The Commentary Magazine Podcast

Today we answer listener questions about our favorite comics, the influence of Leo Strauss on conservatism, the loss of Victorian virtues, and what to do about Americans who don't want to work. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today begins a week of podcasts in which we answer listener questions. The questions today are about where to find good writing about the Left, whether today's progressives are similar to the original Progressives in the early years of the 20th century—and what about all these outer-space aliens? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eliana Johnson joins today's podcast with a scoop from her publication, the Washington Free Beacon: A photograph makes it clear Hunter Biden was in proximity to his father on the day in 2017 he threatened a Chinese energy executive with Joe's wrath should a deal between Hunter and the Chinese company not go through. Is this the smoking gun? Also, a year after the Dobbs decision, where stands the a...

Eli Lake joins the podcast today to discuss the official House of Representatives censure of California Rep. Adam Schiff. He lied, repeatedly, about having seen intelligence information proving Donald Trump colluded with Russia. Was that enough to justify the House action against him? And what about the testimony yesterday of John Durham, the special counsel who investigated the behavior of Democr...

James B. Meigs joins the podcast today to talk about the submersible that seems to have disappeared on its way to the bottom of the ocean on a Titanic viewing expedition. Why are we so obsessed with this story, and what does it say about our view of exploration as a whole? And what do the horrific learning-loss statistics tell us about where America is going when our kids are learning nothing? Giv...

Today's podcast examines both the plea deal of Hunter Biden with prosecutors and Donald Trump's seeming admission of the charges against him in the documents case in an interview with Bret Baier. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast questions the meaning and the results of the trip by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China, where he engaged in two days of talks intended to ratchet down tensions between our two countries. But should tensions be ratcheted down if that means we don't confront China about its reckless behavior? And what does William Barr's condemnation of Donald Trump's actions mean politicall...

The podcast today is devoted to a discussion of our colleague Abe Greenwald's seminal article, just out in COMMENTARY, called "The Trust Crisis." Why have Americans gone from being people who trust in the country and its institutions to being so wildly skeptical and indeed distrusting? Is there anything to be done about this problem? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...

Today's podcast tries to make sense of the reports that the Biden administration is about to relax sanctions and provide money to Iran in exchange for which Iran will...have highly enriched uranium? What's the point of this, and how is it even thinkable given the explicit letter of U.S. law on the subject? Also, in what way is the Republican race like the Harlem Globetrotters? Give a listen. Learn...

Mark Halperin joins the podcast today to discuss Trump's terrible day in Miami and Bedminster and what it portends not only for his future but for 2024. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James B. Meigs joins us to discuss how some GOP candidates have shifted their tone on Trump's indictment. We also go into the contingencies that could complicate his troubles. And then some frightening revelations about the likely origins of Covid. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eli Lake joins us with a skeptical take on the Justice Department's decision to indict Donald Trump, and things between him and the podcast crew get spicy. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Stirewalt joins the podcast today to discuss the federal indictment of Donald Trump and how much it matters that it appears to be a stronger case than the Manhattan indictment, given Trump's sway over the Republican Party and the instantly defensive response of GOP politicians to the news Thursday night. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we discuss the news that Jack Smith's office informed Donald Trump that he's the target of their classified-documents investigation. What does it mean for Trump? How do the other Republican candidates respond? And we try to figure out what Mike Pence is up to. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast considers the defenestration of CNN's new chief and the declining ratings of the Fox News Channel along with Tucker Carlson's new experiment on Twitter and asks whether this is the moment that the cable-news era ended. Also: Chris Christie! Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast watches the rise of RFK Jr. and asks how it is that the ultimate Establishment family—the Kennedys—has produced a trans-ideological anti-establishment candidacy and what that says about how our politics is ordered. And are things starting to shift in the Republican primary? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we discuss the sonic boom heard over Washington D.C. yesterday and what it says about our defense preparedness. We then take up the worrisome provocations by China in the Taiwan Strait and new signs of sagging support for Ukraine. The gang also analyzes a puzzling New York Times article on Joe Biden's age. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast considers the potential larger meaning and effect of Joe Biden's trip-and-fall in Colorado Springs yesterday—and whether Ron DeSantis is finding his sea legs as a candidate. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s podcast features legal eagle Adam White previewing the upcoming decisions of the Supreme Court. But first, the grudging media acknowledgement of Kevin McCarthy’s political triumph—and is Trump now certain to be indicted by Jack Smith? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast continues to consider the political fallout from the debt limit deal, examines the idea that Chat GPT is the end of school homework as we know it, and wonders at the strategy of Chris Christie as he enters the presidential race. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The debt ceiling deal has been reached, and the podcast crew suggests that it's a big but modest win for Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy—but what does it do for Joe Biden? Does McCarthy's triumph mean he's lost, or is there a political upside for the president in the terms of the deal. And has the situation in Ukraine escalated over the weekend? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choi...

In commemoration of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot today and Memorial Day on Monday, we will not be releasing episodes of the Commentary Magazine podcast. We'll be back to annoy you on Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are fortunate to be joined on today's podcast by Fred Kagan, military historian at AEI and analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, to explain to us the incredible complexities of the present moment in the Russia-Ukraine war. But first we assess the first day of the DeeeSantis (as the governor of Florida himself pronounces it) presidential campaign. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad...

Today's podcast looks ahead a few hours to the Ron DeSantis announcement of his presidential candidacy. Why is he doing it on Twitter Spaces? What's his strategy for victory? And then—what on earth are the Los Angeles Dodgers thinking in relation to a group that is in every particular a defamation of religious Catholics? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast examines the entry of Tim Scott into the presidential race and asks what he can do to enhance his position. Also, the debt ceiling talks and the apparent progress being made there. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices