Night Owls

Latest Episodes:

Night Owls Episode 68 (With H.R. McMaster) Sep 20, 2025

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Today, on episode 68 of Night Owls, Joe Klein is joined by a very special guest: H.R. McMaster. A graduate of Westpoint, he served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and retains distinguished careers in military leadership, policy, and history. His book Dereliction of Duty, a critical account of the Vietnam war, has become required reading throughout the military. His new book, At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House, was released in hardcover in August of last year. He is also the author of the History We Don't Know Substack. Here, McMaster discusses his journey from military service to becoming the National Security Advisor under Donald Trump. McMaster shares insights on counterinsurgency warfare, the complexities of U.S.-Russia relations, and the current state of American democracy. He emphasizes the importance of national service and the need for a united American identity, while also addressing the challenges posed by groups like Hamas in the Middle East. The discussion concludes with reflections on the future of U.S. foreign policy and the role of the military in society.

Night Owls Episode 67 Sep 11, 2025

Show notes

With the return of Night Owls, John Ellis and Joe Klein get back into the swing of things with a sprawling discussion of a number of topics; from the consequences of Israel's war with Hamas, to Russia entering Poland's airspace, to Jeffrey Epstein's money laundering, to the "Clankers" resistance rising up against AI, to public support for a third political party, to declining support for capitalism amongst Democrats and Independents. At the close: Joe's sad assessment of The New York Mets.

Night Owls Episode 66 (with Marc Dunkelman) May 19, 2025

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A conversation with Brown University’s Marc Dunkelman who has written an important book: Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—and how to Bring it Back.” Dunkelman has written an alternative history of the Democratic Party, a 150 year struggle between top-down and bottom-up progressivism that has led to stagnation.

Night Owls Episode 65 (Daniela Rus) May 13, 2025

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We interviewed Daniela Rus, Director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT. She talks about the marriage of robotics and AI; what she calls "physical intelligence." It's a fascinating hour.

Night Owls Episode 64 (Wolfgang Munchau Part 3) May 04, 2025

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The last part of our interview with the brilliant Wolgang Munchau

Night Owls Episode 63 (Wolfgang Munchau Part 2) May 04, 2025

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The 2nd in our series where we interview Wolfgang Munchau

Episode 61 (with Larry Summers) Apr 24, 2025

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Larry Summers on Team Trump's economic policies, the attack on academia and the future of artificial intelligence.

Night Owls Episode 60 Mar 25, 2025

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Capitulation Week A major liberal law firm capitulates to Trump pressure. A major Ivy League University capitulates to Trump pressure. Zelensky capitulates to Trump pressure. In Israel, Bibi Netanyahu tries to replicate Trump pressure…and the Dems best response is yesterday’s Bernie singing yesterday’s song. John and Joe revisit last week.

Night Owls Episode 59 (with Martin Wolf) Mar 18, 2025

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A conversation with Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator at the Financial Times, London. We discuss his recent book -- The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism -- and recent events.

Night Owls Episode 58 (With Sen. Tom Cotton) Mar 03, 2025

Show notes

Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) talks about his new book -- "Seven Things You Can't Say About China" -- and says most of them.

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