Designer and Design Matters host Debbie Millman joins Ezra Klein to consider why so much of the contemporary built and visual world can feel drab or interchangeable, and what different ideas of beauty reveal.
Her published recommendations are a literary mix: an anthology of American poetry, novels by Gabriel García Márquez and James Joyce, and Roxane Gay’s memoir. These four titles appear in the episode’s book recommendation section.
Guest: Debbie Millman
Episode: Is the World Getting Uglier?
Released: October 2, 2026
Debbie’s four picks
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The Voice That Is Great Within Us
An anthology of twentieth-century American poetry, selected and introduced by Hayden Carruth. The collection brings a wide range of poetic voices and styles into one volume.
Love in the Time of Cholera
After a youthful romance ends, Florentino Ariza continues to love Fermina Daza across decades. García Márquez explores aging, desire, memory, and the stories people tell about enduring love.
Ulysses
Joyce follows Leopold Bloom, Stephen Dedalus, and the life of Dublin over a single day. Shifting voices and literary forms turn ordinary encounters into a vast experiment in consciousness and language.
Hunger
Roxane Gay writes about trauma, food, the body, and the scrutiny directed at physical appearance. Her memoir examines what it means to seek safety and live in a body others continually judge.
An independent reading guide. Not affiliated with The Ezra Klein Show or The New York Times. Recommendations are sourced from the episode’s published show notes.