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IrelandEzra Klein asks what Musk wants beyond election victories
Historian Quinn Slobodian examines technological dependency, while Aaron Retica joins Klein for the post-midterm reckoning.
The Ezra Klein Show
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Elon Musk’s Endgame | The Ezra Klein Show
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- 2:23Slobodian argues that Musk combines dependency on his infrastructure with ideological influence through X.
- 7:18An archival Musk interview frames AI safety around systems that seek truth and remain curious.
- 18:31Slobodian credits in-house manufacturing and vertical integration with reducing costs and supply-chain risks.
- 44:35Slobodian argues that automating cognitive work could concentrate power in a small technological elite.
- 53:46The discussion considers state reliance on Musk and proposals to nationalize or replace Starlink.
SpaceX launches rockets; Starlink supplies connectivity; X shapes political conversation. For Ezra Klein and historian Quinn Slobodian, the question is what happens when so many kinds of influence belong to the same person.
"Elon Musk's Endgame | The Ezra Klein Show" was the most watched of the channel's ten new uploads, reaching roughly 751,000 views. Slobodian, a Boston University professor and co-author of "Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed," offers a direct answer to its central question: "I think he's trying to entrench the dependency that he already enjoys." He distinguishes the infrastructure people and governments rely on from the ideological influence Musk exercises through X.
The conversation also makes room for an uncomfortable distinction: understanding industrial achievement is not the same as endorsing political ambition. Klein pushes against the temptation to assume that someone you dislike cannot be impressive. Later, the pair examine whether governments should regulate, replace or nationalize infrastructure such as Starlink.
Then the election results changed the channel's subject. In "Blue Wave, Big Tent | The Ezra Klein Show," Klein and his editor Aaron Retica consider Democratic victories, the unraveling of Trump's coalition and how Democrats should govern. It drew roughly 613,000 views in a little over a day and is now the channel's strongest source of daily viewing. Extracts about the Democratic coalition and Trumpism carry the next-largest momentum.
The audience is expanding, with weekly subscriber gains running faster than the past month's average and daily views more than double their usual level. Nearby in size, The Rest Is Politics is also having a busier-than-usual spell. Klein's own week connects the two sides of an election: the power invested in shaping it, and the choices left to those who won.
A Canadian historian who studies international history and holds a professorship in the subject at Boston University.
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- Channel
- The Ezra Klein Show
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- 599,000 ▲ 7,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 3,773,626
- Videos published this week
- 10
- Video published
- October 30, 2026
- Video views so far
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- Views on its first day
- 373,030
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💡 Test your knowledge
Who co-wrote "Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed" with Quinn Slobodian?
Slobodian co-wrote "Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed" with Ben Tarnoff.