Is Your Social Life Missing Something? This Is For You. | The Ezra Klein Show
February 3, 2026
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1:33:28Now PlayingIs Your Social Life Missing Something? This Is For You. | The Ezra Klein Show
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as posted by the channelMy motivation for this episode is personal. One of my resolutions this year is to spend more time hosting and to make those gatherings more meaningful.
I think a lot of us wish we had better social lives and a stronger feeling of community around us. But it’s hard. We’re busy, we’re tired, and social planning and hosting can feel like just more work. So I asked Priya Parker on the show to help.
Parker is the author of “The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters” and a wonderful Substack, Group Life. She’s also a conflict resolution facilitator. And she just thinks about gathering and hosting in a different way from anyone else I’ve ever met. For her, it’s about more than just throwing a great dinner party; it’s about how we build community across differences, all the way up to how gathering can help create a better politics. The way Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign thought about community and built community among its volunteers was partly based on her work and advice.
This episode is a bit of a break from politics — but also not. Because pulling the people we love closer and spending more time together rather than alone are as essential as any political or civic discipline could be right now.
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Guests & Subjects Covered
Claims
6 claims extractedLack of gathering leads to authoritarianism
Trump is an excellent gatherer and host
Voters chose Mamdani for gathering experience not ideology
Social movements revealed truth but lack repair mechanisms
Late-stage individualism has severed individual from community
Religious traditions center community and hospitality to strangers
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