Commentary Magazine Podcast

Is the COMMENTARY podcast a downer? That's what one reader said, accusing us of "crushing morosity." Well, this one with me and Abe Greenwald isn't exactly going to lift your spirits, what with its discussion of the shooting at the GOP baseball practice, the shadows looming over the Trump presidency, and other light topics. But it's interesting! Give a listen.

In the first COMMENTARY podcast of the week, Abe Greenwald and I survey the wreckage of Theresa May and point out that her disastrous showing represents the fourth major election in a year in which publics have rejected the idea that political professionalism is something to be sought in a leader. Why? They've forgotten, or have never learned, what the world was like until the fall of the Berlin Wall. Give a listen.

In the last of this week’s COMMENTARY podcasts, the gang (John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman) break down former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before Congress: The headlines that are bad for Trump, the headlines that are good for Trump, and the revelations that will ultimately haunt the country. On that note, the hosts ruminate on the prospect of America’s norms prohibiting the corruption of federal public officials are gone forever. If they are, how can the country survive as we know it? … Cheery stuff! Give a listen.

The first of this week's podcasts finds Noah Rothman, Abe Greenwald, and me considering the behavior of the president after the London attacks and the desire somehow to transfer all attention from the jihadis who perpetrated them to the president who attacked the mayor who attacked the president...and a salute to Israel on the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War. Give a listen.

On the last podcast of the week, John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman do their best to break down what has to be the single stupidest 36-hour period in American politics in living memory. From the kerfuffle over “cuvfefe” to ISIS chic, Americans on the right and the left were compelled to debate inanities even more than usual this week. Also, we discussed Noah Rothman’s feature in the June issue, “How to Be a Conservative in the Age of Trump,” and where the right went wrong. Give a listen.

In the first of this week’s COMMENTARY podcasts, the point is raised: The likeliest explanation is that Jared Kushner and others are inexperienced and incompetent rather than malign—so why do they act like they’re guilty? Why does Donald Trump pick fights with Germany and others and thus cast a shadow on a foreign trip that did him some good in the polling? And why aren’t Democrats angrier with Hillary Clinton? Give a listen as Abe Greenwald, Noah Rothman, and I wonder at the strangeness.

On the final podcast before Memorial Day, the COMMENTARY crew takes on the horror in Manchester and what it means about security, terrorism, and cultural integration. We move on to the assault perpetrated on a reporter by an out-of-control special-election candidate in Montana before concluding with the most important issue we've ever covered: Did Melania swat Donald's hand away? Give a listen.

On this week's first podcast, I join with Abe Greenwald and Noah Rothman in examining the success of the president's trip to Saudi Arabia and Israel (thus far) and ask whether this is the beginning of a new foreign-policy push that will seek to take advantage of Barack Obama's failures—or will just evanesce. Also, we discuss Abe's article "Is This the End of the 'Free World?'" and Michael Flynn's 5th amendmenting. Give a listen. And leave a review on iTunes. What, would it kill you to be nice?

The final Commentary podcast of this week finds me, Noah Rothman, and Abe Greenwald arguing over whether the appointment of a special prosecutor might actually be good news for Donald Trump in that it will quiet the scandals down in the short term and allow the administration to get past the 5 pm hour every day without having a boulder fall on its head. I say yes, they say no. We also discuss the death of Roger Ailes and the parlous conduct of Sean Hannity in trying to change the news focus in a way that is a monstrous violation of a family's grief. Give a listen.

The first Commentary podcast of the week finds me, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman puzzling out the idea that Trump taping people in the Oval Office represents the rise of American totalitarianism rather than an insanely self-destructive act that (if it's happening) would only hasten Trump's own demise. We also point out that mainstream media types and liberals (but I repeat myself) are so eager to attach Trump to Republicans that they are now denying Trump-resistant Republicans exist. Give a listen.

So... Trump fired the FBI director, and the world has gone nuts. Is the madness deserved? Or are the crazies taking over the asylum? And what about those bizarre Trump interviews with Time and the Economist? Can we get a moment's peace or are we trapped in an endless crisis loop? How many questions can I ask in this one posting trying to get you to listen to the COMMENTARY podcast with me and Abe Greenwald and Noah Rothman? And will you please go to iTunes and leave a review so we can be as highly rated as our friends at the Weekly Substandard? Give a listen.

Noah Rothman, Abe Greenwald, and I sit down for the latest COMMENTARY podcast in the wake of the French elections to explore the extent to which the French elections represent a triumph for optimism and hope about Western democracy or merely a pause in the forward march of nationalism. We also wonder whether the Democratic party is overplaying its hand after the House vote on the health-care bill and whether it needs a wave election to win back the House in 2018. Give a listen.

On the last of this week's podcasts, Noah Rothman and I (Abe Greenwald is out) try to explain what on earth happened to make it possible for the House to pass a health-care bill and whether this is good news for Republicans or terrible news. (Answer: Both! Neither! Who knows!) Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton reemerges to take full responsibility for losing the election and then turns around and blames James Comey, misogyny, the media Russia, and bleu cheese (I made up that last one). Give a listen.

On the first podcast of the week, the COMMENTARY crew (Abe Greenwald, Noah Rothman, and I) ventilate upon the White House invitation extended to Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who has openly acknowledged his participation in extra-legal assassinations in his country's drug war. Why is such a person being ushered into the Oval Office? Also, we wonder whether the Democratic Party will be in the proper condition to score the kinds of victories in 2018 and 2020 it clearly believes are inevitable. Give a listen.

In the second of this week's COMMENTARY podcasts, we ask whether the president might be relaxing into his job—and whether this means he knows now that he doesn't have to fulfill every agenda item at once but can take them on over the course of the next four years. And then we delve into the horror on college campuses and the grudging acknowledgment by the mainstream media that things are bad for free speech there—which, of course, they blame in part on bad conservatives. Give a listen.