The McConnell effect

The Senate trial is officially underway. What’s happened so far? How will the trial proceed from here on out? And will any Republicans defect? Vox’s Li Zhou has the answers. Then Andrew Prokop and I talk Mitch McConnell: who he is, what motivates him, how he amassed so much power, and what his actions reveal about the underlying forces driving American politics. Contrary to much of the rhetoric on the left, McConnell is not the source of our political dysfunction; he is merely a manifestation of the dysfunction that already exists.  References: Andrew Prokop's profile of Mitch McConnell Host(s): Ezra Klein (@ezraklein), Editor-at-large, Vox Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Senior politics correspondent, Vox Guests:  Li Zhou (@lizhou), Politics and policy reporter, Vox Andrew Prokop (@awprokop), Senior politics correspondent, Vox  Want to contact the show? Reach out at ezrakleinshow@vox.com Ezra's book is available for pre-order! You can find it at www.EzraKlein.com You can subscribe to Ezra's other podcast The Ezra Klein Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts Credits: Producer, Engineer, Editor - Jeff Geld Researcher - Roge Karma EP - Liz Nelson Theme music composed by Jon Natchez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Om Podcasten

We are living through history, but keeping up with the unending stream of revelations, statements, tweets, and disputes is already difficult enough. If we’re going to understand this inquiry–and this presidency–we need to slow down the news cycle long enough to separate the signal from the noise. Every Saturday, Ezra Klein will do just that – through deep conversations with Vox reporters and leading policy voices about what’s going on, why it matters, and where it leaves us now.