The Book Club Begins: Black Sun

Reading Beneath the Surface of Politics, Starting January 7

I’m excited to officially announce that the Will Spencer Book Club will launch on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at 3:30pm Pacific / 6:30pm Eastern.

We’ll begin with the following sections from Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism, and the Politics of Identity by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke:

• Introduction (p. 1)

• American Neo-Nazism (p. 7)

As tempted as I am to rush headlong into some of the middle chapters, I think the opening of the book warrants careful study. Reading through it, I think you’ll recognize themes that feel uncomfortably familiar from today’s right-wing political dialogue.

I think you’ll also see how much of the modern alt-right / dissident right / “new right” conversation—including from figures like Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens, and others—borrows heavily from previous ideological streams. In other words, it’s nothing new.

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Paid subscribers: details and links for the first call are included at the bottom of this post 👇

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A Word of Thanks

Also, I wanted to say a sincere thank you.

Your interest in the book club has been very encouraging. It tells me that you’re hungry for serious reading. Like me, you want to encounter works that not only help us name the forces shaping the modern world, but also identify the spiritual currents running through them.

That’s why Black Sun is our starting point.

Unlike other authors who’d tackle the same topic, Goodrick-Clarke isn’t writing a polemic. Instead, he’s telling a story by tracing continuity. He shows how Hitler and the Nazis’ mystical, quasi-religious ideas didn’t disappear after World War II. Instead, the ideas mutated, spread, and embedded themselves in modern ideological movements, long before the Internet.

As hard as it may be to believe, that’s what we’re seeing today, only digitized.

Beginning with the first two chapters will also allow us to focus on the historical groundwork before moving into the darker, more occult material that illustrates where all this ultimately leads. (Nowhere good.)

I’m looking forward to reading this book with you.

Read more about the Book Club here.
Read more about Black Sun here.

A Look Ahead

Also, here’s a preview of what’s likely coming next.

Lord willing, our second book will be American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation—How Indian Spirituality Changed the West by Philip Goldberg.

Read that subtitle again:

From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation—How Indian Spirituality Changed the West

If Black Sun helps us understand how mystical, occult, and esoteric ideas are re-emerging on the political RIGHT today, then American Veda helps explain how Eastern mysticism first took root on the LEFT in previous generations. From there it quietly worked its way into the mainstream of American life.

Taken together, these books help reveal something important: the modern West didn’t become “secular.” Instead, it became spiritually confused… and in many cases, spiritually compromised.

That confusion now expresses itself literally everywhere: politics, therapy culture, psychedelics, identity movements, your local yoga studio, and yes, even parts of the church.

This book club exists to read thoughtfully and consider the gravity of this historical moment and our response to it, together.

Joining the Book Club

The book club discussions are available to paid Substack subscribers. Your subscription helps support the time, preparation, and live conversations that go into the project.

If you’ve been considering upgrading, now’s a great time to do so.

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🔒 Paid Subscribers — Book Club Details Below