Kondo for Congress

Kondo for Congress

Author: The Claremont Institute November 13, 2025 Duration: 1:12:58

A bill to reopen the government has at last passed the Senate. It includes major concessions from Democrats on health care subsidies, earning moderate Democrats the ire of progressives. As the shutdown reaches its forty-second day, hosts Spencer and Mike sit down with guest Matthew Peterson to discuss the government’s perennial inability to form a budget. Elsewhere, election tallies are in: Zohran Mamdani won the NYC mayoral race, the election for Virginia AG went to Jay Jones, and California voters approved Gavin Newsom’s redistricting plan. The tide of political battle remains yet uncertain as midterms loom. Plus: who planted the January 6 pipe bombs? And more cultural recommendations!

Recommended Reading:

Former Capitol Police Officer a Forensic Match for Jan. 6 Pipe Bomber, Sources Say

2025’s Message to the GOP: Get Back to Basics

A Brief History of the Samurai, by Jonathan Clements

Status and Culture, by W. David Marx



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

Behind the daily headlines and political noise, there's a deeper current of ideas shaping the nation. The American Mind Podcast, from The Claremont Institute, digs into that foundational layer. It moves beyond surface-level debate to examine the philosophical assumptions and historical principles that actually drive American life. In each episode, hosts sit down with Claremont scholars and a range of thoughtful critics to untangle the real causes of our cultural moment. These conversations aren't about quick takes or partisan scoring; they're sustained explorations of how concepts from history, philosophy, and political theory manifest in our society, news cycles, and personal lives. Tuning in, you'll hear rigorous but accessible discussions that connect timeless thought to contemporary upheaval. This podcast provides a space for listeners to step back from the frenzy and consider the underlying forces-the enduring ideals and the new challenges-that are continually remaking the American experiment. It’s for anyone who suspects there’s more to the story and wants to engage with the substantive ideas, not just the symptoms, of our political and cultural reality.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 429

The American Mind Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Strangio-er than Fiction (ft. Gates Garcia) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:55
The ACLU’s most deranged lawyers try to enshrine kid-transing in United States v. Skrmetti; a true domestic terrorist assassinates a healthcare CEO; and Syria’s Assad government is toppled by Islamic rebels. The editors…
A Pardon in a Pear Tree [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:59
Biden tosses his son Hunter an early but unsurprising Christmas present in the form of a sweeping presidential pardon. In doing so he undermines the moral grandstanding of liberals who claim to be above the fray of polit…
Biden’s Parting Gifts [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:51
As Biden’s lame duck administration winds down, he—or whoever's in charge—is leaving a few fun parting gifts for the incoming Trump Administration. From escalation in Ukraine, to a re-opened border surprise, to the intra…
Recess is Over [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:26
With a historic second Trump presidency on the way, there's a new vista of possibility just over the horizon. Immigration, trade, and international relations are each in for a major overhaul. But amid the scramble to pla…
One Shift, Two Shifts, Whiteshift, Redshift [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:45
Trump assembles a notably youthful cabinet of swamp-draining avengers, grinding the gears of the Left. Democrats, meanwhile, face a Hobson’s choice between declining into irrelevancy and admitting they were wrong about T…
He's So Back [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:30
Exceeding even the most optimistic expectations, Trump swept across the states handily to the chagrin of the Harris-Walz campaign, winning both the electoral and popular votes—and becoming the second-only president to se…
Madison Square Garbage [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:40
Joe Biden has October surprised everyone by saying what he really thinks for a change. In a pitiful effort to characterize Trump's Madison Square Garden rally as a Neo-Nazi gathering, Biden unguardedly referred to Trump…
It's in the Bag [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:38
Conservative-backed litigation is whittling away at the administrative state to protect the rights and decision-making power of the people. Meanwhile, liberal thinkers hyperventilate over the need for “experts,” and cast…
No Thoughts in My Head, Just Vibes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:42
As election season heats up, Harris loses steam in battleground states--and loses grip on support from black voters and men. After years of wishfully presenting the emasculated man as an ideal of "enlightened" masculinit…
As I Was Saying... [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:51
Trump was back in Butler this week after a failed assassination attempt there—and joining him on-stage this time was none other than Elon Musk. But will MAGA Musk last? Meanwhile, Kamala Harris has been giggling her way…