Naomi Klein saw where our politics was headed before most people on the left. Her 2023 book “Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World” is hard to describe. But among other things, it traces the new coalitions Klein saw forming on the right, the ways they were co-opting issues long associated with the left, and finding huge audiences and influence outside existing institutions.
The people and coalitions that Klein wrote about run our world now. We are all living in the mirror world. As she put it, it’s “doppelgangers at the wheel.” So I wanted to have Klein on the show to help understand how that happened, what the left failed to see at the time and the lessons the left should take from it now.
As Klein told me: “The thing about doppelgangers is, in literature, they’re always a message telling you a warning: You have to look at yourself. There’s something about yourself that you’re not seeing.”
Note: We recorded this episode before the war in Iran.
Mentioned:
<a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374610326/doppelganger/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Doppelganger</a> by Naomi Klein
<a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780312429270/nologo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">No Logo</a> by Naomi Klein
“<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/01/the-neighbors-defending-minnesota-from-ice/685769/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Minnesota Proved MAGA Wrong</a>” by Adam Serwer
<a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621407/endtimesfascism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">End Times Fascism</a> by Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor
Book Recommendations:
<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/743569/empire-of-ai-by-karen-hao/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Empire of AI</a> by Karen Hao
<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/646320/here-where-we-live-is-our-country-by-molly-crabapple/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Here Where We Live Is Our Country</a> by Molly Crabapple
<a href="https://www.versobooks.com/products/1958-fire-alarm?srsltid=AfmBOooY-y9aaq2U258UL734-axu5zONQsZYX-1dJJzCeych5qzkB0ts" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fire Alarm</a> by Michael Löwy
Thoughts? 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" rel="noopener noreferrer">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" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs</a>.
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