What Elon Musk Wants

What Elon Musk Wants

Elon Musk has been on a slash-and-burn tear through the federal government — gaining access to I.T. systems, dismantling U.S.A.I.D. and unleashing a firehose of attacks on his platform, X, accusing the bureaucracy of various conspiratorial crimes.

As this all unfolds before our eyes, it’s hard to believe that Musk, not that long ago, was a conventional Obama-era liberal. How did a guy who cared about climate change and going to Mars, whose companies were buoyed by government largess, become Donald Trump’s most unapologetic soldier? What does he hope to do with all this power? What does Musk want?

Kara Swisher has been reporting on Musk for decades and is one of the great tech reporters of our age. She hosts the podcasts “On With Kara Swisher” and “Pivot,” with Scott Galloway, and is the author of “Burn Book: A Tech Love Story.”

This episode contains strong language.

Mentioned:

What’s Wrong With Donald Trump?” by Ezra Klein

The Men and (No) Women Facebook of Facebook Management” by Kara Swisher

Book Recommendations:

North Woods by Daniel Mason

On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder

Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.

You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.

This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Elias Isquith and Jack McCordick. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Mixing by Isaac Jones, with Efim Shapiro and Aman Sahota. Our supervising editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Rollin Hu and Kristin Lin. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episoder(491)

Best Of: Zadie Smith on Populists, Frauds and Flip Phones

Best Of: Zadie Smith on Populists, Frauds and Flip Phones

This is one of my favorite conversations in recent memory — with the writer Zadie Smith. Smith is the author of novels, including “White Teeth,” “On Beauty” and “NW,” as well as many essays and short ...

12 Des 20251h 12min

The Contradictions of Gavin Newsom

The Contradictions of Gavin Newsom

Gavin Newsom is the 2028 Democratic front-runner. That’s what many of the polls and the Polymarket betting odds say.It’s been widely believed that Newsom wants to run for president someday. But belief...

10 Des 20251h 46min

What I Learned in 2025

What I Learned in 2025

I answer your questions on the year’s political lessons, the struggles of young men and handling heat on the show.The end-of-year Ask Me Anything episode has become a tradition on the show. So as 2025...

5 Des 202559min

Interesting Times: She Exposed Epstein and Shares MAGA’s Anger

Interesting Times: She Exposed Epstein and Shares MAGA’s Anger

My colleague Ross Douthat talks to the journalist who exposed Jeffrey Epstein. This episode of “Interesting Times,” with the Miami Herald investigative journalist Julie K. Brown, came out back in July...

2 Des 202559min

Best Of: The ‘Quiet Catastrophe’ Brewing in Our Social Lives

Best Of: The ‘Quiet Catastrophe’ Brewing in Our Social Lives

The holidays are an unusually social time, filled with parties and family get-togethers. But for most of the year, we feel isolated and unsatisfied with our social lives. Our society isn’t structured ...

25 Nov 20251h 15min

Fareed Zakaria Thinks Steve Bannon Got One Thing Right

Fareed Zakaria Thinks Steve Bannon Got One Thing Right

On Monday night, in front of a live audience, I talked to Fareed Zakaria about the different political age he believes we’ve entered. Zakaria is the host of “Fareed Zakaria GPS” on CNN and the author ...

21 Nov 20251h 8min

Patti Smith on the One Desire That Lasts Forever

Patti Smith on the One Desire That Lasts Forever

Patti Smith, “the Godmother of Punk,” has lived a wild life and accumulated so much wisdom in the process. In the 1960s and ’70s, Smith was a fixture of the New York City creative scene — hanging out ...

18 Nov 20251h 17min

Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes and the Right’s ‘Groyper’ Problem

Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes and the Right’s ‘Groyper’ Problem

Is this the future of MAGA?Tucker Carlson’s interview with the white nationalist influencer Nick Fuentes has caused a firestorm on the right. Carlson and Fuentes’s friendly chat about American Jews — ...

14 Nov 20251h 23min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

aftenpodden
giver-og-gjengen-vg
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
forklart
i-retten
aftenpodden-usa
stopp-verden
popradet
det-store-bildet
rss-gukild-johaug
fotballpodden-2
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-ness
nokon-ma-ga
hanna-de-heldige
e24-podden
aftenbla-bla
grasoner-den-nye-kalde-krigen
frokostshowet-pa-p5
bt-dokumentar-2