The American Mind Podcast

A new NYT/Siena poll looks grim for the Left across the board. What kind of realignment, or realignments, are underway? With the middle class feeling pinched by bad economic policy, more and more people believe the government serves social elites to the detriment of everyday Americans. Or else they fear being replaced by bots; or else they’re on edge for fear of saying something contra The Current Thing. Our editors, joined by special guests Matt Peterson and Helen Roy, analyze the situation. 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 Current Thing™ update has dropped: NPCs have been reprogrammed to believe that not only are nukes not that bad, but a nuclear war wouldn't be bad either. It might even fight climate change! Intellectual Leftists are now also making the case that "aborting" babies after they are born should be allowed. Is this the next slippery slope we slide down? Meanwhile, the Left increasingly believes that democracy is the implementation of their preferred policies, and anyone who opposes their goals is at best a "semi-fascist". Ryan and Seth, joined by a triple threat of great conservative minds: Michael Anton, Dave Reaboi, and Kyle Shideler, discuss. 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

Members of Gen Z report trusting Google and Youtube to deliver information and entertainment--but what’s really going on under the hood? Just like everywhere else, “neutrality” is a myth online. Then: how can the Right win the fight over childhood indoctrination and radical gender theory in schools? And what on earth is Biden thinking when it comes to oil? Ryan and Spencer (aka Starsky and Hutch) discuss. 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

Midterms are rocketing toward us, and House Republicans have come out with a platform of sorts; the editors discuss how both party’s prospects are shaping up by way of the fascinating--and absurdist--case study of Pennsylvania’s Senate race between Mehmet Öz and John Fetterman. Meanwhile, rumblings around the world--leaks in Russia’s Nord Stream pipelines, unrest in Iran, and a conservative victory in Italy--give occasion to wonder just where the world is headed, and what the people in charge can possibly be thinking. 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

Red states are on a roll this week. The 5th Circuit Court upheld a Texas law banning viewpoint censorship on social media platforms with over 50 million active users. Florida’s Ron DeSantis publicly highlighted the duplicity of leftist virtue signaling by sending 50 Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, whereupon the Vineyard’s occupants promptly flipped out and called in the National Guard. Plus: Biden gave an interview on 60 Minutes that was such a train wreck it demands a close reading. Our editors are on the job. 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 this edition of The Stakes, Claremont Senior Fellow Michael Anton, a lecturer in politics and research fellow at Hillsdale College’s Kirby Center, talks with Glenn Ellmers, Visiting Research Scholar at Hillsdale College and author of The Soul of Politics: Harry V. Jaffa and the Fight for America. The two discuss some of the major ideas and principles in Harry Jaffa’s philosophical writing, and how those principles might apply to the modern American crisis. Plus: a defense of some of Jaffa’s more contentious ideas. 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 midterms loom, Biden’s DOJ is handing out subpoenas like they’re going out of style--which in a sense they may be, since a traditional election moratorium on political maneuvering makes coming for Trump an increasingly bad look. But at this point, will the public really believe that the DOJ is dispassionate? Or, for that matter, that the economy is under control? Biden seems to be hoping against hope that they will, throwing a White House celebration while a massive freight rail worker strike is looming and inflation is still over 8% for the year. Plus: famed attorney Kenneth Starr passed away this week. What legacy did he leave behind, and how has the use of celebrity in the White House affected our politics? Our editors analyze it all. 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

President Biden gave a speech before a blood-red background in front of Liberty Hall late last week, explicitly identifying a large chunk of the GOP as threats to democracy. How large? Biden won’t say--or what he does say, he walks back. Will this message really play with a significant portion of the electorate, or have Biden and his team confused Twitter for real life? Meanwhile, in real life itself, everything seems to be getting worse: school test scores have taken a twenty-year drop in the wake of COVID shutdowns, and life expectancy continues to tick downward as well. Plus: California is raising alarms about potential power grid failures in the midst of a summer heatwave. How can we avoid despair, and what are the opportunities amid all this decline? Our editors discuss. 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 gonna Russia, while the West, and the Left, gonna fall for it. Michael Shellenberger rolls out an alarming thread on who’s funding climate activists in Europe, and the dire consequences of extremist policies at home and abroad. Meanwhile, The DOJ, CIA, and FBI have been showing increasingly bold signs of corruption and meddling in domestic elections, maintaining an apparently routine dialogue with Facebook and other social media companies about when to suppress “potential threat information.” But don’t worry: they do it all the time! Plus: our editors survey the prospects for November’s midterm elections, and for the republic more generally. 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 FBI has raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. Are Merrick Garland and the ruling elites at the justice department so convinced of their political invulnerability that they don’t care how this looks? Maybe the Democrats just think they can buy voters off: in a transparent ploy to do so, the Biden administration has promised a $10,000 student loan cancellation plan. Conservatives are sputtering with outrage, but they ought to be thinking “systemically” about how to dismantle the whole college industrial complex. Plus: Alexander Dugin’s daughter, Darya Dugina, was assassinated by car bomb in Moscow. Our editors, joined by New Founding’s Matt Peterson, offer their thoughts. 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 this edition of The Stakes, Michael Anton, lecturer in politics and research fellow at Hillsdale College’s Kirby Center, and a Claremont senior fellow, is joined by Michael Millerman of the Millerman School. The two discuss the teachings of the Claremont Institute's ideological lodestar, Leo Strauss. They also discuss how and to what extent Strauss' teachings, and those of other twentieth century German philosophers, remain relevant today in our crumbling republic despite an active attempt by elites to vilify them. Listeners who would like to hear even more about German philosophers can take advantage of an exclusive 25% discount to the Millerman School by using the code "STAKES" at signup! 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

This week, The American Mind team is off, with the exception of Seth Barron who has volunteered to bring you a short and sweet one-man show before we return to a full complement next week. Against the background of Liz Cheney's crushing defeat in the Wyoming primary, Seth analyzes the ever-widening rift between the New Right that is taking over the GOP and the old guard who are now finding themselves not only on the outs, but unelectable. Obviously the only answer in that position is to assume everyone else is wrong and run for president, right? 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

This week, while The American Mind's editors are off, Ryan Williams took the opportunity to sit down with Dr. John Marini. Against the background of the FBI's unprecedented raid on Mar-a-Lago, which took place on the 48th anniversary of Richard Nixon's resignation, the pair look back at Nixon's experience with the administrative state as it relates to today. Plus: what can we do to bring government back into the purview of politics and wrench it from the clutches of an increasingly autonomous bureaucratic class? 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 move that predictably has China perturbed, Nancy Pelosi is in Taiwan on a state visit to “reaffirm allies” in the South China Sea, triggering fears of WWIII (again) across the Twitterverse. But does anyone really want an armed conflict with China? And even if they did, would our “yassified” armed forces be up to the task? Meanwhile, the Tavistock Clinic, a gender clinic in the UK, has been ordered to shut down over child abuse concerns, and a Swedish health council has recommended no longer using puberty blockers. Plus: Spencer airs his deep-cut conspiracy theory about Pete Buttigieg. A full cast of our editors analyze our trajectory. 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

Woke academics are trying to tear down the last barriers against total ideological conformity. Seth and Spencer are joined by Professor Amy Wax, who has ample firsthand experience of witch hunts in the academy and recommendations for change. Meanwhile, monkeypox is on the rise in New York among a certain group of people who apparently shall not be named. And the Biden administration is trying to fudge the definition of recession, so they won’t have to admit we’re in one. 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 religion of fantasy requires imaginary martyrs. So this week we were treated to the spectacle of AOC and other members of Congress pretending to be handcuffed for the cameras. But that’s just the beginning of the rabbit hole. Wikipedia is being edited to conform with woke piety, and Merriam-Webster has added a new definition to “woman.” Plus: at least 163 billion dollars of COVID relief money (your tax dollars, that is) was stolen, but elites are betting on the public to just forget about it. Our editors peer through the smokescreen. 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

Inflation topped out at over 9% this month, which both exceeded the expected 8.8%, and poses huge issues for everyday Americans. From the working class to the not-so-working class, people are coping, or something like it, by deadening their senses and hoping it will all go away. Some believe transhumanism is the answer, but we need stronger medicine to save our souls. Plus: new video shows Hunter Biden at the extremes of depravity. Our editors, joined by Claremont’s new major gifts officer, Elizabeth Haney, analyze the situation in which we find ourselves. 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 Dutch government has limited emissions so severely that many farmers will have no choice but to stop farming. The farmers, unsurprisingly, are not happy—turns out kulaks, awkwardly enough, don’t like to be liquidated. Meanwhile, the Dobbs case is starting to animate state politics and will test just how red the red states are. Plus: is trans language shoving women out of the Overton Window? 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 has handed down ruling after glorious ruling, most notably overturning Roe and Casey in their landmark abortion case, but also defending the right to bear arms in self defense and the right to free expression of religion. Is gutting the administrative state next? Plus: the latest from Impeachment Part III, the Revenge (i.e., the January 6 hearings). 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 Biden Administration seems determined to make good on its promise to put “equity” at the center of all it does, prompting the editors to wonder how much daylight there is between equality of outcomes, race-based reparations, and a total restructuring of American society. But will voters—and in particular those minorities not singled out for favored status—go for it? Meanwhile: a new Supreme Court decision on religious liberty, and disturbing revelations about the Uvalde shooting. 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

Ted Cruz grills the FBI on its potential participation in January 6, as Insurrection Hearing: The Musical Showtime Extravaganza drags on. Meanwhile, Google’s AI chatbot has some things to say about the soul that sound suspiciously like a Silicon Valley guru’s wish fulfillment fantasy. Plus: Matt Peterson joins the show to talk about so-called “blue locusts” and how to keep red states red. 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

There is a God-shaped hole in the American soul. We’re not going to fill it with tech, or entertainment, or drugs, or violence--but lots of people might try. Big Tech wants the bots to whisper sweet nothings at you, others are on a quest to worship the ultimate superdrug, and still others would simply burn the system down just to feel something. Our editors discuss how we can come back down to reality. 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

Social media has proven unsustainable as a digital way of life, plunging many internet moguls into an identity crisis. As we enter the age of Web3, it seems some regimes are doubling down on managed decline…but will others find a better way forward? Meanwhile, the verdict is in on Depp v. Heard, but the important takeaway is how far celebrity cachet—much like the cachet of every other special identity marker—has fallen in the Digital Age. 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

Eighteen-year-old Salvador Ramos opened fire in an Uvalde, TX elementary school in a horrific act of violence. Naturally the political firefighting began within minutes, and Congressional Democrats made gun control the order of the day. But is there really a political solution to the evil we’re up against? Meanwhile, is humor the antidote to the woke revolution, or just a temporary escape valve? And what on earth is going on with monkeypox? Our editors, joined by Matt Peterson, 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

This week, a deranged young man killed ten people in Buffalo, New York. While pointing fingers at Tucker Carlson and the Right, the legacy media is actively feeding the public disinformation. Speaking of disinformation, the Dept. of Homeland Security's Ministry of Truth is being put on the backburner, but it's unlikely we've heard the last of federal censorship. Plus: is Claremont behind... everything?! Spoiler alert: no. But we are having fun. 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

Inflation hovers near record highs at 8.3%, the debt skyrockets out of control, and even talking about it can feel like it’s making the problem worse. It gets harder every day even to conceptualize the extent of the economy itself, let alone make moves to counteract its myriad dysfunctions. Meanwhile, Trump is emerging as GOP kingmaker…and more? Spencer and James discuss the failures of central planning from financial markets to digital media platforms, and the hope for a new kind of federalism to set the country on a better course. 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 leak unprecedented in modern history, Justice Samuel Alito’s draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade has been published by Politico. But the leak is only part of the story. If Roe really is overruled, the political landscape of America’s states will be more important than ever. Our editors, joined by both Matt Peterson and Helen Roy, have thoughts on the logic of the draft decision, as well as where we go from 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

The Know Your Enemy podcast recently accused Claremont of misunderstanding the old civil war, and irresponsibly predicting--or perhaps yearning for--a new one. The editors respond with the help of special guest Glenn Ellmers, Claremont Scholar and author of The Soul of Politics, a book on Claremont’s intellectual godfather Harry V. Jaffa. Plus: Elon Musk officially bought Twitter and conservatives are noticing that they’re being unshackled from shadow suppression. But who is Elon Musk and does the Right want to make him its champion? 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

Disney is at risk of losing its self-governing fiefdom in Florida after coming for Ron DeSantis over his Parents’ Rights bill. Meanwhile, Taylor Lorenz doxxed the owner of the Libs of TikTok account for the crime of doing journalism and showing parents what radical teachers are saying. Plus: Tucker Carlson is bringing right-wing digital vitalism to the older 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

Wouldn't it be great if a nameless technocrat could force you to starve inside your home because they support the current thing and you don't? Oh, and they can both monitor and preach at you with drones. It's happening in Shanghai right now over COVID and a developing online hivemind is drooling at the prospect for the West. But is a hive inevitable? Meanwhile, a horrendous shooting in New York has grim implications for the public’s collective psyche, and Elon Musk is seemingly gearing up to buy a controlling share of Twitter. Is it too late to make a difference? Our editors discuss. 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

Won't somebody, please, anybody, shake hands with Joe Biden? Apparently not, as Obama's visit to the White House focuses all the attention immediately back on Barack. One wonders who is in control, and what the regime's endgame is. Meanwhile the effort to crush the ruble doesn't seem to be working very well. Plus: the editors discuss the merits of "OK, groomer." 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 Left isn’t trying to groom your six-year-old in school, you conspiracy theorist. On an unrelated note, Disney has created a task force to do exactly that as an end run around Florida’s explicit ban on discussing sex with kindergarteners. How can and should the Right respond? Meanwhile, California is seemingly trying to legalize killing newborns. The editors discuss whether to take a white or black pill as the culture war accelerates apace. 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

What is a woman? Whatever Joe Biden says it is, bigot. Even Supreme Court nominees can no longer state the painfully obvious: the fog of woke religion obscures all. Meanwhile, the Hunter Biden laptop story is now officially real news. It’s a little late, but oh well--water under the bridge! The editors discus transhumanist tecnho-fervor at home, and liberal imperialism abroad. 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

There are no biolabs in Ukraine, and it’s good that there are. Also, it is apparently treason to discuss the issue--even though we’re not at war. How much of this is really about Ukraine, and how much has to do with punishing enemies at home? Plus: the feds have written a fascinating report about an incel shooting. Seth and Spencer discuss. 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 bans Russian oil imports, driving already-high gas prices to their highest point ever and aggravating America’s existing inflation crisis. But Biden, Buttigieg, and prominent Democrats have a solution: just don’t be such a gas-guzzling pleb. Thanks, Joe! Meanwhile, the feds are looking into a centralized cryptocurrency that they could use to trace every transaction—and shut you out of if they don’t like you. Plus: the gender madness continues--but the Right can win. Our editors discuss. 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 this edition of The Stakes, Michael Anton, lecturer in politics and research fellow at Hillsdale College’s Kirby Center, and a Claremont senior fellow, is joined by Charles Haywood of The Worthy House. The two analyze the situation in Ukraine from both sides, ultimately siding with Ukraine. Plus: between Australia’s ruthless police crackdown on its citizens and Canada’s violent crackdown on the Freedom Convoy, the West is in a bleak state. Is there any reason to hope for a brighter future? 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’s invasion of Ukraine is intensifying. Ukraine’s freedom and millions of lives hang in the balance as the West implements increasingly punitive measures against Russia and its officials. Back in the States, Biden gave his first State of the Union Address. Through stammered speech, he said the US will stay out of the Ukraine invasion—for now. The editors examine the potential geopolitical consequences of both Biden’s policies and Russia’s aggression. 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

At time of recording, Vladimir Putin had ordered soldiers into two separatist regions of Ukraine—he had not yet launched what is now a full-scale war. The European order looks precarious, and our political establishment looks all too eager to throw American lives into the maelstrom. To what end? Seth and Spencer discuss the internal decay of America and Canada as authoritarianism advances across the globe. 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 Canada, truckers protesting a vaccine mandate have been denied funds from online crowdsourcing platforms in two different ways, raising the question: what is it going to take to preserve our natural rights on the new digital frontier? Meanwhile, democrats change their tune on mask mandates just in time for an election year, and our editors discuss the fight for truth against CRT in the Christian church and university. 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

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 this edition of The Stakes, Michael Anton, lecturer in politics and research fellow at Hillsdale College’s Kirby Center, and a Claremont senior fellow, is joined by Michael Millerman, founder of the Millerman School. The two discuss Strauss' complicated yet rewarding book, Thoughts on Machiavelli. Other topics include: whether and to what extent Machiavelli is a philosopher, how to read Machiavelli's writings effectively, and what wisdom Machiavelli had to offer that is still helpful in our current political climate. 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

This week, truckers in Ottowa took to the streets in protest of Trudeau’s newest vaccine mandates. Trudeau responded by promptly catching COVID himself, and accusing the truckers of every imaginable evil. Meanwhile, stateside, Whoopi Goldberg thinks Jews are just white, which got her suspended by ABC--should we care? Plus: Peachy Keenan joins the show throughout and answers your mailbag questions! 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

Jordan Peterson announces his resignation from his tenured academic post, and Justice Breyer’s retirement is leaked. The reverse renaissance in the West accelerates with deadly speed in the arts and sciences marked by the destruction of merit and high art and the celebration of deceitful propaganda. Will the ruthless and world historic Lady MacBeth finally will her way to power? Our editors make their predictions about a possible Breyer-Kamala-Hillary parlay and encourage the creativity of a pirate radio approach in this new world. 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

At the World Economic Forum, led by International Supervillain Klaus Schwab, Moderna has announced its plans to get absolutely everyone vaccinated against everything (or else) with its new omni-jab. While the big pharma CEOs bathe in their piles of cash, Biden is trying, poorly, to brag about his supposed “accomplishments”—all while skirting foreign policy issues like Russia’s moves to annex Ukraine. Our editors have thoughts. 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

Project Veritas has released documents suggesting that COVID-19 is the product of U.S. taxpayer funds through EcoHealth Alliance. If true, this would confirm what the editors have been thinking out loud on The Roundtable for months. Realizing that now is the time to pivot away from COVID hysteria, the regime now faces the monumental task of talking down the very people it spent three years traumatizing. Plus: President Biden’s voting rights demagoguery is both amusing and horrifying at once—is there a quantum pill to be had? 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

New year, same old headlines. Legacy media figures, desperate for ratings, haven’t stopped talking about January 6 since it happened. But the polls are damning for the media’s narrative. Democrats, quietly aware of the president’s unpopularity, are flailing about for alternative options. Plus: progressive men are getting vasectomies for an amusing reason. 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 the end of a long and frankly, a surreal year. After one hundred episodes of the Round Table, our editors look back on a cascade of demoralizing events and articles to ask: is there cause for optimism? Through all the inflation, the gender madness, and the school board wars, one theme emerges—the ruling class wants you feeling hopeless. But you’re not: the editors look ahead to a future of based local action in pursuit of virtue. 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

America’s economy continues to crumble, but don’t worry! the ruling class is here to fix everything by spending trillions of dollars we don’t have. Inflation is only the newest symptom of their long train of abuses. COVID politics roll endlessly on as the US fights its cold civil war online and off. 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

California is making noise about becoming a “sanctuary state” for abortions. Everything that hurts Democrats is “voter suppression.” And Ron DeSantis wants 200 people to help him with vaccinations and natural disasters, which is insurrection or tyranny or something. Our editors spend some time in bizarro world parsing the woke lies. 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

Populist and nationalist Éric Zemmour has announced his candidacy for president of France with a stirring anti-woke speech reminiscent of Charles de Gaulle’s speech from exile in WWII. Meanwhile, on the home front, Fauci has declared that he is the science. Plus: a murder in Beverly Hills shows the alarming deterioration of law and order in blue states. Our editors examine the battles over wokeness on two continents. 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