Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, has been one of the most argued-over candidates this election cycle.&nbsp;If he wins, he’d be the first-ever Muslim senator, and he’s faced a torrent of attacks about his faith. The race has also become a proving ground for a lot of questions about the Democratic Party and its future: What should U.S. policy toward Israel and the Palestinians be? Is the future of health care reform Medicare for all? Can a left-wing populist win in a state that twice voted for Donald Trump?There’s been so much more heat than light in this race, so I wanted to invite El-Sayed on the show for a longer conversation. We talked about his upbringing, his views on U.S. foreign policy, his work on health care reform and what he would actually do if elected in November.&nbsp;Mentioned:“<a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/medicare-for-all-9780190056629" rel="noopener noreferrer">Medicare for All: A Citizen’s Guide</a>” by Abdul El-Sayed and Micah Johnson“<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/07/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-may-pundak-rula-hardal.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">A Radical Vision for Israelis and Palestinians</a>,” with Rula Hardal and May Pundak on The Ezra Klein ShowBook Recommendations:“<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/73633/the-best-and-the-brightest-by-david-halberstam/" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Best and the Brightest</a>” by David Halberstam“<a href="https://penguinrandomhousehighereducation.com/book/?isbn=9780143036531" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amusing Ourselves to Death</a>” by Neil Postman“<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/564989/the-sum-of-us-by-heather-mcghee/" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Sum of Us</a>” by Heather McGhee“<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/106490/the-autobiography-of-malcolm-x-by-malcolm-x-as-told-to-alex-haley/" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Autobiography of Malcolm X</a>” by Malcom X, as told to Alex HaleyThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at <a href="mailto:ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com</a>.You can find the transcript and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.html</a>This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Jack McCordick. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, Kate Sinclair and Kelsey Lannin. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota, Isaac Jones and Pat McCusker. Our recording engineer is Aman Sahota. Cinematography by Marina King and Kyle Kelley. Video editing by Dani Dillon. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Rollin Hu, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Shows is Annie-Rose Strasser.
Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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