

Former Vox editor and writer Klein, now with the New York Times, joins British journalist Will Davies in an online talk called ‘Living in Frayed Democracy’
UC Santa Cruz alum Ezra Klein, the author of the 2020 book Why We’re Polarized, will speak on, yep, why we’re polarized for the annual Peggy Downes Baskin Ethics Lecture Series, sponsored by UCSC’s Humanities Division.
Klein will be joined by London-based political economist William Davies in a virtual event titled “Living in a Frayed Democracy.” The event is free (with registration) and takes place Saturday, Dec. 5 at 10 a.m.
Klein was a founder and central figure in the high-profile news/analysis site Vox, but announced his departure from Vox to join the New York Times just this week.
In his latest book, Klein argues the contrarian view that the American political system circa 2020 is not dysfunctional, but that the political pathologies of polarization are operating according to rational power dynamics. Klein attended UCSC in 2002-04.
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Davies writes regularly on the crisis in liberalism, and the role expert knowledge plays in political systems. His latest book, This Is Not Normal: The Collapse of Liberal Britain was published in October.