Ezra Klein

And it's going to be a pretty straight line. All A's equal, good job. The future is foggier. What they will need to know is maybe a little foggier. What then should a parent be trying to watch in the meantime?

And it's going to be a pretty straight line. All A's equal, good job. The future is foggier. What they will need to know is maybe a little foggier. What then should a parent be trying to watch in the meantime?

How do you think about whether or not your kid's education is going well if you're a little suspicious that the grades designed for, and maybe even not that well designed for, the society we have had are not going to correlate all that well to the society we will have?

How do you think about whether or not your kid's education is going well if you're a little suspicious that the grades designed for, and maybe even not that well designed for, the society we have had are not going to correlate all that well to the society we will have?

I think that's a good place to end. Thank you for speaking and listening with me. Always our final question. What are three books you'd recommend to the audience?

I think that's a good place to end. Thank you for speaking and listening with me. Always our final question. What are three books you'd recommend to the audience?

Rebecca Winthrop, thank you very much.

Rebecca Winthrop, thank you very much.

This episode of The Ezra Klein Show is produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld with additional mixing by Amin Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show's production team also includes Marie Cassione, Roland Hu, Elias Iskwith, Marina King, Jan Kobel, Kristen Lin, and Jack McCordick.

This episode of The Ezra Klein Show is produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld with additional mixing by Amin Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show's production team also includes Marie Cassione, Roland Hu, Elias Iskwith, Marina King, Jan Kobel, Kristen Lin, and Jack McCordick.

We have original music by Pat McCusker, audience strategy by Christina Samulowski, and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie Rose Strasser, and special thanks to Switch & Board Podcast Studio.

We have original music by Pat McCusker, audience strategy by Christina Samulowski, and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie Rose Strasser, and special thanks to Switch & Board Podcast Studio.

Today, we're re-airing an episode from The Archive, my interview with the author, the legend, Margaret Atwood.

Today, we're re-airing an episode from The Archive, my interview with the author, the legend, Margaret Atwood.

We first taped this episode back in February 2022, and I wasn't sure we'd ever really get to air it, because after we taped it, Russia invaded Ukraine, and we held it, and we held it, and we held it, and I was worried it would feel too out of date, given how much had happened in the world. But somehow it didn't age at all. And three years later, that's still true.

We first taped this episode back in February 2022, and I wasn't sure we'd ever really get to air it, because after we taped it, Russia invaded Ukraine, and we held it, and we held it, and we held it, and I was worried it would feel too out of date, given how much had happened in the world. But somehow it didn't age at all. And three years later, that's still true.

This episode, in weird ways, feels more relevant today than it does when we taped it. And I think that's one of Atwood's great gifts, this eerie prescience, which is one reason her work has proven so long-lived. When we spoke, she just published an essay collection, Burning Questions. And she has a new book coming out in the fall, Book of Lives, A Memoir of Sorts.

This episode, in weird ways, feels more relevant today than it does when we taped it. And I think that's one of Atwood's great gifts, this eerie prescience, which is one reason her work has proven so long-lived. When we spoke, she just published an essay collection, Burning Questions. And she has a new book coming out in the fall, Book of Lives, A Memoir of Sorts.

Margaret Atwood, welcome to the show. Happy to be here. So let's begin with this. Why do human beings think in stories?

Margaret Atwood, welcome to the show. Happy to be here. So let's begin with this. Why do human beings think in stories?