History of Ezra Klein in Timeline

Ezra Klein is a prominent American liberal political commentator and journalist. He is a New York Times columnist and hosts The Ezra Klein Show podcast. He co-founded Vox and served as its editor-at-large. He has held editorial roles at The Washington Post and The American Prospect, and contributed to Bloomberg News and MSNBC. Klein is the author of 'Why We're Polarized,' published in 2020.

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Full Timeline Career & Achievements

May 9, 1984: Ezra Klein's Birth

On May 9, 1984, Ezra Klein, an American liberal political commentator and journalist, was born.

Others born on this day/year

2002: High School Graduation

In 2002, Ezra Klein graduated from University High School with a 2.2 GPA, noting that school was not a great fit for him academically or socially.

2003: Work on Howard Dean's Campaign

In 2003, Ezra Klein worked on Howard Dean's primary campaign in Vermont and he and Markos Moulitsas were two of the earliest bloggers to report from a political convention, that of the California State Democratic Party.

2004: Internship at the Washington Monthly

In 2004, Ezra Klein interned for the Washington Monthly in Washington, D.C.

2005: Graduation from UCLA

In 2005, Ezra Klein graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a BA in political science after transferring from UC Santa Cruz.

2006: Flamed by Lee Siegel

In 2006, Ezra Klein was one of several writers pseudonymously flamed by The New Republic writer Lee Siegel (posting as a sock puppet called sprezzatura).

2006: Mention of the 2006 Connecticut Democratic Primary

In the December 2009 article, Ezra Klein mentioned the 2006 Connecticut Democratic Primary. Although the article was written in 2009, it references events that occurred in 2006.

February 2007: Creation of JournoList

In February 2007, Ezra Klein created a Google Groups forum called "JournoList" for discussing politics and the news media, limited to left-leaning bloggers, reporters, and academics.

July 27, 2007: Public Revelation of JournoList

On July 27, 2007, the existence of JournoList was first publicly revealed in a blog post by Mickey Kaus.

December 10, 2007: Move to The American Prospect

On December 10, 2007, Ezra Klein moved his blog full-time to The American Prospect.

2007: Blog Acquisition by The American Prospect

In 2007, Ezra Klein's blog gained a substantial following and was subsequently acquired by The American Prospect, where he then became an associate editor.

March 17, 2009: Politico Article on JournoList

On March 17, 2009, an article published on Politico detailed the nature of JournoList and the extent of its membership, sparking debate and raising questions about its purpose.

March 26, 2009: First Public Excerpt from JournoList

On March 26, 2009, the first public excerpt of a discussion within JournoList was posted by Mickey Kaus on his blog.

May 18, 2009: Start Writing at The Washington Post

On May 18, 2009, Ezra Klein began writing at The Washington Post as the newspaper's first pure blogger on politics and economics.

December 2009: Controversial Article on Joe Lieberman

In December 2009, Ezra Klein wrote an article in The Washington Post criticizing U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, leading to controversy and criticism from various sources.

June 25, 2010: Termination of JournoList

On June 25, 2010, Ezra Klein announced in his Washington Post blog that he would be terminating the JournoList group, following Dave Weigel's resignation from the Post due to public exposure of his JournoList emails.

2010: Awards and Recognition in 2010

In 2010, Ezra Klein was named Blogger of the Year by The Week magazine and The Sidney Hillman Foundation.

May 2011: Columnist at Bloomberg View

In May 2011, Ezra Klein became a columnist at Bloomberg View in addition to his work at The Washington Post and MSNBC.

2011: Recognition and Awards in 2011

In 2011, Ezra Klein was named one of the 50 most powerful people in Washington, D.C., by GQ. His blog was also named one of the 25 best financial blogs by Time magazine.

March 14, 2013: Consideration for MSNBC Hosting Role

On March 14, 2013, it was reported that Ezra Klein was among those being considered to host MSNBC's 8 p.m. weekday prime-time show. Ultimately, the slot was filled with All In with Chris Hayes.

2013: Awards and Recognition in 2013

In 2013, Ezra Klein won the Online News Association Award for Best Online Commentary and the American Political Science Association's Carey McWilliams Award.

January 2014: Departure from The Washington Post

In January 2014, Ezra Klein announced his departure from The Washington Post with the intent to start a new media venture, which was later identified as Vox.

2014: Co-founding of Vox

In 2014, Ezra Klein, along with Matthew Yglesias and Melissa Bell, co-founded Vox, an explanatory news website owned by Vox Media. He served as editor-in-chief and later as editor-at-large.

October 2015: Launch of "The Weeds" Podcast

In October 2015, Ezra Klein, along with Sarah Kliff and Matt Yglesias, launched "The Weeds", a Vox podcast focused on detailed discussions of public policy.