The Ezra Klein Show - Trump’s Fantasy State of the Union

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.

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60 Songs That Explain the '90s - D’Angelo—“Untitled (How Does It Feel)”

Today, Rob breaks down one of the many impossible expectations we have for our musical stars—the memorial performance. After years of staying out of the public eye, D’Angelo paid tribute to the artist he grew up imitating, Prince, not because he was expected to but because he had something to share. The bulk of D’Angelo’s career was spent defying our expectations, from taking his time between each of his three studio albums to refusing to become a one-dimensional sex symbol after the release of his “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” music video. Rob speaks to author and poet Hanif Abdurraqib about how we misinterpreted this music video and how we should all be grateful we were born at a time when we could listen to D’Angelo.


Host: Rob Harvilla

Producers: Justin Sayles and Olivia Crerie

Additional Video Editing: Kevin Pooler

Guest: Hanif Abdurraqib

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Pod Save America - 1126: The State of the Union Is Long

Donald Trump breaks his own record for longest State of the Union in history, delivering a meandering, angry, tone-deaf speech that utterly fails at its single most important goal: laying out a clear plan for lowering prices. Jon, Lovett, Dan, and Tommy react to Trump's stunts—including bringing on the members of the USA Hockey men's team—what he said about his plans for Iran, the fights he tried to pick with Democrats, and the official Democratic response from Gov. Abigail Spanberger.

The Indicator from Planet Money - What an Epstein recording reveals about how elites get jobs

What do the latest batch of documents tell us about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and elite networking? Quite a bit. Today on the show, we analyze one exchange between Epstein and a former world leader to find out how the revolving door works for the rich and powerful.

FYI, we are going on a book tour! Planet Money’s first ever book comes out in April. We’ll be celebrating in about a dozen cities. There’s a limited-edition tote bag included with your ticket, while supplies last. Details, dates and how to get your ticket at planetmoneybook.com

Related episodes: 
Gilded Age 2.0?  
How close is the US to crony capitalism? 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Vito Emanuel. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

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NPR's Book of the Day - ‘The Renovation’ is a novel with a surrealist take on prison structures big and small

There are many ways that a home renovation project can become a nightmare for all involved. But in The Renovation, narrator Dilara’s remodeling woes aren’t strictly financial or aesthetic—they’re absurdly surreal. When she finds her bathroom transformed into an armed Turkish prison cell, Dilara and her family must reckon with fragments of their past, present and future, all while fighting against the pace of time itself. In today’s episode, author Kenan Orhan joins NPR’s Scott Simon to discuss his debut novel, and how the concept of “prison” is a metaphor in far more ways than one.

To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

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