Claire is the founder of Quillette.com, a digital magazine covering tech, culture, and centrist politics. We cover the rise of China, why Australia may indeed be this century's lucky country, and the realist take on American Empire. If you're interested in these topics, you'll be interested in Network School. Apply online at https://ns.com. OUTLINE 00:00 - Intro to Claire 01:11 - The political distortion of academia 10:21 - Australia might be the “lucky country” of the 21st century 18:16 - Sydney’s strong immigrant influence in the education system 20:34 - Vivek Ramaswamy's December 2024 tweet 30:11 - Is America in denial over the decline of its empire? 49:21 - Narrated articles vs written articles 56:17 - AUKUS isn't real 1:00:44 - Are China and the U.S. destined for war? 1:24:57 - Network School Fellowship: $100k for creators and founders 1:31:46 - Does being outside of the U.S. give a clearer view on the political situation? CITATIONS (1) Andrew Roberts - The Decline of American Empire: https://quillette.com/2021/12/04/the-decline-of-american-empire-a-kubler-ross-cycle-analysis/ (2) Andrew Roberts - America’s Grief Cycle: https://quillette.com/2025/04/14/americas-grief-cycle-the-negotiation-phase-2/ (3) Evolution of the earth’s economic center of gravity: https://www.mckinsey.com/insights/mgi/research/urbanization/urban_world_cities_and_the_rise_of_the_consuming_class (4) Tax on childlessness: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_on_childlessness (5) Quillette on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Quillette (6) Are the U.S. and China headed for War: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/09/united-states-china-war-thucydides-trap/406756/ (7) Pete Hegseth: “China is Building an Army to Defeat America”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WRj8JFNkiM&t=277s (8) Chinese shipbuilding capacity: https://x.com/balajis/status/1678299275703484418 (9) The US military is made in China: https://x.com/balajis/status/1811882571007193545 (10) The rise of partisanship in the U.S. House of Representatives: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0123507 (11) Only 4% of Democrats marry Republicans: https://ifstudies.org/blog/marriages-between-democrats-and-republicans-are-extremely-rare (12) Chinese suppliers in U.S launched armament supply chains: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/65e61e6392aba0fa1dba723e/66104c1d4e3ae7809bcd8082_Govini_2024_Numbers-Matter.pdf (13) Australia almost paid off its national debt: https://x.com/balajis/status/1656430878812438530 (14) Vivek's tweet: https://x.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1872312139945234507 (15) Many had a bad 20th century: https://x.com/balajis/status/1749176133701218516 (16) Four Germanys: https://www.amazon.com/Four-Germanys-Chronicle-Schorcht-Politics/dp/1439913439 SOCIAL https://quillette.com https://ns.com