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You'll remember Washington's War Council rejected a plan to attaack Boston in mid-February, instead telling Washington to put cannons up on Dorchester Heights. This is a contingency attack plan written by those same generals, should the British attack Dorchester Heights. They didn't feel great about its potential for success, and luckily, things turn out differently on the high ground around Boston later in March. Stay tuned!
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Today on The Gist, President Trump's marathon two-hour State of the Union address with a quick quiz: Can you spot the actual presidential claim among the fakes? Then, C. Thi Nguyen joins the show to unpack the powerful psychology behind our convictions. They discuss why our limiting beliefs are exactly like our own faces (we can't see them without a mirror), how chronic neuroplastic pain can be cured by simply teaching your brain you're safe, and why the placebo effect is somehow getting stronger every single year.
Produced by Corey Wara
Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig
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President Trump’s approval ratings on the economy, immigration and trade are deep in the red. But in Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, he decided to tell the American people: You don’t know what you’re talking about.
“Today our border is secure, our spirit is restored, inflation is plummeting, incomes are rising fast. The roaring economy is roaring like never before,” he said.
I’m not going to fact-check the president in this episode. But I do want to ask: Even if he can’t be honest with the American people, is he at least being honest with himself?
My editor Aaron Retica joins me to discuss.
Mentioned:
“I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration” by Miles Taylor
“Has Trump Achieved a Lot Less Than It Seems?” with Yuval Levin on “The Ezra Klein Show”
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, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. 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 Claire Gordon and Marie Cascione. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Isaac Jones & Aman Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Annie Galvin, Rollin Hu, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, Jack McCordick, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director 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.
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In this episode, Ravi Gupta talks with Time’s Andrew Chow about an unlikely coalition rising up against AI — from MAGA-aligned tech skeptics to democratic socialists pushing for data center moratoriums. They trace how local activism is already stalling major infrastructure projects, even as Big Tech prepares to flood elections with money to keep regulation at bay. The conversation zeroes in on the highest-stakes frontier: AI’s role in weapons and domestic surveillance, and whether any company will hold firm on its “red lines” when contracts and market pressure hit. Ultimately, Ravi frames it as a defining political fight of the decade: can everyday people set the terms, or will the machines — and the companies building them — decide for us?
Andrew Chow’s The People vs. AI (Time, Feb 2026)
Ravi’s recent substack post: The Melt-Up
Join Squadra, Ravi's fitness community
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Notes from this episode are also available on Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/
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Listen to Where the Schools Went: https://thebranchmedia.org/show/where-the-schools-went/
Hello!
Today, we talk about Graham Platner’s lead in Maine, the Olympics Patriotism Complex and everything Alysa Liu. Also, is the right annoying everyone away right now? That question and more in this week’s episode.
For just under two hours, Trump in his State of the Union address lied about the state of the economy, the cost of living, his tariffs, and even his immigration policy—claiming that he favors legal immigration while his armed, masked goons grab and imprison people who followed the law. And if Americans didn’t hear Trump discuss any real policy proposals in speech, it might be because he’s a bit distracted with his quest to capture more media outlets, including his longtime nemesis, CNN. Trump’s attempt to silence dissent has become the signature of his presidency. Plus, the paradoxes and conflicting signals on Iran, the sellout of bipartisan support for Ukraine, Vance finally has a job as VP, and POTUS only allows robotically remixed, Fox fever-dream women in his Cabinet.
Susan Glasser joins Tim Miller.
show notes