Ezra Klein — From College Blogger to Political Powerhouse (#208)

Tim were you ever bullied?

I liked how Ezra Klein brought up a practical approach to being vegan/vegetarian and just overall societal reduction of eating meat. Many vegans I know are super hard core about being strict with their diet, rather than having a practical approach to it. I’ve been experimenting with being a “vegan” for 2 1/2 years (coming from a paleo background of 4 years previously). I aim for 100% vegan, but usually fall in the range of 95% vegan / 5% egg/dairy split (and every few months, a piece of salmon thrown in due to cravings). Being flexible about it is the way to go in order to enjoy your life and optimize your body’s performance. This should be brought up into larger discussions about reducing meat consumption for the betterment of animal rights / environment / etc.

Good morning! Firstly Mr. Ferriss… don’t you ever think for one moment that you can produce uber-quality podcast in long form faster than I can listen to them! You will not beat me sir! 😉 On to the serious stuff… This has to be, hands down, the most important podcast episode of my life to date. I don’t say that lightly as I have heard all of your other 200+ (some more than a couple times) and each one speaks to me in a different way. Although only 42 min in this morning, I really am able to relate to Ezra in a few ways that I am not able to equate with everyone else. The bullying thing is a pretty big buzz word in the last few years and I really think it is something that needs to be figured out.. not so much from fixing the bully but rather from the perspective of equipping all of our children with the tools to be the better person, to know the exit strategies, and to maintain dignity. Just saw a video from my current favorite rapper (just started a year ago @17 yrs old) https://youtu.be/70gxUXEUjK4. A really great narrative about this topic in particular. I would also say the mental processes Ezra went through growing up and trying to navigate the toils of teenagedness. I had a lot of the same struggles and I know I am not alone. I know you have the most amazing people on your podcast and I greatly and truly appreciate every one of them… but I would venture to say the Ezra is one of the few whom a lot of not as successful people can relate to on a very personal level. Hell, I am sure there are plenty of people out there right now who have gone through a ton of shit growing up and are still trying to figure it all out. There is no silver bullet but I think Ezra has some very interesting and helpful insights into managing the psyche. Sorry for the long form comment (its contagious). You should definately check out the video above when you have a moment. Thank you once again for amazing work. Ps. 1/3 done with “Titans” and love all of the easter eggs hidden in there!!!

Thank you Tim for another fantastic episode with two very smart and thoughtful men. I am happy Ezra brought up the vegetarianism-veganism topic. Being a titan in the eyes of the world is a wonderful achievement but only a part of the equation. You can be the strongest, most powerful, most famous or most brilliant person in the world, if you haven’t learned the art of being as light as a feather on this earth, your titanism is heavy and tied to a vertical vector. This world needs titans that expand horizontally, that are more interested in becoming wide, wise and conscious than by being at the top. I love your podcast because most of the people you interview have a softness, a consciousness and a humility to them that is very touching, you included.

I have been living on low sugar raw vegan foods for 14 years. I don’t eat any cooked food what so ever, I just never crave it. I eat one meal a day, I’m 38 looking 25, strong, muscular and flexible. My grand-mother taught me how to hunt when I was a kid. I can shoot a deer, gut it, butcher it and scrape the fat off the hide. As weird as it may sound for a raw foodist, I adore cooking (to the point of becoming the head chef of a conventional 4 star resort on BC’s West Coast for 3 years) even if I don’t eat what I cook. I don’t think vegetarianism or raw foodism veganism is the way to go. If one day you find yourself there, it was just meant to be. Meat-no meat, dairy-no dairy, cooked-raw- none of it truly matters. I’ve seen the sickest vegetarians and the healthiest meat eaters and vice versa. What matters is being aware of what you eat and what works for you, buy from local folks and strive to walk gently on this earth. Not in a hippie way. In a smart, educated, evolved and refined way.

I like how Ezra says he allows himself to not be a perfect vegetarian. There is a sweetness to not being perfect at anything.

P.S. I have finished the ‘Health’ section of Tools of Titan and having so much fun with it. If books were alive I’d become friends with that one. I disagree with it sometimes, it makes me laugh, it gives me news ideas, I like to hear what it has to say many times a day these days. lol. Thank you for creating such a non-linear book that can be read and re-read any ways you want. I can’t stand boring and serious things and Tools of Titan is everything but boring.

Klein’s anecdote of being bullied is perfectly sums up the man who would later grown up to now bully others into his Leftist state of mind. Vox is at the epicenter of cry-bully entertainment, and a sustainer for veganism, 3rd-wave feminism; and a gravitational pull for entitled millennials. It is the heart of “fake news”- itself a made-up term that Klein and the other Leftist power houses he mentions in the interview invented, and are propagating to utterly censor Conservative points of view, and Klein should now once again be counter-bullied and vilified for his philosophical nonsense.

Great episode and would love to hear more episodes in the political/policy world!

Great podcast. Thanks. Nice to hear someone who had learning issues but found success.

I love conversationalists who present counter and unique ideas like Erza and Scott Adams. Thanks Erza for he book recs and the podcasts you listen to.

Ok Tim – after listening to this I thought I’d get in touch. The advice in the podcast about picking something you can have impact on is good – honestly, I also worry a bit about what your political perspective might be. We can’t help but be shaped by our surroundings and people, and you live in a very different way to many – this is mostly great, bringing loads of things forwards, but it means there might be some blind spots too 😉 If you ever want to talk politics with someone from a different perspective (credentials available), I figure that my impact by having a small influence on your bigger impact is worth it.

Anyway, two things came to mind that I think you would be on board with and have a huge impact. May be things you are aware of already.

1) Universal Basic Income. This is a huge, societal game-changer. Could be so impactful – partly because it aligns with almost all political perspectives (theoretically – not in practice, because there is so much vested interest). Capitalists like it, socialists like it, liberals like it – only corporations do not like it. You have enough money and the right mindset of experiments and challenging norms that you could do a lot here – in making some experiments and campaigning on it, based on the results. It wouldn’t take much to fund a pilot project – people are already doing this but I think having you on board would add a lot.

2) Compassionate education – something the Dalai Lama has been promoting. Funding a local programme for this. You’ve been pushing meditation for awhile, there’s a particular aspect of meditation that moves a bit away from what you do and more towards compassion. Easy to fund a local programme, get people on board, measure results, and take it forward. At a time when there is such divisiveness in politics and crises facing the world, this is a bridge-builder.

I’m well up for discussing each of these further if you would like.

– Alex

I just wrapped up a cross-country road trip (CA to OH) and listened almost exclusively to your podcasts (thank you, “long form” podcasts!) I’ve got a background in public policy and politics and have worked in all three branches of government thus far in my career so this podcast was particularly relevant to me.

I must admit that I’d noticed your failure to comment on current political events and was confused by it. This podcast helped me understand why and I truly appreciate the raw honesty with which you spoke about your prior history with political discourse and the blatant discomfort you felt at trying to dissect what everything means. I applaud you for coming to the realization that sticking one’s head in the sand is not an appropriate or desirable solution.

That being said, if you happen to read this comment, here’s my bit of unsolicited advice: Take this particular personal journey offline. At least until you reach a baseline level of comfort with the issues you wish to discuss/debate/influence, etc. You are so well-connected, you will have no trouble finding intelligent and thoughtful people with differing (but reasonable) views on all sides of every issue imaginable. If that doesn’t appeal to you, try to find a non-toxic online space in which to discuss and share politics – and then for the love of all that is holy, share that with us!

Good luck on your foray into politics! I look forward to reading about your experience sometime in the future. 🙂

Fabulous show! I know I’m listening to it a little late, but if you are still considering getting involved in state and local government, I’m happy to help in any way. I’ve been in the field for 15+ years. Thanks for all the inspiration and information you provide; it’s a real service.