Episode · The Ezra Klein Show · 2026-05-09
Books mentioned on Ezra Klein Grills CA’s Possible Governors | The Ezra Klein Show
Tom Steyer recommended The Hour of the Predator by Giuliano da Empoli. Xavier Becerra recommended Rain of Gold by Victor Villaseñor. Katie Porter recommended Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. Matt Mahan recommended Why Nothing Works by Marvin Harris. Antonio Villaraigosa recommended Ours Was the Shining Future by David Leonhardt.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Hour of the Predator
The Hour of the Predator by Giuliano da Empoli is a non-fiction exploration of shifting global power dynamics and contemporary political transformations.
Recommended“The book that I'm recommending is called The Hour of the Predator. And it's a statement it's a non-fiction book about how the power in our society and around the world is changing, and it is an absolute plea for us to preserve our democracy.”
Where to get it
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Rain of Gold
Rain of Gold by Victor Villaseñor is a sweeping, multi-generational family saga that chronicles the author's family journey from Mexico to the United States in pursuit of a better life.
Recommended“There's a a book called Rain of Gold by Victor Villaseñor, which is all about how if you just put your mind to it, you can lift up your family and have success. It's the American dream in this book, and it's a Rain of Gold.”
Where to get it
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Yesteryear
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke is a contemporary debut novel that follows an online influencer known as a tradwife who suddenly wakes up inside the exact traditional world she has been posting and writing about.
Recommended“So, I would tell you that I think the banger book of the year that really encapsu- encapsulates in a fascinating, mind-bending way all of the frustration and rage that women and gender stereotypes put in onto us and that we have to navigate is Yesteryear, which is a fiction book. It just came out. It's a 36-hour stay up”
Where to get it
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Why Nothing Works
Why Nothing Works by Marvin Harris explores systemic challenges in modern society and prompts critical reflection on organizational structures.
Recommended“So, in this audience is this totally unoriginal, but the truth is I just read Why Nothing Works. I think you just interviewed Mark Duckworth. I know. I told I literally just read it. It's on my nightstand. Um and it was great. It was it was really it got me thinking about this mix of top-down, more centralized, get”
Where to get it
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Ours Was the Shining Future
Ours Was the Shining Future by David Leonhardt is an insightful book that examines the trajectory of the American dream, economic inequality, and the historical forces that have shaped the modern working class.
Recommended“Ours was The Shining Future. Your colleague David Leonhardt wrote it about a year and a half, almost 2 years ago. It's a book that is critical of Democrats among other things. And what it says we forgot to be the party of working people. We forgot to fight for an economy that's not working for enough people.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“And it you know, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was one example, crazy, but the other example is that we there too many that would nobody goes to lock mental facilities.”