PODCAST · news
Night Owls
by John Ellis and Joe Klein
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
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Night Owls Episode 78 (With Rye Barcott)
In this episode of the Night Owls podcast, John Ellis and Joe Klein sit down with Rye Barcott, co-founder of With Honor, for a candid conversation about courage, service, and the collapse of civic trust in modern American politics. Drawing from his forthcoming book Courage Can Save Us, Barcott...
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Night Owls Episode 77 (With Nicholas Eberstadt)
In this episode of Night Owls, Joe Klein and John Ellis talk with political economist Nicholas Eberstadt about his latest book: a collection of essays entitled America’s Human Arithmetic. One of those essays -- 'Our Miserable 21st Century' -- remains the most read "article" in the long history of...
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Night Owls Episode 76 (With Michael Fenzel)
In this episode of Night Owls, John Ellis and Joe Klein sit down with retired Lieutenant General Michael Fenzel for a discussion about war, from Desert Storm to Afghanistan and Iraq to what we now call Gulf War 3. Fenzel's career in the military was shaped by war’s evolution and its enduring...
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Night Owls Episode 75
In episode 75 of Night Owls, John Ellis and Joe Klein pour a late-night double of geopolitics, economics, and technological dread. The conversation opens with President Trump’s latest press conference on Iran, where the rhetoric is hot, the implications hotter, and the margin for miscalculation...
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Night Owls Episode 74
In the 2026 premier of Night Owls, John Ellis and Joe Klein recap Trump's first year of his second first term as president. The discussion begins with Trump's behavior at the recent Davos conference, which raised more concerns about the president's mental "capacity". They wonder when the "elite"...
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Night Owls Episode 73
In this episode of Night Owls, hosts John Ellis and Joe Klein discuss a range of political topics, focusing on Donald Trump's recent behavior, mental health, and the implications for the Republican Party. They explore the political landscape, including the dynamics of the upcoming elections,...
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Night Owls Episode 72
In this episode of Night Owls, John Ellis and Joe Klein engage with Cade Metz, a technology correspondent for The New York Times, discussing the evolution and implications of artificial intelligence. They explore Metz's journey in AI journalism, the financial investments in AI development, the...
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Night Owls Episode 71
In this episode of "Night Owls," hosts John Ellis and Joe Klein discuss the recent election results, highlighting the Democratic Party's significant victories across various states, including Georgia and Pennsylvania. They explore the implications of these results on the political landscape,...
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Night Owls Episode 70
In this episode, John Ellis and Joe Klein discuss the current political landscape, focusing on the endorsement of Andrew Cuomo for mayor of New York, the challenges facing the Democratic Party, and the implications of cultural issues on upcoming elections. They also delve into international…
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Night Owls Episode 69
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...
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Night Owls Episode 68 (With H.R. McMaster)
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…
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Night Owls Episode 67
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...
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Night Owls Episode 66 (with Marc Dunkelman)
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…
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Night Owls Episode 65 (Daniela Rus)
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.
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Night Owls Episode 64 (Wolfgang Munchau Part 3)
The last part of our interview with the brilliant Wolgang Munchau
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Night Owls Episode 63 (Wolfgang Munchau Part 2)
The 2nd in our series where we interview Wolfgang Munchau
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Episode 61 (with Larry Summers)
Larry Summers on Team Trump's economic policies, the attack on academia and the future of artificial intelligence.
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Night Owls Episode 60
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...
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Night Owls Episode 59 (with Martin Wolf)
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.
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Night Owls Episode 58 (With Sen. Tom Cotton)
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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Night Owls Episode 57
A world in disarray
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Episode 56 (with Al From)
Al From, the founder of the Democratic Leadership Council, talks about how to rebuild the Democratic Party—and how he did it last time.
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Episode 55
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.
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Episode 54 (with Susan Mulcahy)
Nobody knows the New York Post like Susan Mulcahy. She wrote the book. She talked about it with us.
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Episode 53 (with David Barboza Part 4)
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...
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Episode 52 (with David Barboza Part 3)
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...
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Episode 51 (with David Barboza Part 2)
Episode Two: We begin our conversation with David about China and whether the "Thucydides Trap" can be avoided.
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Episode 50 (with David Barboza Part 1)
Episode One: David Barboza, former Shanghai Bureau Chief for The New York Times, is building a new kind of media company. Call it Bloomberg for China.
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Episode 49 (with Deb Roy)
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.
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Episode 48 (with Deb Roy and Alex Kelly Berman)
Part two of our conversations with the senior management of Cortico, the platform for "deeper conversations". Featuring Deb Roy and Alex Kelly Berman.
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Episode 47 (With Deb Roy and Kathy Cramer)
Cortico, in collaboration with the MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC), has built a platform that connects rather than divides communities, and in so doing, helps create a healthier society. We talked to its CEO and co-founder, Deb Roy, and one of its Directors, Prof. Kathy Cramer,...
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Episode 46 (with Jane Metcalfe Part 2)
Part Two of our interview with Jane Metclafe, a woman who saw the future clearly. Twice.
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Episode 45 (with Jane Metcalfe Part 1)
Part One of our interview with Jane Metclafe, a woman who saw the future clearly. Twice.
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Episode 44 (Barbara Walter)
An interview with University of California San Diego Professor Barbara Walter, whose book -- "How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them" -- examines the risk factors that presage civil wars. Those factors are "anocracy," factionalism, loss of power and loss of hope, all hyper-linked by social...
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Night Owls Episode 43
A last look at the 2024 presidential campaign. A disagreement about Jeff Bezos. A watershed moment in Germany. And more!
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Episode 42 (with RIta Singh)
Rita Singh is one of the leading voice forensics scientists in the world. In this podcast, she discusses her work at length; what our voices tell us about our physical stature, our ethnicity, our age, our health, our honesty, our intentions and our mental states. It's riveting.
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Night Owls Episode 41 (with General David H. Petraeus Ret.)
General David Petraeus (Ret.) talks about the paperback edition of his book, Conflict, written with Andrew Roberts—and brings us up to date on the state of war in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon and potential wars in Iran and Taiwan.
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Night Owls Episode 40
Three topics -- the VP debate, the Middle East and Hurricane Helene -- in 30 minutes. Joe's experience covering the Middle East is on full display.
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Episode 39 (Interview with Daron Shaw Part 2)
Part 2: John talked with Daron Shaw, one of the nation’s best pollsters who most people have never heard of. They talked about polling, politics and the presidential election.
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Episode 38 (Interview with Daron Shaw Part 1 of 2)
John talked with Daron Shaw, one of the nation’s best pollsters who most people have never heard of. They talked about polling, politics and the presidential election.
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Episode 37 (Post-Debate Analysis)
John and Joe discuss yesterday's presidental debate
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Episode 36 (with Paul Vallas)
John and Joe welcome Paul Vallas to the show! Paul Vallas is best known for his innovative work in public education — as superintendent of schools in Chicago and in the all-charter school system in New Orleans — and (most recently) his impressive campaign for Mayor of Chicago (he got 48% of the...
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Episode 35 (with Zoe Liu)
Joe and John interview Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Maurice R. Greenberg senior fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), about her recent article in Foreign Affairs, "China's Real Economic Crisis."
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Episode 34
Joe and John assess the Democratic National Convention, the collapse of RFK Jr.'s presidential campaign, and the rising political influence of the crypto-currency "industry."
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Episode 33
Joe and John discuss volatility in the markets and the Middle East...and Kamala Harris's running mate: "Coach" Walz.
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Episode 32 (A Conversation with Ann Selzer.)
Joe and John talk with Ann Selzer, the great Iowa pollster. It's a smart, interesting conversation about the 2024 presidential campaign, because she knows what she's talking about.
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Episode 30
Is Trump the the one to beat as the polling suggests? What does VP Kamala Hariss's ascent to the to the presidential nominee mean for her chances? Joe and John discuss
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Episode 29
The last days of the Biden campaign? Joe and John go back and forth.
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Episode 28 (with Rebecca Patterson)
Rebecca Patterson, the former chief investment strategist at Bridgewater Associates, gave us a guided tour of the global economy. She's very smart and very articulate; the perfect podcast guest.
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Episode 27 (with Philip K. Howard)
Why is government stuck in the muck? Philip K. Howard tells Night Owls how to make schools, infrastructure projects and environmental regulations work better.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
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.
HOSTED BY
John Ellis and Joe Klein
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Night Owls have?
Night Owls currently has 77 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Night Owls about?
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...
How often does Night Owls release new episodes?
Night Owls has 77 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Night Owls?
You can listen to Night Owls on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Night Owls?
Night Owls is created and hosted by John Ellis and Joe Klein.
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