The Commentary Magazine Podcast

Donald Trump is telling Hamas to fulfill its end of the deal or he will tell Israel to go back in and go get the bodies of the hostages Hamas is still holding. He's continuing to use the threats of force to change the realities on the ground in ways that remain fresh and new. Meanwhile, American politicians are behaving badly on both sides of the aisle. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choi...

Eliana Johnson joins the podcast to discuss Donald Trump's telling Hamas to disarm or be disarmed. We also talk about the Democrats' fanciful claim that Trump got the cease-fire and got the hostages back by following the Biden administration's plans. And we get into the New York Times' worshipful profile of Zohran Mamdani. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...

Settle in; This is a long one. We discuss the release of the hostages, Donald Trump's extraordinary speech to the Knesset, the meaning of deterrence, the changing atmosphere in the Middle East, and the question of...providence. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The end of the war in Gaza follows the unprecedented two-year psychological war against Zionism, supporters of Israel, and the very idea that Jews need and deserve to defend themselves. This has been an open question for us since 1948, when even Hannah Arendt opposed the creation of a Jewish state in the pages of COMMENTARY. We explain why she was wrong then, is wrong now, and why Israel's surviva...

We must not hope for the best while expecting the worst today; today is a day to celebrate while cautiously looking forward. Jonathan Schanzer joins us to talk about the terms of the deal that will bring the Israeli hostages home while ensuring Israel retains military options and territory in Gaza—a better deal for Israel than most of us ever expected would be the final case. How did it happen? Wh...

Eliana Johnson joins the podcast today to talk about the unprecedented attack-dog performance on Tuesday in a Senate hearing by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who decided to treat her oversight committee as though they were enemies whom she had every right to attack in personal terms. Is this a new model going forward? And what's this with the idea that a Harvard professor shooting a gun near a synag...

Jonathan Schanzer joins the podcast to discuss the ways in which the maligned Israeli approach to the war in Gaza may have, in fact, made its victory this week possible—and if there is no end at hand, establishes its grim but necessary path forward. Programming note: No podcast on Tuesday, October 7, in observance of Sukkot. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...

We return to daily podcasting in the wake of a horrible car-ramming-stabbing spree at a synagogue in Manchester, followed by a massive pro-terrorism demonstration right outside 10 Downing Street. The bloodlust for Jewish lives and security has only grown in the two years since October 7. Why? And how can it be stopped? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So the federal government has "shut down," which it really hasn't, actually, and here we go again. Or will this really be a huge showdown, given that three Democrats have already voted against it and show they don't want to play this game (another six and the shutdown ends). Also: what is this ludicrous "scoop" from human dreidel Barak Ravid about how Trump had to yell at Netanyahu to get Bibi to...

There is much to discuss about Donald Trump's historic proposal for ending the war in Gaza: how the media has reacted, what it says about the Trump administration's support for Israel, and how each of us think Hamas will respond. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does Donald Trump help or hurt himself by using the weapons of the presidency as personal tools for revenge? This is apart from the question of whether his doing so is simply turnabout-as-fair-play or simply an outrageous misuse of his power. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The indictment of James Comey causes us to go down memory lane remembering how destructive Comey was of the good working order of law and politics in matters involving both parties. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back from Rosh Hashanah to sing the glories of Donald Trump's controversial United Nations speech, which is only controversial because he isn't saying what the elites want him to say. And we try to make sense out of what seems like a huge shift on Trump's part in the direction of supporting Ukraine. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The massive memorial for Charlie Kirk in Arizona was more of a Christian revivalist meeting than the funeral of a political figure. What does it herald for the United States? And why does the "recognition" of a non-existent Palestinian state not worry us as much as you might expect? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fallout from the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel continues, with the revelation that, basically, no one watches his show—so why should Disney and ABC keep it on the air if he's more trouble than he's worth? That goes to the question of what to do when a heavy-handed government starts interfering in private business and going after someone who was exercising his free speech. The issue is more compli...

Eliana Johnson joins today's the podcast to talk about the reasons behind Jimmy Kimmel's suspension and the role of government in it before we move on to the frightening and open advocacy of anti-Semitic opinions by the woke right in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrew C. McCarthy joins us to discuss the developments in the Charlie Kirk assassination case and the murder of health-care executive Brian Thompson, both of which took major steps forward yesterday in surprising and chilling ways. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Israel has gone all in to finish the war Hamas started on October 7. Batten down the hatches and watch for the anti-Semitic content. Speaking of which, watch as the anti-Semites try to claim Charlie Kirk, a prominent Christian Zionist, as one of their own. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The gyrations of people who do not want to deal with the political and ideological implications of the Charlie Kirk assassination are the chief focus of today's podcast. We also take up the question of why, if America is so "mad" at Israel for the Qatar strike, our secretary of state is in Israel praying at the Western Wall. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...

The changes in American society that will result from the assassination of Charlie Kirk have already been experienced by America's Jews and the ways we've had to change our lives in the wake of the explosion of anti-Semitic violence over the past decade. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Noah Rothman joins us to talk about political violence and the cultural atmosphere that helped lead to the assassination of a 31 year-old man in the open air of a Utah college campus. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another remarkable historical turn as Israel makes it clear to Hamas leaders outside Gaza that they are not safe from the war they decided to wage against the Jewish state—an example of how Israel is changing the rules of the game in the Middle East and, as Abe says, is "redrawing the map." Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So now conspiracy thinking is OK, so long as it involves Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein—that seems to be the mainstream media takeaway from the continuing focus on this admittedly compelling and disgusting story. Trump is a conspiracist, and he's made it to the top—so does that make conspiracies true? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The horrifying murder of a young woman on the light rail in Charlotte has cast a new light on the cultural and political divide relating to crime. And Russia may finally have pushed Trump to the limit. Or has it? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We discuss the confrontation between RFK Jr. and senators who tried to call him out on his behavior and views before wondering at the idea of changing the Department of Defense into the Department of War—and what's going on with the real war in Gaza. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices