Commentary Magazine Podcast

On this week’s COMMENTARY Podcast, John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman review the impact of the worst terrorist event to occur on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001. Donald Trump’s long-awaited implosion seems to have begun, and his image is not being buoyed as a result of the fear that follows a terrorist event.

The Republican Party’s primary race has been over for a month, but they are far from united around Donald Trump. In fact, the GOP disunion is only growing worse. Meanwhile, the Democratic Primary functionally ended last night, and already the party of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is more united than Democrats. This week, John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman take a look at paths forward for both candidates in November, and why only one party is already nervously looking toward the panic button.

Everything is terrible! But we try to keep our spirits up on this week's podcast. John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman point out that the two major candidates are unpopular and unsavory in different ways, gorillas are dragging kids around, and suddenly Americans aren't living as long as they used to. Despite all that, we're full of energy and vim and vigor. It's like being in an elevator in free fall — scary but exhilarating! Give a listen here.

In the latest COMMENTARY podcast, John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman explore the last ride of the Boomer generation in the form of a Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton presidential contest. How the wings of the liberal and conservative movements for whom nostalgia for various periods of the 1960s won the argument, and why this dynamic is suffocating American politics and stifling meaningful debate about where the country is moving. Also, as the polls turn against Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders supporters threaten to burn the place down on their way out, the gang indulges a bit of well-earned schadenfreude over liberal panic.

John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman essay the near future of the Democratic Party contest and wonder whether Bernie Sanders's victories are a sign of Hillary Clinton's weakness or rather represent a free vote due to her strength. The Facebook suppression of conservative media raises the question of whether in a populist age; Facebook itself may look like a trust in need of a trust-busting. And -- watch to watch and not watch on TV and at the movies!

In the latest COMMENTARY podcast, Abe Greenwald and Noah Rothman do their best to cover for John Podhoretz’s well-earned absence. House Speaker Paul Ryan appears to be one of the few remaining holdouts in the House GOP Conference still resisting assimilation into the Trumpian Borg. How long can he hold out? Plus, Hillary Clinton’s floundering general election campaign, and polls showing a Trump bounce. Maybe the GOP won’t be in for such a drubbing in November after all?

Abe Greenwald and I discuss The Victory of the Man Who Came Down the Escalator, and what it signals about the state of conservatism—which is to say, did the "he's not a conservative" attack against him launched by Ted Cruz and others fail so completely because conservatism no longer has any coherent meaning to Republican voters? We say probably yes. We also suggest hugging your children and finding good shows to watch on Amazon Prime. Hey, if Rome is burning, better get your bread and circuses in early. You can listen here.

Commentary Podcast April 27 by John Podhoretz & Noah Rothman

On this week’s COMMENTARY MAGAZINE podcast, we dig into the results of New York’s primary election. The Democratic presidential nomination contest is essentially over, but don’t tell that to the increasingly deluded Bernie Sanders. What does Donald Trump’s staggering victory and Ted Cruz’s humiliating third-place finish say about their pathways to the nomination, and how will the convention delegates respond to the Texas senator’s claim to be a winner in November if he keeps losing? Finally, is it the American Dream to live beyond one’s means? And we conclude with a Passover-related joke!

On this week's COMMENTARY MAGAZINE Podcast, we discuss why it is that leftist Democrats and young people don't seem to like Hillary Clinton, why they're pushing for Bernie Sanders even though he has almost no chance to win, and why what Hillary has been doing to alienate them might just be a savvy long-term governing strategy. We argue over whether Sanders is being propelled by the power of ideas or by giveaways, and whether Donald Trump could have been forestalled if only Republicans had bec0me Democrats during the Obama years. It's more cheerful than last week!

In this week's COMMENTARY MAGAZINE Podcast, we (Noah Rothman, Abe Greenwald, and I) examine the bizarre fact that all four of the leading candidates for the presidency are in problematic shape—Trump (Mr. High Negatives) and Clinton (Mrs. Lost Six In A Row) having been shellacked in Wisconsin by contenders who have significant weaknesses of their own. They say Clinton can't lose, but on the other hand, she keeps losing. And now people say Trump can't win, but does that mean Ted Cruz can win? Will the madness never end? Enjoy!

On this week’s podcast, I ask my colleagues Abe Greenwald and Noah Rothman whether there are signs and portents indicating that at long last the Republican party is souring on its frontrunner. One supporter calls him a 16-year-old. Anderson Cooper calls him a 5-year-old. Women don’t like him. It appears Wisconsin Republicans don’t like him. Yes, it’s all good news until I arrive with the requisite pail of icy cold water to splash all over your good mood. But — unlike last week — we end with a joke!

COMMENTARY Editor John Podhoretz and his colleagues Noah Rothman and Abe Greenwald express their deep sympathy for poor President Obama — he got his nice trip to Cuba all stepped on by another terrorist attack getting in the way of the “pivoting” he wants to do in foreign policy. The horror in Brussels raises yet again the specter of a non-assimilating Muslim population in Europe and complicates questions in the American presidential race. Meanwhile, Ted Cruz seems unable to get out of Donald Trump’s shadow no matter how hard he tries, with parlous end results for him and for the Republican Party. This episode does not end with a joke. Next week’s will.

The COMMENTARY triumvirate of Podhoretz, Rothman, and senior editor Abe Greenwald is back to bring you the bad news—and it’s really all bad news, let’s face it—about the possibilities for stopping Donald Trump going forward (not that good), the condition of Ted Cruz’s bid for the nomination (not really all that good), what the hell John Kasich is up to (probably no good), and how Trump has controlled the Republican Party for nine months through threats that are only getting wilder as he gets closer to his goal. Not to worry: We end with a joke!

Noah Rothman and I face the continuing crack-up in the GOP, wonder why everyone in the Hillary Clinton protectorate seems determined to pooh-pooh Bernie Sanders, and in general make it clear that it would really, really be audacious to hope right now. About much of anything. We end with a joke. It's a dark joke. But a good joke. Give a listen.