The Claremont Review of Books Podcast
News & Politics Podcasts
For 20 years, the Claremont Review of Books has been the gold standard for conservative criticism and political analysis. Now the CRB comes to the podcast world with a new interview show hosted by Dr. Spencer Klavan, the magazine's assistant editor. As each new issue comes out, Spencer phones up authors whose essays have prompted deeper reflection and discussion. Over a drink and a copy of the latest CRB, he'll chat with the leading minds on the Right about what's going on in politics and literary culture. New interviews appear once a month, and--as a bonus--Spencer will sit down once per issue with his boss and friend Dr. Charles Kesler, editor of the CRB, to discuss the major themes that have arisen in the news cycle and their deeper implications for the state of the nation.
For 20 years, the Claremont Review of Books has been the gold standard for conservative criticism and political analysis. Now the CRB comes to the podcast world with a new interview show hosted by Dr. Spencer Klavan, the magazine's assistant editor. As each new issue comes out, Spencer phones up authors whose essays have prompted deeper reflection and discussion. Over a drink and a copy of the latest CRB, he'll chat with the leading minds on the Right about what's going on in politics and literary culture. New interviews appear once a month, and--as a bonus--Spencer will sit down once per issue with his boss and friend Dr. Charles Kesler, editor of the CRB, to discuss the major themes that have arisen in the news cycle and their deeper implications for the state of the nation.
Location:
United States
Genres:
News & Politics Podcasts
Description:
For 20 years, the Claremont Review of Books has been the gold standard for conservative criticism and political analysis. Now the CRB comes to the podcast world with a new interview show hosted by Dr. Spencer Klavan, the magazine's assistant editor. As each new issue comes out, Spencer phones up authors whose essays have prompted deeper reflection and discussion. Over a drink and a copy of the latest CRB, he'll chat with the leading minds on the Right about what's going on in politics and literary culture. New interviews appear once a month, and--as a bonus--Spencer will sit down once per issue with his boss and friend Dr. Charles Kesler, editor of the CRB, to discuss the major themes that have arisen in the news cycle and their deeper implications for the state of the nation.
Language:
English
Email:
jgannon@claremont.org
Episodes
The Close Read: Professor Allen Guelzo on The Historian’s Responsibility
7/22/2022
Professor Allen C. Guelzo joins Spencer to discuss his review essay on Alan Taylor’s deflationist histories of America. Along the way, the two discuss the nature of history as a discipline in America and Europe, the true character of the United States, and the moral responsibilities of the historian.
Duration:00:35:41
The Close Read: Spring 2022 Review with Dr. Charles Kesler
6/24/2022
Enemies abroad and unrest at home: Editor Charles Kesler and Associate Editor Spencer Klavan discuss the wide range of spring’s new CRB, including Mark Helprin’s in-depth analysis of the war in Ukraine, Nathan Pinkoski’s careful examination of how Spain’s republic self-destructed, and Dr. Kesler’s own comments on the precarity of Court-made rights. Plus: an excerpt from Klavan, Sr.’s new book.
Duration:00:29:30
The Close Read: Nathan Pinkoski on Revolutionary Socialism
5/20/2022
Nathan Pinkoski, research fellow and director of academic programs at the Zephyr Institute, joins Spencer to discuss the Spanish Civil War and its implications for modern America. Contrary to the simple morality tale most people learn in school, the history of Spain’s Civil war was a complex demonstration of how a republic can die from self-inflicted wounds. Americans would do well to take note.
Duration:00:36:02
The Close Read: Chris Flannery on Lincoln’s Most Notable Speeches
4/22/2022
Chris Flannery, Senior Fellow at the Claremont Institute, contributing editor of the Claremont Review of Books, and author of The American Story podcast, joins Spencer to discuss the enduring wisdom and meticulous composition of Abraham Lincoln’s speeches. These are words that were intended for posterity, so it pays to turn to them in our perilous moment as we fight for America’s future.
Duration:00:19:50
The Close Read: Winter 2021/2022 Review with Charles Kesler
3/18/2022
In his latest editor’s note, Dr. Kesler identifies an emerging conflict between the anti-American Left, and the “post-American” Right. Spencer and Dr. Kesler discuss the conservative movement’s past and future as illustrated in essays from the issue. Plus: the CRB takes on the delicate subject of race in America.
Duration:00:30:14
The Close Read: Dr. Leonard Sax on The God Hypothesis
2/11/2022
Is there a God? Can we believe? Or has science disproven all that? A prevailing assumption in the academy is that your life means no more than that of a jellyfish. Dr. Leonard Sax joins Spencer to explain how that mindset is crippling young adults, and to discuss a new book by Dr. Stephen C. Meyer on the Return of the God Hypothesis.
Duration:00:31:08
The Close Read: Mark Helprin on Foreign Policy Blunders
1/7/2022
Mark Helprin, novelist and senior fellow of the Claremont Institute, joins Spencer to discuss America’s—and the West’s—apparent death wish. By making us as vulnerable as possible abroad, while simultaneously mimicking the authoritarianism of our supposed enemies at home, our leaders are flirting with disaster. What will come next—and is there any hope for the future?
Duration:00:26:56
The Close Read: Dr. William Voegeli on Degraded Crime Policy
10/29/2021
Dr. William Voegeli, senior editor of the Claremont Review of Books, joins Spencer to analyze the Left’s increasingly dangerous relationship with crime. Urban Democrats have embraced a counterintuitive policy preference, enabling astonishingly high crime rates rather than working to reduce them. At the heart of it all is an urgent need to explain away violent crime as a cry for help from the perpetrators, rather than an offense against justice in need of redress.
Duration:00:31:32
The Close Read: Jeffrey Anderson on America’s Mask Regime
9/17/2021
Jeffrey Anderson, former Trump appointee to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, joins Spencer to analyze the dubious science of mask mandates. Anderson’s essay, which was featured on Tucker Carlson Tonight, identifies how masks have been used to make Americans more submissive and erode our form of government.
Duration:00:26:23
The Close Read: Glenn Ellmers on Harry V. Jaffas’ Lessons for the Modern Right
9/10/2021
Glenn Ellmers, Claremont Institute senior fellow and author of the new book The Soul of Politics, joins Spencer to discuss the enduring relevance of Harry V. Jaffa’s life and scholarship for our challenging political times. Plus: is the modern academy unmaking our best and brightest?
Duration:00:28:19
The Close Read: The Fall of Afghanistan with Charles Kesler
8/20/2021
The CRB’s Summer edition is wide-ranging, covering topics including masking, crime, and a prescient editor’s note about the fiasco that is Afghanistan’s fall. Join Dr. Kesler and Spencer as they discuss the significance of the collapse of Kabul, a brief history of how we got there, and what lessons can be gleaned from it all. Plus: an overview of the whole edition.
Duration:00:30:50
The Close Read: Andrew Roberts on Vindicating Churchill
7/23/2021
Andrew Roberts, author of the new book Churchill: Walking with Destiny, joins Spencer to discuss the legacy of Winston Churchill and the lessons we can draw from his greatness. Plus: a sneak peek at Roberts’s forthcoming defense of King George III.
Duration:00:27:30
The Close Read: James Poulos on Digital Religion
6/18/2021
Dr. James Poulos, executive editor of The American Mind, joins Spencer to discuss humanity's identity crisis as machines and algorithms—piloted by Big Tech—threaten to usurp us as rulers of the earth. In a world increasingly dominated by invisible technology, the question becomes: who will catechize the bots?
Duration:00:28:08
The Close Read: Professor James Hankins on the Chinese Challenge
5/14/2021
Professor James Hankins joins Spencer to discuss China's present position on the world stage, where it's trying to go, and how the U.S. should respond. Hankins, a professor of history at Harvard University, uses China's ancient past to paint a nuanced picture of modern China's political situation.
Duration:00:31:04
The Close Read: Daniel McCarthy on the Future of the Right
4/9/2021
The Right has been grappling with an identity crisis for some time. President Trump seems to have ushered in a new era—but an era of what, exactly? Daniel McCarthy, editor of Modern Age and a 2020 Lincoln Fellow, joins Spencer to talk about the Right's present trajectory and where it's likely headed next.
Duration:00:31:04
The Close Read: Winter 2020/21 Review with Charles Kesler
3/5/2021
The CRB’s winter edition takes a cumulative look at the aftermath of the 2020 election, the dismay among conservatives, and the two radically different philosophies competing for American hearts. Join Dr. Kesler and Spencer as they discuss these major themes, and the deepening rifts beneath the surface of it all.
Duration:00:32:29
The Close Read: Dr. Robert Royal on Christopher Columbus
1/8/2021
Our education system has devolved from a source of edification to a hotbed of radicalization. Teachers and curricula at schools all across the country—even in red states—are out to villainize everyone they can. Dr. Robert Royal joins Spencer to discuss the problems with this slippery slope and the truth about one of our most maligned figures: Christopher Columbus.
Duration:00:30:56
The Close Read: John M. Ellis on COVID and the Academy
11/13/2020
Plummeting confidence in higher education is leading to drastically reduced enrollment--these alarming developments have been under-reported, but the coronavirus phenomenon has made them increasingly difficult to conceal. Professor John Ellis joins Spencer to discuss what widespread online learning is doing to affect the fate of our highly politicized academy.
Duration:00:29:10
The Close Read: Richard Samuelson on Cancel Culture
10/9/2020
“Cancel one, cancel all!” wokesters religiously chant as they close in on another brand or person they don’t like. Cancel culture is spreading its abhorrent tendrils through American culture from boardrooms to classrooms at the behest of the self-righteous, yet all-too-often guilty media and elite classes. Professor Richard Samuelson joins Spencer to poke a few witty holes in the flawed logic of cancel culture, complete with a case study: The New York Times.
Duration:00:32:27
The Close Read: Summer 2020 Review with Dr. Charles Kesler
9/11/2020
Join Dr. Kesler and Spencer as they dive into the latest CRB and its major themes. Dr. Kesler highlights the effects of rioting and statucide on America’s bedrock foundations. The summer issue charts America’s crisis in detail--Spencer and Dr. Kesler explain some of the dysfunction currently plaguing the country and contemplate possible solutions.
Duration:00:29:22