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PODCAST

The Close Read Podcast

The Claremont Institute

Associate editor Spencer Klavan phones up authors whose CRB essays have prompted deeper reflection and discussion. Over a drink, he"ll chat with the leading minds on the Right about what"s going on in politics and literary culture. claremontinstitute.substack.com

news philosophy

All Episodes

32:46

Emmet Penney on the Global AI Race

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/11/21

A pioneer of computing technology, Nvidia produces the chief component powering the AI revolution: the microchip. Having scaled the once-niche gaming hardware firm into an industry titan, founder and CEO Jensen Huang must now navigate global trade and politics. Associate editor Spencer Klavan is joined by Emmet Penney, senior fellow of the Foundation for American Innovation and contributing editor of Compact magazine, to explain this pivotal technology for the uninitiated and discuss growing

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41:32

"Goodbye to the Good War" by Sean McMeekin

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/10/28

Associate Editor Spencer Klavan reads “Goodbye to the Good War,” Sean McMeekin’s essay on reality, myth, and World War II, featured in the summer 2025 issue. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com

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29:41

Matthew Schmitz on the New Theism

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/10/27

Until quite recently, the “New Atheism” held sway over the minds of many elites. But the secular, scientistic worldview that was once so in vogue proved radically insufficient to meet the challenges of the post-9/11 world. Now, a New Theism is gaining traction among many of the thinkers who once professed a confident unbelief. Associate Editor Spencer Klavan sits down with Matthew Schmitz, editor of Compact magazine, to discuss the profound ethical and political implications of this new theological

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16:01

"Stardust" by Helen Andrews

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/10/06

Associate Editor Spencer Klavan reads “Stardust,” Helen Andrews’s review of We Tell Ourselves Stories, featured in the summer 2025 issue. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com

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39:55

Summer 2025 Review with Charles Kesler

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/09/29

Editor Charles Kesler sits down with Associate Editor Spencer Klavan to discuss the recent summer issue. Highlighted are Christopher Caldwell’s cover essay on UK immigration and Charles’ own piece on the Joe Rogan of the UK, Jeremy Clarkson. His show, Clarkson’s Farm, is a love letter to the English everyman in a moment when Britain is labouring (pun intended) under the burdens of bad government. Also in the issue, Sean McMeekin questions the merits of World War II as an analogue for the present

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29:56

Christopher Caldwell on UK Immigration

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/09/15

The UK government of Boris Johnson, reckoning immigration as a pure economic gain, swung the door open to newcomers. Now 7 percent of the British population has been almost unilaterally imported en masse. Anger is swelling in response to “rape gangs” and other assaults on locals, and a new, populist right is materializing, with Nigel Farage leading the “fightback” against closed minds and open borders. Associate editor Spencer Klavan sits down with contributing editor Christopher Caldwell to discuss

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24:43

"A Complete Unknown," by Spencer Klavan

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/09/15

Associate Editor Spencer Klavan reads his latest piece in the CRB, “A Complete Unknown,” on Horace. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com

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30:09

"Land's End," by Christopher Caldwell

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/08/26

Associate Editor Spencer Klavan reads “Land’s End,” Christopher Caldwell’s cover essay on how mass migration has radicalized the United Kingdom, featured in the spring 2025 issue. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com

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30:24

John Rosenthal on Free Speech Online

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/08/22

The European Union’s crusade to eliminate so-called “harmful speech” has breached America’s digital boundaries. The Digital Services Act effectively gives EU bureaucrats the ability to curb Americans’ constitutional rights, doing away with free speech in today’s online public square. In this Close Read bonus episode, associate editor Spencer Klavan is joined by former professor of political philosophy and journalist of European affairs John Rosenthal to discuss how the US might counter-regulate and

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22:42

“Empire of Music,” by Vladimir Golstein

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/08/04

Associate Editor Spencer Klavan reads “Empire of Music,” Vladimir Golstein’s review of Tchaikovsky's Empire: A New Life of Russia's Greatest Composer, featured in the spring 2025 issue. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com

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27:59

Aaron Kheriaty on the Biomedial Security State

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/08/01

Few could have predicted it at the time, but the massive surveillance apparatus designed in the wake of 9/11 to fight terrorism has been turned against Americans in the wake of COVID. The biomedical security state's militarized pandemic response has accustomed Americans to being watched, shepherded, and degraded. Like terrorism, germs are a potentially ubiquitous and invisible enemy, justifying a permanent state of emergency involving levels of population management and control that Americans would

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28:55

“Make Speech Free Again,” by John Rosenthal

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/07/21

Associate Editor Spencer Klavan reads “Make Speech Free Again,” John Rosenthal’s essay on how the U.S. can defeat E.U. censorship, featured in the spring 2025 issue. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com

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26:16

Christopher Flannery on Mark Twain

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/07/18

Mark Twain’s life and work are representative of what it means to be an exceptional American. His writing is earthy, funny, and direct, but also profoundly serious about morality and politics. Contributing editor and repeat guest Christopher Flannery sits down with host Spencer Klavan to discuss this giant of American letters, whose life and legend are as grand as his own stories.

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14:47

“They Forgot to Sing,” by Anthony Esolen

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/06/30

Associate Editor Spencer Klavan reads “They Forgot to Sing,” Anthony Esolen’s review of Poetry as Enchantment, by Dana Gioia, featured in the spring 2025 issue.

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43:47

Spring 2025 Review with Charles Kesler

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/06/27

Editor Charles Kesler and Associate Editor Spencer Klavan discuss the newly released spring issue. Kesler’s cover piece, reviewing a biography of William F. Buckley, Jr., gives insight into the life and profound impact of Buckley’s career; the virtues he emanated; and the long-awaited biography by Sam Tanenhaus. William Voegeli chronicles progressives' troubled attempts to build their way out of a woke tailspin. Christopher Caldwell gives a sobering analysis of Trump’s tariffs. And Daniel Mahoney

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28:58

Barry Strauss on Ancient Alexandria

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/05/05

Alexandria: a sprawling metropolis, once the cultural capital of the Western world. It was ruled by the Ptolemies, whose queens—the Cleopatras—produced the unforgettable queen we know from Shakespeare and Plutarch. Yet their history was eclipsed by that of the Roman Empire and has lost much of its glamor in the public imagination. Spencer sits down with Hoover Institution senior fellow Barry Strauss to dust off the fascinating stories of these Macedonian queens of Egypt. Extravagant, cunning, and

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26:12

William Voegeli on How Woke Broke the Democrats

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/04/21

On the heels of a dramatic Trump victory in the 2024 election, Democrats scramble to get their bearings. Spencer is joined by senior editor William Voegeli to conduct a wellness check on the blue and battered Left, discussing both Voegeli’s recent cover essay and the eventful months of Trump 2.0 that have unfolded since it was published. Democrats remain uncomfortably yoked to their progressive wing; meanwhile, Trump spends political capital to accomplish any and every goal he’s ever harbored in his

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25:11

Winter 2024/25 Review with Charles Kesler

The Close Read Podcast ·

2025/03/24

Editor Charles Kesler and Associate Editor Spencer Klavan discuss the winter issue, hot off the press. William Voegeli’s cover essay delivers a bleak prognosis for a Democratic party unable or unwilling to cut loose woke deadweights. Kesler observes the terror struck in the heart of the administrative state by Elon Musk’s DOGE. Christopher Caldwell and Andrew Busch offer insightful analyses of populism’s rise and pitfalls in France and at home, while Daniel Mahoney and Gary Saul Morson explore

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45:25

Fall 2024 Review with Charles Kesler

The Close Read Podcast ·

2024/12/18

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33:34

William Voegeli on Shifting Party Allegiances

The Close Read Podcast ·

2024/08/16

With election day creeping ever closer, political predictions are everywhere already. Spencer takes the opportunity to sit down with Dr. William Voegeli, senior editor of the Claremont Review of Books, to survey the history and prospects of realignment. Voegeli gives an incisive explanation of the current electoral landscape and what both parties need to do to capitalize on the opportunities before them.

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