Political commentators Ben Domenech, Ezra Klein speak at Purdue for 150th Giant Leaps event

President Mitch Daniels, Ezra Klein and Ben Domenech. (Purdue University photo/Rebecca Wilcox) Download image

Renowned political writers and commentators Ben Domenech and Ezra Klein were featured speakers at a 150 Years of Giant Leaps event on Wednesday (Sept. 26) in Stewart Center’s Fowler Hall.

Domenech, the founder and publisher of The Federalist, and Klein, editor-at-large and founder of Vox, joined Purdue President Mitch Daniels for the Giant Leaps Series: The Current Supreme Court Nomination and Evolving Arguments in American Politics, an hourlong conversation and audience Q&A.

This is one of many events celebrating Purdue’s Sesquicentennial, 150 Years of Giant Leaps. The yearlong celebration is highlighting Purdue’s remarkable history of giant leaps, while focusing on what giant leaps Purdue can take to address the world’s problems.

Klein is the editor-at-large and founder of Vox, as well as the host of “The Ezra Klein Show” podcast. Before that, he was columnist and editor at The Washington Post, a policy analyst at MSNBC, and a contributor to Bloomberg. He’s written for the New Yorker and the New York Review of Books, and appeared on “Face the Nation,” “Real Time with Bill Maher,” “PBS Newshour,” “The Daily Show,” and many more programs.

Domenech is the publisher of The Federalist, host of “The Federalist Radio Hour,” and writes The Transom, a daily subscription newsletter for political insiders. He was previously a fellow at The Manhattan Institute and a senior fellow at The Heartland Institute; editor in chief of The City, an academic journal on faith and culture; and a speechwriter for former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson and U.S. Senator John Cornyn of Texas. He co-founded Redstate and co-hosted “Coffee & Markets,” an award-winning economic podcast. His writing has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast, Politico, Commentary, Reason, and GQ, and he is a CBS News commentator.