We are one year into Trump’s second term. And it feels like so much has happened – more than the human mind, or the country, can absorb. But how much has Trump really accomplished? What policies have changed the country in a way that will last?My guest Yuval Levin is one of the smartest thinkers on the right, and his verdict is: not that much. “There’s an important story to tell about the absence of action in the past year, too,” he tells me.Levin is the director of social, cultural and constitutional studies at the American Enterprise Institute, the founder and editor of National Affairs and the author of several books on policy and political theory, including “American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation – and Could Again.”Mentioned:<a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/09/status-quo-or-revolution" target="_blank">Charts</a><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/176399/buckley-by-sam-tanenhaus/" target="_blank">Buckley</a> by Sam TanenhausBook Recommendations:<a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/I/bo24732099.html" target="_blank">Insecure Majorities</a> by Frances E. Lee<a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/making-the-presidency-9780197653845?cc=us&lang=en&" target="_blank">Making the Presidency</a> by Lindsay M. Chervinsky<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/776620/last-branch-standing-by-sarah-isgur/" target="_blank">Last Branch Standing</a> by Sarah IsgurThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/column/ezra-klein-podcast" target="_blank">nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast</a>, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs</a>.This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Rollin Hu. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, Jack McCordick, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.
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