
What We Got Right — and Wrong — in ‘Abundance’
From The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion
April 28, 2026 · 2h 3m
About this episode
Ezra Klein discusses the impact and critiques of the 'Abundance' movement with co-author Derek Thompson and Marc Dunkelman.
“Abundance” came out a little over a year ago. It’s been exciting — and a little disorienting — seeing how it’s rippled out into the world, and the ways it’s been embraced and debated and critiqued. So I wanted to take a moment to talk through what’s really happened in the last year – with Derek Thompson, my “Abundance” co-author, and Marc Dunkelman, whose book “Why Nothing Works” came out around the same time, and circles the same ideas. What has the abundance movement actually achieved in the last year? Where has it fallen short? And what have the three of us learned from our critics? Mentioned: Ezra is moderating a forum on housing and affordability with some of the top California gubernatorial candidates. The event is on Friday, May 8, in Oakland, CA. You can buy tickets here. Use the code EKSHOW for 20 percent off your order. Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson Why Nothing Works by Marc J. Dunkelman Derek Thompson’s Substack The Power Elite by C. Wright Mills The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro “The Most Expensive Mile of Subway Track on Earth” by Brian M. Rosenthal “Why Are Palantir and OpenAI Scared of Alex Bores?” by The Ezra Klein Show “The Anti-Social Century” by…
People in this episode
Host: Ezra Klein
Guests: Derek Thompson, Marc Dunkelman
Topics covered
- abundance movement
- critique
- housing affordability
- cultural debate
- book discussion
Keywords
- abundance
- Derek Thompson
- Marc Dunkelman
- housing
- cultural critique
- book discussion
- society
Sponsors
New York Times Opinion
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Abundance, Why Nothing Works, The Most Expensive Mile of Subway Track on Earth, Why Are Palantir and OpenAI Scared of Alex Bores?, The Anti-Social Century, Bowling Alone, The Permanent Problem, Making a New Deal, Stuck, Cadillac Desert
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