Host: Chris Dolin

In the wake of the killing of Charlie Kirk, Bernie Sanders said that Charlie Kirk was “a very smart and effective communicator and organizer and someone unafraid to get out into the world and engage the public.” Gavin Newsom on Kirk “I admired his passion and commitment to debate.” And Ezra Klein praised Charlie Kirk for “doing politics the right way” in a New York Times op-ed. If you’ve ever heard sound bytes from Charlie Kirk, you may wonder if any of them had actually ever heard him speak.

Ta-Nehisi Coates responded in a Vanity Fair piece -doing something no one else did, that is, actually quoting Charlie Kirk, and then Klein invited Coates to discuss their disagreement on Klein’s podcast.

Let’s talk about it….

What’s it like to read Ta-Nehisi Coates’ piece immediately following Ezra Klein’s piece? What sorts of feelings come up in your body as you read each? If you re-read each?

There are a lot of layers here, and in the podcast episode, they end up discussing more than just Klein’s NYT editorial piece. As you listen to each of them, think about how their lived experiences (or lack thereof) shape the lens through which they see and analyze and feel the world. What stands out to you about what each of them are saying and trying to communicate to each other and to us?

What aspects of whiteness/white supremacy culture do you notice?

These are listed in chronological order:

1. Ezra Klein Opinion Charlie Kirk Was Practicing Politics the Right Way
2. Ta-Nehisi Coates Response in Vanity Fair – Charlie Kirk Redeemed: a Political Class Finds Its Lost Cause
3. Video: Ta-Nehisi Coates and Ezra Klein Hash Out Their Charlie Kirk Disagreement