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 profiles a new generation of veterans-turned-public servants, including Mark Kelly, Wes Moore, Mikie Sherrill, and Dan Crenshaw, who are trying to navigate an increasingly toxic political system without surrendering their principles. The discussion explores bipartisan cooperation, the rise of political intimidation and death threats, the importance of national service, and why military culture still produces leaders capable of putting mission above ego. It’s ultimately a surprisingly hopeful conversation about the fragile possibility of civic renewal in a country increasingly organized around grievance, performance, and division.

Hosted by John Ellis and Joe Klein

Sanity Clause on Substack

News Items on Substack

Produced by Dale Eisinger

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 Commentary magazine. In the book, Eberstadt argues that while the U.S. is more prosperous than ever, tens of millions of Americans are not flourishing.

The conversation explores how cultural erosion, not just economics, drives these trends, touching on the collapse of community, failures in education, the unintended consequences of welfare and disability systems and the astonishing rise of men in their prime working years who don't work. Eberstadt describes stark geographic and demographic divides as well, while maintaining cautious optimism about America’s resilience, entrepreneurial energy, and capacity for renewal.

Hosted by John Ellis and Joe Klein

Sanity Clause on Substack

News Items on Substack

Produced by Dale Eisinger

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 unpredictability. The conversation addresses Iran’s military calculus, the growing dominance of proxy warfare, and why today’s battlefields extend from the Strait of Hormuz to outer space. Along the way, Fenzel offers candid assessments of leadership, fragile ceasefires, and the limits of diplomacy in an age of permanent tension. About war, he says, there is one central truth: the battle plan is the first casualty.

Hosted by John Ellis and Joe Klein

Sanity Clause on Substack

News Items on Substack

Produced by Dale Eisinger