Doppelganger
by Naomi Klein
Mentioned once across 1 show · first heard May 2026 on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard.
The general take
Ezra Klein sees Naomi Klein's "Doppelganger" as an insightful exploration of how fringe political figures like Steve Bannon and Nick Fuentes operated in the shadows before their ideas broke into mainstream politics. He credits the book with explaining how what was once marginal has now become central to political discourse.
About
This program is read by the author. "An elegant hybrid of memoir and social science that traces the motif of the double throughout history, literature and Klein's personal life."— The New York Times “If ever a book was necessary, it’s this one.” —Bill McKibben “Thoughtful and honest . . . Incisive . . . Klein moves her reader toward the truer grounds of solidarity in these times.” —Judith Butler What if you woke up one morning and found you’d acquired another self—a double who was almost you and yet not you at all? What if that double shared many of your preoccupations but, in a twisted, upside-down way, furthered the very causes you’d devoted your life to fighting against?
Who said what
Ezra Klein👍 Recommends
…naomi klein book about political shadow networks and cancellation effects
“Naomi Klein, the leftist writer and theorist, has a great book on this called Doppelganger. It created a sort of shadow world of Steve Bannon's and Fuentes and things happening outside the sightline of mainstream politics. And now that shadow politics has become mainstream politics.”
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard — Ezra Klein Returns (on political polarization)at 30:00
Listener reviews
Bought Doppelganger after hearing about it? Tell everyone how it went.
