Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor warn of an "end times" far-right alliance

In short: Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor say a far-right alliance is treating major crises like climate change as something to speed up, not fix.

What happened

Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor appeared on The New York Times video and podcast show The Interview to discuss their upcoming book, End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World.

The book, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, is scheduled for release on September 15, 2026. Klein and Taylor say it expands on their earlier Guardian essay about what they call “end times fascism,” a kind of politics that assumes disaster is coming and plans for who gets to survive.

In the interview, they argue that a powerful far-right coalition is forming across three groups. They point to Christian nationalists who see today’s crises in apocalyptic religious terms, tech-sector reactionaries and very wealthy tech leaders who plan “escape” options like bunkers or Mars, and ethno-nationalists who push for “fortress states” with harsher borders and fewer rights for outsiders.

Klein and Taylor claim the common thread is a belief that collapse is inevitable, and that it can be used to lock in power for a small group. They describe these actors as “traitors to life,” and connect the argument to issues like fossil fuel expansion, tougher anti-migrant policies, and weakening public services.

Why it matters

Even if you never read the book, the idea is a warning about how some leaders may respond to emergencies. It is the difference between fixing the house and boarding up one room for yourself (and leaving everyone else outside).

Source: NYTimes