Podcast
The Close Read Podcast
Hosted by The Claremont Institute · EN
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
claremontinstitute.substack.com
24episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
"The Renegade Academy," by Spencer Klavan
2w ago00:33:02Tap to summarizeAssociate Editor Spencer Klavan his piece, “The Renegade Academy,” featured in the spring 2026 issue. 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
Transcribe →
America 250: Harry Jaffa and the Declaration ft. Glenn Ellmers
3w ago00:36:54Tap to summarizeAs America continues to celebrate its 250th year in existence, Glenn Ellmers, Salvatori Research Fellow in the American Founding, sits down with host Spencer Klavan to illuminate the life, teaching, and significance of Harry Jaffa, godfather of the Claremont Institute. Jaffa gave new life to, among other things, Abraham Lincoln’s rich understanding of Declaration’s principles. Ellmers and Klavan contrast Lincoln’s statesmanship with the Marxism of John C. Calhoun, discuss the continuity of ancient and modern political thought as represented by the U.S., and consider what must be done to weed out corrupted political thought from higher education. Plus: the significance of Straussian teaching.Watch with video on YouTubeRecommended:The Soul of Politics A New Birth of Freedom Crisis of the House Divided 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
Transcribe →
Spring 2026 Review with Charles Kesler
May 500:32:51Tap to summarizeEditor Charles Kesler hails the arrival of the Spring 2026 issue with Associate Editor Spencer Klavan. The issue, which went to press just after war broke out in Iran, features Charles's editor's note about Reagan's Cold War strategy and Trump's high-stakes new venture in the Middle East. Can he avoid recycling past mistakes? Elsewhere in the pages, the New Criterion’s Sam Schneider kicks off a new wine column, uncorking the favorite drinks of the founders. Plus, Harvey Mansfield and the realignment of the Ivies in Ralph Hancock's review; the rise of competing, renegade academies in Spencer's; Michael Anton on the Left’s misinterpretation of the Right—and more! 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
Transcribe →
"The Founders' Cups," by Sam Schneider
Apr 2700:15:16Tap to summarizeAssociate Editor Spencer Klavan reads “The Founders’ Cups,” Sam Schneider’s piece featured in the spring 2026 issue. 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
Transcribe →
America 250: Lincoln and Equality ft. Lucas Morel
Apr 2000:43:18Tap to summarizeTo inaugurate a special podcast series celebrating the American Founding’s 250th anniversary, host Spencer Klavan and professor of politics at Washington and Lee University Lucas Morel discuss Abraham Lincoln’s history-making interpretation of the Declaration of Independence. All men are created equal. Drawing on a tradition that went right back to the founding, but making it vitally urgent for a moment of crisis, Lincoln made equality the golden life-source of the nation from which all other things must proceed. Now, Americans must endeavor to keep that principle alive through future generations. Plus: Frederick Douglass’s comments on Lincoln and the criticisms he faced from radical abolitionists.Recommended:Lincoln and the American FoundingMeasuring the ManJohn Quincy Adams and the Fourth of JulyAn Oration: John Quincy Adams’ Christian 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
Transcribe →
Lane Scott on Stranger Things
Apr 1300:31:49Tap to summarizeLane Scott, author of the Substack Matriarch Goals, and editor Spencer Klavan sit down to discuss the Netflix hit, Stranger Things, one of the biggest television sensations in the last decade. In an era of “despair porn," the show illustrated why good defeats evil and gave viewers a way to reflect on the bittersweet significance of growing up. Its analog, 1980s world stands in contrast to our muted, digital one: the men are confident, the mainstream culture proud, American heroes permissible. What does this say of us now?Matriarch GoalsAnalog Kids 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
Transcribe →
"Never Trump After 2024," by William Voegeli
Mar 2000:04:46Tap to summarizeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit claremontinstitute.substack.comAssociate Editor Spencer Klavan reads “Never Trump After 2024,” William Voegeli’s review of Never Trump: The Revolt of the Conservative Elites and Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign, featured in the Fall 2025-Winter 2026 double issue.
Transcribe →
Jeffrey Anderson on Parks and Desecration
Mar 1900:33:39Tap to summarizePresident of the American Main Street Initiative Jeffery H. Anderson joins associate editor Spencer Klavan to address a little-noticed assault on the Founding, the country, and its great men: the Woke takeover of our national parks. At hallowed ground across the U.S., activist curators have rebranded Washington and the Founders as “enslavers” and condemned America's icons—the Liberty Bell included—in a melodramatic racial reckoning. But ahead of America’s 250th anniversary, Trump and the Right stand to beat back the false narrative, and revive the spirit of the nation.Hijacking America’s Story 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
Transcribe →
"Palace Intrigues," by Barry Strauss
Mar 1600:17:42Tap to summarizeAssociate Editor Spencer Klavan reads “Palace Intrigues,” Barry Strauss’s review of Kant: A Revolution in Thinking, featured in the Fall 2025-Winter 2026 double issue. 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
Transcribe →
Christopher Flannery on the Extraordinary Life of John Quincy Adams
Mar 200:30:10Tap to summarizeJohn Quincy Adams, son of John, grew up amid the turmoil of the revolution. At just 14, he served as interpreter of French for America’s first minister in Russia. He grew into a diplomat, a secretary of state, a president, and a ferociously anti-slavery congressman—after leaving office. He saw deep into the heart of the Declaration’s logic and made it his guiding light. Browsing the diary of JQA, contributing editor Christopher Flannery and associate editor Spencer Klavan delight in the sixth president’s achievements, his towering ambitions, and his oddly relatable notes of self-reproach. Plus: a peek at CRBs to come!The Diaries of John Quincy Adams 1779–1848In Revolution, Thucydides 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
Transcribe →