Vox’s Ezra Klein to join New York Times as columnist, podcast host

Vox co-founder and editor-at-large Ezra Klein will be leaving the outlet to join The New York Times as a columnist and podcast host. 

Times Opinion announced the addition Friday in a statement from editors Kathleen Kingsbury and Paula Szuchman, who wrote that Klein “will be able to help our readers and listeners navigate the political future as Washington moves into a new era.”

Klein confirmed the news on Twitter Friday afternoon, writing that “after nearly eight amazing years building, editing, and working” at Vox, he will be officially moving to the Times in January. 

“Helping to build @voxdotcom has been the great privilege of my journalistic life,” he wrote. “It is so much more than I ever could have imagined, and that’s because of the insanely creative, committed people who work there.

“I love them more than I can say. I will cheer them on forever,” he added. 

“I’ve always believed it’s important for founders to know when to let new generations take the reins,” he continued. “One of the great privileges in starting Vox was we got to build without anyone looking over our shoulder. We got to pursue our vision, make our mistakes, imagine our future.”

Helping to build @voxdotcom has been the great privilege of my journalistic life. It is so much more than I ever could have imagined, and that’s because of the insanely creative, committed people who work there. I love them more than I can say. I will cheer them on forever.

— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) November 20, 2020

We could only do that because we were supported by a great company that believed in us. The single best decision we ever made was joining @JimBankoff and @Clockwerks at @VoxMedia. It’s a truly special place, with unusually great leadership and culture.

— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) November 20, 2020

Klein, who founded Vox with Melissa Bell and Matthew Yglesias in 2014, published the book “Why We’re Polarized” this year and, in 2018, launched the Netflix series “Explained,” covering topics from the racial wealth gap in the U.S. to the rise of cryptocurrency.

Klein also confirmed Friday that Vox’s editor-in-chief, Lauren Williams, will be leaving her role in February. 

Williams tweeted Friday that she will help launch Capital B, a local and national nonprofit news organization serving Black audiences, in mid-2021. 

So I’m thrilled to share that my friend @ko_616 and I are launching Capital B, a local and national nonprofit news organization serving Black audiences, in mid-2021.

— Lauren Williams (@laurenwilliams) November 20, 2020

Last week, Yglesias announced that he had left Vox to start his own newsletter, although he told Axios at the time that he will continue to host his Vox Media podcast, “The Weeds.”

The series of Vox departures followed journalist Glenn Greenwald’s resignation last month from The Intercept seven years after co-founding the online publication, citing censorship by his own editors over an article concerning President-elect Joe Biden.