A pioneer of computing technology, Nvidia produces the chief component powering the AI revolution: the microchip. Having scaled the once-niche gaming hardware firm into an industry titan, founder and CEO Jensen Huang must now navigate global trade and politics. Associate editor Spencer Klavan is joined by Emmet Penney, senior fellow of the Foundation for American Innovation and contributing editor of Compact magazine, to explain this pivotal technology for the uninitiated and discuss growing concerns that a thin U.S. power grid could give China an opportunity to surge far ahead in the digital arms race. Plus: The Close Read is now on video!

Associate Editor Spencer Klavan reads “Goodbye to the Good War,” Sean McMeekin’s essay on reality, myth, and World War II, featured in the summer 2025 issue.

Until quite recently, the “New Atheism” held sway over the minds of many elites. But the secular, scientistic worldview that was once so in vogue proved radically insufficient to meet the challenges of the post-9/11 world. Now, a New Theism is gaining traction among many of the thinkers who once professed a confident unbelief. Associate Editor Spencer Klavan sits down with Matthew Schmitz, editor of Compact magazine, to discuss the profound ethical and political implications of this new theological outlook.