Night Owls

Night Owls

Joe Klein and John Ellis on what's happening and what happens next. Joe Klein is the author of seven books and "Sanity Clause," a Substack newsletter. John Ellis is the founder and editor of two Substack newsletters — News Items and Political News Items. The two friends have covered American politics for a combined 95 years.

Episodes

September 26, 2025 62 mins

Podcasts like this one are sometimes called "wide-ranging discussions".

Joe and John cover a lot of ground: genomics, AI, reckless leadership, tariffs, military service, freedom of speech, bags of money, private equity, woebegone Democrats, and China's seemingly endless property crisis. They even talk about Kamala Harris's new book. 

Listen in. 

Mark as Played

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 Tru...

Mark as Played
September 11, 2025 51 mins

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 ...

Mark as Played

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. 

Mark as Played
May 13, 2025 53 mins

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.

Mark as Played

The last part of our interview with the brilliant Wolgang Munchau

Mark as Played

The 2nd in our series where we interview Wolfgang Munchau

Mark as Played
April 24, 2025 55 mins

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

Mark as Played
March 25, 2025 51 mins
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. 
Mark as Played
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. 
 
Mark as Played

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. 

Mark as Played
February 22, 2025 50 mins

A world in disarray

Mark as Played
February 9, 2025 68 mins

Al From, the founder of the Democratic Leadership Council, talks about how to rebuild the Democratic Party—and how he did it last time.

Mark as Played
January 25, 2025 58 mins

Inauguration Week in Review! Joe and John on the ascendant Trump, the triumph of the Tech Bros, Dems in disarray, the Lars Anderson Bridge and the whereabouts of Philip K. Howard. 

Mark as Played
January 17, 2025 65 mins
Nobody knows the New York Post like Susan Mulcahy.
She wrote the book. She talked about it with us. 
 
Mark as Played
January 9, 2025 60 mins

Episode Four: A dream assignment: David moves to Shanghai and begins covering China. He goes from "Sock City" to Apple, to the extraordinary changes in China's economy, politics and culture. The final episode covers everything from Wuhan to Taiwan, fentanyl to semiconductors, quantum computing to cyberhacking, to Xi's political standing and how much (and how many of) China's most successful people dislike a...

Mark as Played
January 9, 2025 16 mins

Episode Three: The not-a-partnership partnership of one of the world's greatest entrepreneurs and one of the world's richest men is a case study in modern China. David describes the "partnership" that became the subject of an extraordinary report co-produced by The New York Times and David's news magazine, The Wire China.

Mark as Played
January 8, 2025 33 mins

Episode TwoWe begin our conversation with David about China and whether the "Thucydides Trap" can be avoided.

Mark as Played
January 8, 2025 31 mins

Episode OneDavid Barboza, former Shanghai Bureau Chief for The New York Times, is building a new kind of media company. Call it Bloomberg for China. 

Mark as Played
December 28, 2024 68 mins

In the final episode of our Cortico trilogy, we talked with the company's founder and CEO, Deb Roy, about the future of "building civic muscle" and his roadmap for a national Cortico network. 

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.

    Crime Junkie

    Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

    Stuff You Should Know

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

    The Joe Rogan Experience

    The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.