The Tableaux Grab, May 2026
Things we’ve been reading, watching, listening to that we think are worth your while.
The Ezra Klein Show: “What We Got Right—and Wrong—in Abundance”
I quite enjoyed a recent episode of the Ezra Klein Show podcast, “What We Got Right—and Wrong—in Abundance.” It’s a discussion between Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, co-authors of the book, Abundance, and Marc Dunkelman, who wrote Why Nothing Works; both books were released about a year ago.
The men explore whether their books have initiated any new movements or enthusiasm; how/if they ignored important, factors in their analysis, and how Ezra wants the concept of “abundance” to mean more than simply government efficiency. I especially appreciated Dunkelman’s summary of a key problem:
“You’ve got a solar farm here and a city there, and between the two of them are a wealthy neighborhood, a pristine forest and a struggling, more marginalized neighborhood. The [transmission] line has to go through one of those three places.
“Abundance Democrats have not articulated the way that we’re going to come to that decision expeditiously. We have given in to our fantasy that if you just put these three groups, some of whom are going to be affected by this new transmission line, into a room and have them articulate their problems, we will magically come to some sort of consensus. But in most cases, we don’t, and we often get tripped up by it.
“This is the big challenge coming for abundance: We have to build a system that allows for us to make trade-offs. We need a system where everyone has a voice and no one has a veto, where we get to a decision expeditiously and it’s not subject to endless litigation.
“The challenge for our movement, for abundance, generally, and for progressivism, is: How do we make government work?
“You’re right that abundance should be bigger than: Let’s get rid of red tape. This is not getting rid of red tape. This is metabolizing a whole series of conflicting interests so that we get to a decision.
Catherine Chester
“Conversations with Tyler” podcast
I love a good interview show, and having grown up with Dick Cavett, David Frost, and Terri Gross, the bar for me is very high. I want expert interviewers who can have absorbing conversations with great guests, on a range of subjects. Who can connect deeply with people we’ve all heard interviewed elsewhere and bring out a new side to them that we’ve never experienced.
Tyler Cowen’s Conversations with Tyler podcast easily clears that bar. He’s an economics professor at George Mason University, but he’s intellectually omnivorous with a superpower—hyperlexia, meaning he reads five to ten times faster than the average person—that he puts to excellent use. No one seems to read as much, or as widely, as Cowen. And he usually often shows up to interviews having read his guest’s entire works, sometimes more than once.
Tyler routinely surprises his guests with great questions right from the start. There’s no chit chat and no bro talk. I listen on Spotify, but you can listen on other major podcast platforms or on the show’s site.
Since 2015, Tyler’s guests have ranged from Malcom Gladwell, Paul Krugman, Camille Paglia, and Rick Rubin to lesser-known but fascinating recent subjects as UPenn professor and archeologist Kim Bowes on the economic lives of Rome's ninety percent; historian Paul Gillingham on why Mexico stays together and his new history of Mexico; and historian Stephen Kotkin on Stalin, power, and the art of biography.
In fact, as I write this a new episode just posted that I can’t wait to listen to on my drive back tonight: author Bob Spitz on the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen.
Joe Polidoro