Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor: End Times Fascism
Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor discuss their book on the apocalyptic thinking driving Christian nationalism, tech-bro reaction, and populist survivalism.
Why we picked this
Klein and Taylor are analyzing the same movement from two different angles — one economic, one philosophical — and their collaboration produces a more complete diagnosis than either would offer alone.
End Times Fascism argues that the various strands of contemporary right-wing reaction — Christian nationalist, tech-libertarian, populist survivalist — share a common thread: apocalyptic thinking that makes authoritarian solutions feel not just acceptable but necessary. Naomi Klein (The Shock Doctrine, Doppelganger) and Astra Taylor (What Is Democracy?, Examined Life) co-authored the book from complementary vantage points: Klein from political economy, Taylor from philosophy and documentary filmmaking.
The collaboration produces something more diagnostic than either writer’s solo work. Klein identifies how economic crisis gets weaponized. Taylor traces the intellectual genealogy of ideas that feel new but aren’t. Together they’re asking what movements that invoke the end of the world actually want, and what democratic politics can offer in response.
A live conversation with both of them in the room is a different experience than reading the book — expect disagreement, refinement, and thinking in progress.