What I'm Thinking About at the End of 2022
December 16, 2022 with Aaron Retica • Listen
- Aaron Retica is the editor of the column that hosts the episode, discussing the implications of the midterm election results and various political analyses.
Recommended:

The Time Tax: How the Government Wastes Our Time―and How to Fix It
Annie Lowrey

The Sabbath
Abraham Joshua Heschel

The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time
Judith Shulevitz

Happy Birthday to You!
Dr. Seuss

The Rabbit Listened
Cori Doerrfeld

Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth
Oliver Jeffers

The Pout-Pout Fish
Deborah Diesen
About this episode:
As 2022 comes to a close, we decided to invite listeners to send in questions for an ask-me-anything episode. And boy, did you all deliver. We received hundreds of fantastic questions, and my column editor, Aaron Retica, joined me to ask some of them. Is equality of opportunity preferable to equality of outcomes? What would a better version of Twitter look like? Are Republicans more politically savvy than Democrats? What do recent advances in artificial intelligence mean for the future of our society?
We also discuss why I think ChatGPT is simultaneously overhyped and deeply unnerving, whether Joe Manchin’s policy obstructionism helped Democrats at the midterms, the death of the expanded child tax credit, why I’m more bullish than ever on eliminating the filibuster, whether Mitch McConnell is actually the strategic mastermind that liberals portray him as, why I’m skeptical of Twitter as a tool for social justice, whether the advent of social media has actually made our lives better in any measurable way and more. And we end with my New Year’s resolution practices and a whole bunch of music and children’s books recommendations.
Note: “The Ezra Klein Show” will be taking a break during the holidays, but we will be back with new episodes starting on Jan. 3, 2023.
Mentioned:
Share your guest suggestions here
“The case against equality of opportunity” by Dylan Matthews
“The Senate Has Become a Dadaist Nightmare” by Ezra Klein
“The Time Tax” by Annie Lowrey
The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel
The Sabbath World by Judith Shulevitz
Music Recommendations:
Children’s Book Recommendations:
Happy Birthday to You! by Dr. Seuss
The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld
Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers
The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
Thoughts? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com. Guest suggestions? Fill out this form.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.
“The Ezra Klein Show” is produced by Emefa Agawu, Annie Galvin, Jeff Geld, Rogé Karma and Kristin Lin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, Mary Marge Locker and Kate Sinclair. Original music by Isaac Jones. Mixing by Jeff Geld. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta.
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.