake in this upcoming election in 2020.”
Tim Urban So Ezra Klein has a great book, "Why We're Polarized," where he talks about a lot of this. 2
Recommended
“So Ezra Klein has a great book, "Why We're Polarized," where he talks about a lot of this.”
Recommended
“It's very complex. Ezra Klein has a great book, 'Why We're Polarized,' where he talks about a lot of this.”
Mark Zuckerberg and um you know it's a a bunch of books by you know political scientists ezra klein and folks why we're pol… 1
Recommended
“and um you know it's a a bunch of books by you know political scientists ezra klein and folks why we're polarized basically goes through this decades-long analysis in the u.s before i was born basically talking about some of the forces and kind of partisan politics and fox news and different things that predate the internet in a lot”
Andrew Yang As our Klein's book, Why We're Polarized, he goes through the fifties, the sixties, where the Democrats and… 1
Discussed
“As our Klein's book, Why We're Polarized, he goes through the fifties, the sixties, where the Democrats and Republicans are essentially interchangeable. They have like the same outlook, the same policy prescriptions.”
Ezra Klein If you look at my first book why we're polarized that's a highly descriptive book that book is almost compl… 1
Discussed
“If you look at my first book why we're polarized that's a highly descriptive book that book is almost completely non-normative and the part that is normative where I'm saying here's what I think we should do you can almost read that I'm doing it under duress”
Jonathan Karp Ezra Klein why we're polarized this is this is an older book but obviously we need to understand why we're… 1
Discussed
“Ezra Klein why we're polarized this is this is an older book but obviously we need to understand why we're polarized and I think that Ezra has actually written the the signal book on that topic”
Lee Drutman I think I remember a book by a guy named Ezra Klein who wrote a book about this this polarization thing tha… 1
Discussed
“I think I remember a book by a guy named Ezra Klein who wrote a book about this this polarization thing that that has been happening to to America. Great book gets more relevant every day unfortunately.”
Marshall Kosloff um so like – ezra klein's book i don't know if you've seen what why would polarized you might have read it 1
Discussed
“um so like – ezra klein's book i don't know if you've seen what why would polarized you might have read it”
Richard Hanania Um, you know, uh, so like, uh, Ezra Klein's book, I don't know if you've seen why we're polarized, you migh… 1
Discussed
“Um, you know, uh, so like, uh, Ezra Klein's book, I don't know if you've seen why we're polarized, you might have read it. Yeah, you know, the one thing he emphasizes every actor in the system is sort of acting rationally.”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (20: passing, ad reads, own books)
Plugged
“I have for many many many years and in fact it's part of my first book Why We're Polarized not just believed but talked a lot about how the immigration issue gets sanitized as about economics.”
Plugged
“and this is straight out of my first book, Why We're Polarized, over time we've developed highly ideologically unified parties that now compete across the branches.”
Plugged
“I do think that one of the things that happened over the past decade or so and this is you know something I talk about in my first book why we're polarized is there's a huge upsurge in telling people that the right way to understand life America is all through the lens of identity groups.”
Plugged
“Like you really did have, I think, a I mean, this is the whole story I tell in my book, Why We're Polarized.”
Plugged
“In 2020, I published my first book, which is called Why We're Polarized.”
Passing
“He is a columnist for The New York Times, author of Why We're Polarized, and host of The Ezra Klein Show.”
Plugged
“He is a columnist for "The New York Times", author of "Why We're Polarized", and host of "The Ezra Klein Show."”
Plugged
“Republicans and democrats aren't gonna get along in Congress. That has to do with, I think the incentives of Congress, my first book is called Why We're Polarized, it's about those almost hydraulic incentives for partisanship.”
Plugged
“I could tell you a dozen stories in my my new book I do but let me tell you here just one in 1982”
Plugged
“and you and I actually share a f ation it was in uh my book on polarization and it was also something you read about in your book with this article the times published years ago about a man who in at the beginning of the first Trump Administration decided he was done with the news”
Plugged
“for for that matter I published a whole book about political polarization it was called why we're polarized and I've been thinking a lot about how the polarization of this year is different”
Plugged
“I published a whole book about political polarization it was called why we're polarized and I've been thinking a lot about how the polarization of this year is different than what I was tracking when I was writing that book”
Plugged
“I wrote a book on it that came out in 2020 why we're polarized and one of the points of that book is that to say a country is polarized doesn't actually give you that much information”
Plugged
“one of the reasons I wanted to co-write this book is I found writing my first book why we're polarized to be an incredibly lonely experience”
Plugged
“How do you think about those as explanations in your book why were polarized available in stores now you reflect on how polarization is not inherently a negative thing that in fact polarization is a necessity when moving forward on important Progressive issues”
Plugged
“how do you think about those as explanations in your book why were polarized available in stores now you reflect on how polarization is not inherently a negative thing that in fact polarization is a necessity when moving forward on important Progressive issues”
Plugged
“i'm now joined by new york times opinion writer and the author of why we're polarized ezra klein”
Passing
“And later, you'll hear an interview Dan did with Vox's Ezra Klein about his new book, Why We're Polarized.”
Plugged
“We are now pleased to be joined by the founder and editor at large at Fox, the host of the Ezra Klein podcast, and the co-host of the Weeds podcast, and now the author of the new book, Why We're Polarized. Ezra, welcome to Pod Save America.”
Plugged
“To be fair, I don't think most of us have a good theory of polarization, which is why you should buy my book, Why We're Polarized by Simon & Schuster.”