The American Mind Podcast

Trump was back in Butler this week after a failed assassination attempt there—and joining him on-stage this time was none other than Elon Musk. But will MAGA Musk last? Meanwhile, Kamala Harris has been giggling her way through a few shows and podcasts, notably including the crude and awkward chat pod, Call Her Daddy. The editors discuss Harris’s many faceplants, the potential of the pod-bro vote, and the signs that Democrats may be worried by the polls. Recommended media: Mr. X Identity in the Trenches: The Fatal Impact of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on U.S. Military Readiness Winter 2023/24 Review with Charles Kesler This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Seth Barron returns to the podcast to discuss Tuesday’s rousing VP Debate, in which a silver-tongued J.D. Vance thoroughly trounced a sputtering and nervous Tim Walz. Will it matter at all? Meanwhile, the world collapses in on the giant power vacuum left by America’s absent president, as Hurricane Helene ravages six states and Iran launches missiles at Israel. Plus: immigration expert Todd Bensman gives his firsthand account of the shocking immigration debacle in Colombia, and what the Trump team ought to be doing about it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

In today's special edition of The Roundtable, Ryan Williams, President of the Claremont Institute interviews Vivek Ramaswamy about his latest book "Truths: The Future of America First." Buy the book here. In "Truths: The Future of America First," Ramaswamy shows exactly how honesty about the most important issues will get our country back on track. The America First movement emphasizes the issues that bring us together, not what divides us. It asks that we put our country over politics, merit over grievance, and truth over lies. Ramaswamy tells us the truth about our political system, and the people who control it, and exhorts us to exercise our right to self-governance again. Vivek is an American business leader and New York Times bestselling author of "Woke, Inc.," as well as "Nation of Victims," "Capitalist Punishment," and most recently "Truths: The Future of America First." Left leaning media has called him one of the “intellectual godfathers of the anti-woke movement” (Politico) and the “right’s leading anti-ESG crusader” (Axios and Bloomberg). He was dubbed “The C.E.O. of Anti-Woke,” by The New Yorker. Vivek is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Roivant Sciences. He is a former U.S. Presidential Candidate (R). He was born in Cincinnati to Indian parents. In high school he was class valedictorian, a nationally ranked junior tennis player and an accomplished pianist. He lives in Ohio with his wife and two sons. Learn more about Vivek Ramaswamy's work here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Not even two months after the first assassination attempt against him, President Trump survives another one. Media coverage of the event has been—predictably—atrocious. Meanwhile, Ketanji Brown Jackson has, by citing a junk study to support affirmative action, perfectly illuminated the dishonesty inherent in modern uses of social science. One of which is to support the Left’ in its march toward mass censorship against anyone who doesn’t support the current thing. Plus: an announcement about James & Seth. Recommended media: The Lord’s Day vs. the NFL Light of the Mind, Light of the World: Illuminating Science Through Faith Referenced Theo Wold X Post This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

In a special, up-to-the-minute episode of The Roundtable, Mike, Spencer, and Ryan give their first impressions of what was, by all accounts, a dog's breakfast of a debate. Topics include Trump's missed opportunities, Kamala's boldfaced lies, and the hellaciously biased moderation by ABC's David Muir and Linsey Davis. Plus: will Trump's closing mic drop be enough to win voters over? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

In a time when the slimmest margins in just a couple of swing states can flip national elections, Democrats are making a play for the pews. Claremont Institute Lincoln Fellow and Daily Wire Reporter Megan Basham joins the editors to discuss her latest book, Shepherds for Sale, which describes a left-wing effort to wield evangelical voting power and moral prestige for woke causes. Plus: Brazil is encroaching on the free speech rights of Americans through sanctions on X/Twitter, while the FBI is consulting with the Brazilian government to facilitate the encroachment. Are we heading toward jail time for memes? Mentioned media: Fleecing the Flock Stop It by Bob Newhart This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

RFK Jr. has stepped out of the presidential race and thrown his weight behind Trump. Will it help, or will he be forced back onto the ballot in swing states by the court? And will RFK’s movement be absorbed by the Right, or remake the Right in its image? Meanwhile, Disney tried to argue that a man couldn’t sue them and would have to go through arbitration because he once signed up for a Disney+ trial and thus was bound to their terms of service. Are infamous terms of service a backdoor to suppressing citizen rights and freedoms, or a necessary evil in the modern world? The editors break it down. In closing, they take a closer look at where the abortion issue currently stands and where it might go now that Dobbs is the law of the land. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

As the spectacle of the DNC passes before our screens, the Obamas expertly put a button on the Left's fable of Joe's evanescence and Kamala's rise to greatness. But will it stick, and how far can media hype take Comrade Kamala? She has been surprisingly aggressive about wearing Trump’s campaign policies as a skinsuit, yet simultaneously running economically to the left of...herself and her own administration. Are Americans converging around a particular basket of populist policy positions, and will Kamala’s gambit to play both sides work? The editors disentangle the headlines and the emerging trends. Plus: a new cast lineup, featuring Mike Sabo! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

As we hurtle ever closer to the election and headlines fly past left and right, it can be hard to tell which news stories will make a dent, and which will vanish into the memory hole. Spencer and Ryan bring on former Bureau of Justice Statistics Director Jeffrey H. Anderson to game out what major points of late will ultimately help determine the final electoral count, from Walz’s dubious military service claims, to JD Vance’s net worth, to polling, and more! Recommended reading/listening Covid Catastrophes Jeffrey H. Anderson on the Real Covid Catastrophe This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Kamala Harris has chosen her VP, and he's right out of central casting--if you're shooting an episode of Ted Lasso featuring nationwide race riots. That's right, it's Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. It's unclear that this will do much to buttress support for Harris among the "white dudes" she claims to be courting, but she's at least avoided angering the pro-Hamas crowd by not picking Palestine critic Josh Shapiro. Meanwhile, Hamas itself took an L when one of its leaders was assassinated by a bomb planted in the Tehran guesthouse. Finally, Google lost a massive anti-trust lawsuit recently for monopolizing search engines. Is the ruling a step in the right direction, or a token win for everyday people while Google continues to operate in the shadows? Recommended reading: The Final GirlBoss Line Up, White Boys! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

The lame duck Biden Administration, in its last-ditch effort to leave a mark on US policy, is threatening to pack the Supreme Court. Is court packing a trial balloon for a future attempt by another Democrat administration, a winning policy issue, or a toothless threat? Meanwhile, another viral TikTok trend has been absorbed into mainstream Democrat rhetoric. After all, arguments are hard: why not just sideye people you don’t like, label them “weird,” and call it a day? Plus: James pulls philosophy out of a gigachad meme. The editors break down the news (and the memes) before reminding you to read the damn site. Recommended reading: All the White Dudes A National Revival? Europe Clamps Down This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

It's official: Joe Biden has failed to resist the onslaught of pressure from the elites that are really in charge of far-left politics. Kamala Harris is now ascendant, throwing the 2024 election further into chaos. With veepstakes well underway, it seems party elites are already putting a bow on a nice little political coup--in other words, it's “our democracy in action.” Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign has been doing a better job of making him look relatable and rolling with the punches. The editors provide wise insights and crackpot theories in equal measure, before reminding you to read the damn site. Recommended reading: Eff Bee Why The Home Depot Lady Must Be Canceled Democrats Flunk Democracy This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Donald Trump was nearly assassinated last weekend, but for the few degrees of rotation that brought his head out of the bullet’s trajectory at the last possible second. The events surrounding the attempted assassination raise questions about everything from media integrity, to secret service incompetence, to… epistemology? But one thing is certain: Trump has become a world-historic figure. In the days following the attempt on his life, he has named JD Vance his VP pick, and the RNC is well underway. The editors take a holistic look at these developments and what we might expect in our political future before reminding you to read the damn site. Recommended reading: The Shot Heard ‘Round the World No Going Back No Rotten Miracles This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Biden’s debate performance was so horrid that Democrats have taken it as license to wonder openly who else could be their candidate. But is it too little too late? Trump has taken some notes and mellowed out—at least, after his fashion. The GOP, for its part, has adopted a new, slimmed-down and notably altered platform, having gone without one in 2020. The new one hedges on staple issues like abortion, perhaps out of necessity in the current climate. The editors examine the increasingly clear political field at home before taking a look at the European elections across the pond and reminding you, for a change, to read some damn SCOTUS rulings. Recommended reading: Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo Opinion This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

The editors are off this week to celebrate the Fourth of July with family, friends, and fellow patriots. Happy 4th from everyone at TAM! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

The Supreme Court ruled in Murthy v. Missouri, that the states of Missouri and Louisiana have no standing to challenge the Biden Administration’s meddling in online speech. So who does? Meanwhile, Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, has reached a plea deal with the US and is now a free man, leaving onlookers to wonder about details of the deal that—ironically—will probably remain secret. Finally, the editors take George Latimer’s expensive primary victory over Jamaal Bowman as occasion to look at the internal battle on the Left between old guard Marxists and the new cultural purists. And of course, you are reminded to read the damn site! Recommended reading: Hell Is Empty and All the Bots Are Here Biden’s Escalating Border Crisis Politics Is Not Downstream From Culture TV Is Always Progressive This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Steve Bannon looks to be headed to prison in July as a result of a totally normal and not-at-all political conviction that will take him out of the picture for four of the election campaign's most important months. Nothing to see here! Meanwhile, the CIA's venture cutout In-Q-Tel seems to be gearing up to run its own disinformation campaign. The editors also dive into the antics of environmental activist group Just Stop Oil, which has painted Stonehenge orange so that they can something something save the world. Plus: a geopolitical chess game unfolds along Florida's coastline as Russian warships show up in eyeshot of Miami. The editors reflect on it all and remind you to read the damn site. Recommended reading: Merging Pig with Soy The Purpose of Art in Wartime Europe Swings Right This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Hunter Biden has been found guilty of lying about his drug habits on an application to obtain a firearm—does it matter? Is this a triumph of impartial justice or a smokescreen to cover up other Biden crimes? Meanwhile, Israel has recovered some of its hostages from Hamas, which you would think is cause for celebration—but not for useful idiots in the Western media. And Europe may be heading rightward as its immigration crisis worsens still further. The editors puzzle through it all and remind you to read the damn site. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Trump’s enemies can’t seem to let go of their obsession with him, or keep themselves from living up to the worst things he says about them. New York DA Alvin Bragg obtained the felony conviction his supporters have been lusting after since he entered office, upending the legal system in the process. Meanwhile the media ecosystem has already been thoroughly corrupted, in part to protect Biden and Obama from scrutiny over their duplicitous dealings in the middle east. Plus: pride month is a little subdued this year. Is this a reversal in the woke wars, or just a tactical retreat? The editors discuss, and invite you to read the damn site. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

The Libertarian Party has rejected RFK in favor of a no-name candidate, Chase Oliver—but he’s a far cry from Libertarians of old. Meanwhile, the US military-built aid pier on Gaza’s coast was hit by harsh seas and will become an artificial reef if not repaired soon, shining a light on the degradation of the military’s infrastructure capabilities. Finally, old recognizes old as the Biden admin trots out Robert De Niro for its latest display of irrelevant celebrities. The editors analyze the headlines before reminding you to read the damn site. Recommended reading: Why Johnny Can’t Build The Closing of the Internet Mind The Way Forward Spring 2024 Claremont Review of Books This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Scarlet Johansson is "shocked" and "angered" that even though she declined to voice ChatGPT 4.0, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman seems to have plugged an imitation of her voice into the software. And you thought Her was fiction. Meanwhile, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has been confirmed dead after his Vietnam-era helicopter crashed, plunging Iran—already in a precarious political position—into an even more uncertain future. What is the U.S.'s position in all this, and how can we play the bad hand we find ourselves holding? Finally, who could forget that Donald Trump is on trial in New York? Certainly not CNN, who can’t seem to find anything else to talk about. The editors discuss what may lie in store for the U.S. before reminding you to read the damn site! Recommended reading: The Closing of the Internet Mind School Choice Revolutionary The Virtues of Settler Colonialism Civil Rights Stay Gay This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

The Boy Scouts abandoned manly virtue for DEI and participation medals long ago. This killed enrollment numbers, but the Scouts are doubling down, rebranding to “Scouting America” and advertising their willingness to accept boys and girls (and presumably enbies) just as they are. Meanwhile, Biden’s particular brand of senile venom was on full display when he crossed himself in the name of abortion. In more heartening news, The Guardian's attempt to dox formerly anonymous X poster “Lomez” seems to have backfired spectacularly. The editors read between the lines, before reminding you to read the damn site. Recommended reading: Expropriation: The End Game of Anti-Whiteness Bonsai Children Pursuit of Happiness The Great Divergence Scouts' Honor This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Filled with apparent panic at Biden's low standing among "the youth," the Administration pulled out all the stops this week with a press conference featuring...Mark Hamill? Was that the best they could do? Maybe, as student riots and protests continue to emphasize Biden's rowdy kids problem--not that the Right is quite sure how to respond to campus antisemitism, either. Elsewhere in academia, the rolling replicability crisis continues apace, indicating once again that data worship is a mistake. The editors survey the landscape of new age Star-Wars-ism, free speech unease, and COVID-style crises of authority. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

As the global intifada marshals its ranks across American campuses, bemused observers are wondering what exactly the protestors want, and whether they'll show up at the DNC this year. Meanwhile, a group called Catholic Answers created and then promptly "defrocked" an "Al Priest" who took a hard line on matters of sexuality but proved remarkably lax in the baptism department. Given that Al language models and image creation tools are being trained on troves of unvetted data from the internet--some of it including child pornography--we might not want to ordain them as our priests. The editors discuss all this, plus the Left's endgame for Trump, before reminding you to read the damn site. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

A double-header in Congress this week as Mike Johnson's House passes a foreign aid package with help from Democrats, and the Senate confirms that China's ByteDance will have to sell TikTok to an American company or face exile from the app store. Meanwhile, NPR's new CEO is not only a sinister AWFL censorship enjoyer but a color revolutionary to boot. Is the Right heading off the West's demise at the past, or only just waking up to realize it's already happened? Plus: Trump faces trial for trying to influence an election he was...running in. Would a conviction really be all that bad for him politically? The editors discuss, then remind you to read the damn site. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Jeremy Carl, Claremont Senior Fellow and author of The Unprotected Class: How Anti-White Racism Is Tearing America Apart, joins the editors to discuss the book and the evidence it provides that white people have become objects of state-sanctioned hatred in America. Meanwhile, the movie Civil War is out, and there's not much more to it than the viral trailer. But there's some hilarious posturing on behalf of journalists, which is always good for a laugh. Plus: are mopey dorm-room-style protestors at Google harbingers of the Left's future? The editors zero in on the real issues before reminding you to read the damn site. Recommended Reading: The Unprotected Class: How Anti-White Racism Is Tearing America Apart Expropriation: The End Game of Anti-Whiteness Criminalizing Trivialities Through a Scope Backwards Schedule F Won’t Tame the Deep State This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

The numbers are in, and they aren’t good. Recent inflation exceeded expectations, and even that doesn’t fully capture the pain felt by everyday Americans. Meanwhile, much of the US bore witness to the primal wonder of the cosmos during Monday’s total eclipse. As “The Science” becomes increasingly shamanistic, the world becomes more and more enchanted—but what you make of it depends on where you stand. The difference in lived and reported experiences seems to be manifesting in voters as the election season spools up and cracks deepen in the Democrat Party over the question of Zionism. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Liturgical calendar printer go brrrrrr as the Trans Day of Visibility falls this year on Easter Sunday--and Biden's Twitter handlers clearly had no trouble deciding which should win out. Meanwhile Amazon has abandoned its "Just Walk Out" program, which identified as an AI marvel but was actually just a bunch of guys in India watching you shop. And Soros DAs have come up with a new answer to the housing shortage: just let wandering sex offenders squat in homes owned by law-abiding citizens. When the real thing disappoints, it seems our answer is just to spin up simulations--of sex, of competence, of progress. The fellas trace the common threads, then remind you to read the damn site. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Turns out that which doesn't bankrupt Donald Trump makes him richer. Somehow. Truth Social has been valued at $8 billion, over $4 billion of which accrues to Trump's net worth--all while his astronomical bond is being reduced in New York. Meanwhile, as Hamas enjoyers try to overrun the Left, the Right is locked in its own disputes about how to handle antisemitism. Everyone's looking for the one big bad guy or grand narrative that can explain the whole complicated world. But are they looking in the wrong places? The editors analyze the thought processes underlying the news before reminding you to read the damn site. Recommended reading: National Conservatism vs. American Conservatism (CRB) National Conservatism vs. American Conservatism (TAM) On Nations and Nationhood Two Adams, Two Foundings Czar Vladimir Gynocracy Takes an L This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

As Trump goes through the legal wringer in New York, the state’s AG is gearing up to start seizing his properties to cover a mammoth $464 million bond. Meanwhile, the government nakedly colluded with Big Tech giants to censor people that didn’t espouse the approved COVID narrative; can the Supreme Court fix things, or does the problem go deeper? Plus: Christine Blasey Ford has crawled out of the memory hole to shill for her new book about Justice Kavanaugh. How convenient. The editors unpack the news before reminding you to read the damn site. Recommended reading: Biden Broke Haiti Migration Is Invasion How the Left Was Left This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

The House has passed a bill that will force TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to divest from the platform within six months; otherwise, the service will be banned in the U.S. The bill has split the Right as well as the Left, raising questions about espionage, economics, and American sovereignty. But will shutting down the app really hurt China all that much? Meanwhile, old man yells at country as Biden gives his third State of the Union Address, which may or may not have riled up his supporters but certainly failed to win over his detractors. Finally, former special counsel Robert Hur testified about his decision to characterize Biden as a nice, forgetful old man. The editors investigate what it's all about, before reminding you to read the damn site. Recommended reading: Answering the Supporters of American Empire Swiftian Normality and the Freak Right The Regime v. America This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

In perhaps the least surprising but most unusual Super Tuesday ever, or at least in living memory, Donald Trump and Joe Biden have been all but officially confirmed as the presidential contestants for 2024. Whose party hates their candidate the least? Nothing is now stopping us from finding out--not even the best efforts of the Colorado Supreme Court, whose expulsion of Trump from the ballot was overruled in a unanimous SCOTUS decision that apparently ended the Constitution, or something. Meanwhile illegal immigrants are now being flown across the border? Seth and Spencer marvel at the outlandish nature of it all, and remind you to read the damn site. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

It’s a sad news week. Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty member of the US Air Force, self-immolated in front of the Israeli Embassy in D.C. this week in a misguided protest against the war in Gaza. Meanwhile, a young nursing student, Laken Riley, was murdered by an illegal immigrant in Georgia with multiple prior arrests. Plus: an unusual ruling out of Alabama has raised difficult and uncomfortable questions about the moral status of IVF. The editors analyze the depressing facts and factors that undergird the headlines, before reminding you to read the damn site. Further reading: Extremism on Duty Finetuning the Matrix The 2024 Election Will Be Neither Free Nor Fair The History of Self-Immolation as Political Protest This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in prison after multiple poisonings by Putin's operatives. In the States, this has prompted fewer sober reflections than fervid John Le Carré-style fantasies about domestic politics. Those politics are themselves increasingly sordid as Donald Trump grinds his way through one legal procedure after another, including a nakedly political judgment against him in New York. Will the absurdity of the ruling cause other business moguls in the state to take Trump's side? And what on earth is going on with Google's anti-white AI? Seth and Spencer talk through it all, and remind you to read the damn site. Recommended reading: Popping the Pill Socialist Fantasies This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Russia is reigniting the space race as the House Intelligence Committee sounded the alarm that they may have already deployed an anti-satellite weapon system, which could cripple the US. Moreover, space provides an interesting use case for nuclear weapons, and Russia is signaling it may be willing to go nuclear. Meanwhile, America continues its descent into decay as Biden continues to show signs of mental decay, and the He Gets Us SuperBowl ad, which fundamentally misses the point of the biblical story, was plastered across the nation’s televisions. The editors break it down, and remind you to read the damn site! Recommended reading: https://americanmind.org/salvo/saving-americas-future-from-the-blob/ https://americanmind.org/salvo/welcome-home-to-somalia/ https://americanmind.org/salvo/our-gathering-storm/ https://babylonbee.com/cleanArticle/satan-he-gets-us https://www.americanmoment.org/category/podcast/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Republicans are seriously struggling to harness the momentum that Red-State governors have generated in favor of immigration enforcement. Is any Republican in Congress both competent and bold? Meanwhile, Nikki Haley suffered the latest and most embarrassing of her defeats in Nevada on Tuesday, losing a primary in which Trump did not participate, so that voters instead picked “None of These Candidates.” Plus: Elon Musk is doing some great things, including challenging Disney and other megacorps. Can he be a benevolent force, or is he a sinister transhumanist? In closing, a full complement of editors remind you to read the damn site. Recommended Reading First, Trans All The Children Draining the Pentagon Swamp Stop Hating the Puritans Wretched of the University The Delusions of Postcolonial Ideology The Paradoxical Perversities of Postcolonial Ideology This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Is Taylor Swift a Deep State plant to help get Biden reelected? Almost certainly not, but the theory does provide an interesting window into everyone’s 2024 mindset. Meanwhile, conservative protestors are discovering what martyrdom really means as six abortion protestors were found federally guilty of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, and another is facing hate crime charges for allegedly destroying a Satanic Temple shrine in the Iowa capitol. Plus: police-abolitionists are manipulating a simple traffic stop for their political gain. In closing, the editors remind you to read the damn site. Recommended reading: McConnell vs. America Hialeah Blues The Scapegoating of Derek Chauvin, Pt. II Targeting the NYPD This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

The New York Times has anointed the Claremont Institute and its fellows as leaders in the fight against DEI. They think this makes Claremont a sinister cabal, of course, but the editors are happy to accept it as a compliment and take a victory lap. And, in a major plot twist, even the Times's readers seem to be on our side--sort of. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is facing down Biden's federal government and instructing state officials to enforce border laws, even in the face of a Supreme Court defeat. Is this a constitutional crisis in the making? Plus: Donald Trump scooped up another healthy primary win in New Hampshire. The gang's all here to break it down—before reminding you to read the damn site, of course. Recommended reading: Why America’s “Anti-Discrimination” Regime Needs to Be Dismantled The Road from Damascus The Lebanese Experiment A Blow Against Wokeness Pretext for a Fedsurrection This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

The Iowa results are in, and though they're not altogether shocking, they are revealing. Trump took the state with a commanding lead over all other candidates. Is the writing on the wall for DeSantis? What will become of Vivek Ramaswamy? Meanwhile, as the slow march to global government continues in Davos under the guise of going green, global elites are planning your future. Is Green™ the globalists’ greatest weapon, or just window dressing for their racial concerns? Plus: the editors remind you, as always, to read the damn site. Recommended reading: The Case for Christian Civilizationism Plagiarizing While Black The Coming War of Civilizations Like Some Prophet of Old Pandemic Pandemonium Millenarian Mobs Iowa Results Show That DeSantis Must Drop Out Against the Great Reset: Eighteen Theses Contra the New World Order This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Planes are literally falling apart in the sky--is DEI to blame, and does anybody care? Meanwhile, Biden found himself heckled in the middle of an early campaign speech by Israel ceasefire maximalists, providing further confirmation that the scrambled signals within the Democrat ranks are not getting un-scrambled anytime soon. And finally, the Republican party strikes back on ballot shenanigans, as a number of red-state leaders propose kicking Biden off the Ballot in response to corresponding attacks on Trump in Colorado and Maine. The editors discuss the wisdom and efficacy of this move before reminding you to read the damn site! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

It finally happened: Claudine Gay is out as president of Harvard after a tireless guerrilla journalism campaign led by the Manhattan Institute's Chris Rufo, who conclusively exposed Gay's fraudulence as a scholar. But is plagiarism just par for the course? Seth and Spencer consider the low, low bar that Gay failed to clear, and where the fight over higher ed will take us next. Plus: migrants continue to flood unchecked across the border, and the powder keg in the Middle East grows ever more flammable. What will come of it all? The editors discuss before insisting for the first (but not the last) time in 2024 that you read the damn site! Recommended Reading Revenge of the Liberators The TikTok Spiral From New Jersey to the Senate, fellow Democrats aren’t lifting a finger to help NYC and Chicago’s migrant crisis EXCLUSIVE: Read Claudine Gay's Private Resignation Letter to the Harvard Board The Great Replacement: Introduction to Global Replacementism This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

The Supreme Court of Colorado has ruled that Donald Trump can be excluded from the state’s ballots under a circuitous 213-page reading of the 14th Amendment. Meanwhile, Chris Rufo has forced CNN to run unfavorable stories about Harvard President Claudine Gay and her (allegedly) plagiarized academic papers. How can the Right keep the pressure on the diversocrats as they disgrace themselves? Speaking of disgrace, the editors cannot escape discussing the gay sex that was filmed in a Senate hearing room by a Democrat aide, before closing out by discussing “what a damn year” it has been. Recommended Reading: Trump’s Legal Victory in Colorado Colorado Supreme Court Opinion This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Douglas Emhoff, the “Second Gentleman,” has made an amusing and perhaps telling unforced error in very publicly butchering the story of Hanukkah. Meanwhile, Hunter Biden has found his way into the news again, surprising no one, and civil war is back in the discourse as Alex Garland’s forthcoming movie will attempt to tackle the subject. Is this wish fulfillment for the Left, subtle messaging for the Right, or something in between? And what would a second civil war really look like? The editors discuss the news before reminding you to read the damn site! Recommended reading: Black Privilege at Harvard Are Borders Back in Europe? American Statesman Gateway to Statesmanship: Selections from Xenophon to Churchill This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

A generational divide is intensifying within the Left, as a radical ascendant generation increasingly decries the more moderate Boomers, as exemplified most recently by a demand from Biden’s White House interns that the administration throw itself behind a permanent ceasefire in Israel. Meanwhile, the US is being slapped around on the world stage, this time by the Houthis. The future for Americans looks increasingly bleak; can we turn the ship around successfully? The complete cast muse over the correct way to shake off the dust in the domestic and foreign policy arenas before, as always, reminding you to read the damn site. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

The terminally online are showing themselves unable to unplug from the negative feedback loops to which they subscribe. Hollywood, especially Disney, is continuing to fail to really show us anything new that average people can connect to. Plus: censorship from top to bottom is wreaking havoc on nation states, especially as immigration spikes drive cultural wedges into the populace. Seth and James, refreshed from Thanksgiving, break it down. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

A full complement of editors is joined by not one, but two special guests this week: Jeremy Carl & Michael Anton, both Claremont Institute senior fellows. In addition to seared turkey liver stuffing (true story), the cast are finding both white and black pills aplenty as there’s ample reason to despair and rejoice. From the inferno that was Joe Biden’s birthday cake, to populists claiming upset wins in two countries, to what they’re grateful for, the guys discuss it all this Thanksgiving. Plus: An extended list of reading recommendations as the cast reminds you to head on over to read the damn site (after you finish your turkey, of course). Recommended reading: Carving Turkey Away from NATO Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation (1863) A Friend Indeed Christian Nationalism or Godless Nationalism Everything Is—Still—Fine Settlers Versus Migrants Lone Star: A History Of Texas And The Texans This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Xi Jinping is coming to town and Gavin Newsom has decided that it’s finally time to clean up the city of feces and urban decay: San Francisco. But if you’re not a Chinese party apparatchik you’re SOL: Gov. Gruesome essentially came right out and said that it wasn’t worth the cleanup for you, dear voter. Meanwhile, Nikki Haley calls for a complete and total crackdown on all pseuds and New York’s Kathy Hochul gives the editors occasion to discuss the weaponization of free speech and cancel culture. Finally, as always, the editors remind you to read the damn site! Recommended reading: The Rise of Ethical Cannibalism Carving Turkey Away from NATO Christmas Karol This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Seth and Spencer are going rogue again today, with a veritable who's who of psychopaths and weirdos from America's current moral and psychic breakdown. First it's the Nashville shooter's gruesome anti-"cracker" manifesto, which highlights once again how the various grievances of woke politics always end up getting elided into a hatred of white people. This in turn has been transmuted into a hatred of Israel as the global Left whips up a fervor over Hamas and Palestine. Under those circumstances, who wouldn't want to flee from whiteness, as Canadian pop star Buffy Sainte-Marie seems to have done? Plus: reflections on Tuesday's elections and the ongoing dilution of American citizenship, with a reminder to read the damn site. Articles mentioned in this episode: Trump Can Win On Bobby Knight Whether It Is Prudent to Speak of Caesarism This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

AI is getting close to committing the grievous crime of noticing patterns in the data. Surely the government must step in. Biden recently signed an executive order attempting to bring the power of AI into service of the woke regime. Meanwhile, the Left is caught in an uncomfortable battle between its old guard and the swelling immigrant coalition. How will the Left handle its problems from both sides without resorting to government by supercomputer? And can the birds escape the stain of humanity? The editors discuss, before reminding you to read the damn site. Articles and books mentioned in this episode: Nationalism Isn’t American The Millionaire Slut Apologists Warfare by Immigration This is how AI image generators see the world Liberals must choose: immigration or Israel? American Ornithological Society Will Change the English Names of Bird Species Named After People American Awakening You Run the Show or the Show Runs You This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

The House of Representatives has chosen a speaker at last. Their choice, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, seems to vindicate Matt Gaetz's risky maneuvering. The House's first action was a vote to support Israel against Hamas, with the radicals of the Squad predictably dissenting, raising the question of how serious antisemitism is in the U.S., and what America's so-far metaphorical wars of religion have to do with the literal war in the Middle East. Plus: what's the point of a 9-to-5? And don't forget to read the damn site! Clips mentioned in the episode: Students barricaded in library clip Young woman upset over the grind of adult life TAM articles: Founding Fathers and Red Caesar Arkansas: Red for the Moment, Blue for the Future Warfare by Immigration This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe