The Ezra Klein Show · 2026-02-10 · 89 min · 16,834 words

George Saunders on Anger, Ambition and Sin

Listen to the original audio · Transcribed with NVIDIA Parakeet · Timestamps stay in sync with the live audio

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I think there tend to be two ways to know the novelist George Saunders. One is through his amazing novels and short story collections, Lincoln and the Bardo, is, I think, one of my favorite books of all time. The other is in his public-facing role as one of America's leading prophets, proselytizers of kindness. And this role is built on the virality of this beautiful commencement speech he gave some years ago about kindness.

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