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 [email protected] 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