The Commentary Magazine Podcast

Today we talk about the WHO's declaring aspartame a possible carcinogen. Is it overreach or prudence? Then we consider Tucker Carlson's new media venture and his current standing on the right. We also discuss the culture warring over the defense bill and the fate of DEI in the private sector. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast takes up the heartening news about declining information and advises caution when assuming it will help Joe Biden. And can anything help Ron DeSantis and Christopher Wray? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eli Lake joins us again today to discuss the gathering storm over Hunter Biden that was not stilled by his guilty plea two weeks ago. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eli Lake joins today's podcast to talk about the anniversary of the ten-dollar Founding Father's death in a duel, the NATO meeting and how much credit is due Joe Biden for its apparent successes, and a historical matter: Were the investigations into intelligence-community malfeasance back in the 1970s necessary or harmful—or both? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today Yuval Levin joins the podcast to discuss why no one seems interested in avoiding the fiscal cliff, why Joe Biden may or may not resemble King Lear, and how sweeping social change makes the case for the liberal society. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meghan McCain (not Markle) joins us to talk about cocaine in the White House, the 500th day of the war in Ukraine, and why Ron DeSantis's commercials are, um, bad. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Senor joins our podcast today to give us insight into the Israeli military actions on the West Bank, the current political standing of Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition, and what the apparently collapsing prosecutions of Israel's prime minister might have to teach us about the indictments of Donald Trump. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast takes up the question: Why are progressives so sour on the idea of American progress? Aren't they believers in progress? Well, not really any longer, and we try to explain why. Also, why do we know that cocaine was found in the White House? And why did a judge block the Biden administration from consulting with social-media companies? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Independence Day, we (joined by our friend Adam White) talk about how the Supreme Court rejected the Biden Administration's attempt to arrogate powers of Congress in the student loan case, and supported free speech rights in a case involving a website designer and gay marriage. The Constitution may not have been signed on July 4, but we celebrate nonetheless! Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam White joins us today to discuss the landmark Supreme Court decision ending the use of race as a factor in higher-education admissions. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The last listener-questions podcast of the week features our friend Eliana Johnson, who helps us answer a very heartening query: What are some of the best articles and essays in COMMENTARY's own archives? Also, did we make Russia invade Ukraine somehow? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's listener questions include one from the husband of a young teacher who informs us she's leaving her profession. Also: What's the best ride at Disney World? And what about online gambling? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's entry in listener-questions week features James B. Meigs, who helps us consider the case of Sam Bankman-Fried, charged with all sorts of crimes in relation to the cryptocurrency exchange he started and claimed was only running in order to be an "effective altruist." And is The Dark Knight the most neoconservative movie ever made? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 abortion issue? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Democrats in 2016 relating to Trump and Russia? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 politically? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.fm/adchoices

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 more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

Today's podcast rolls its eyes at Joe Biden's sudden conversion to the idea that he, as president, can invoke the 14th amendment to solve the debt-ceiling crisis—something three weeks ago he said he could not do. Is this more grist for the mill of his chances in 2024? Not so fast; there are data that suggest the Republicans have more to worry about than Democrats next year. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eliana Johnson joins the podcast today to discuss the media campaign against Dianne Feinstein, the refusal of the media to examine the condition of John Fetterman, and how Fetterman's clothing choices signify something about the nature of fashion in American politics. Also, next week's Republican-presidential-candidate-Palooza. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The podcast crew drops its collective jaw at the clearly questionable "near catastrophic" car chase through New York starring Harry and Meghan that clearly didn't quite happen. What do the Sussexes have in common with the movie Addams Family Values? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast points out yesterday's daily double in the Senate, with John Fetterman delivering a garbled round of questioning for bankers hastily and foolishly cleaned up by a Washington Post reporter and Dianne Feinstein claiming to have been voting in the Senate during months when she was in California supposedly recovering from "shingles." What effect will this have on voter views of Joe Biden, himself the object of questioning about his compos mentis? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eli Lake joins the podcast today to discuss the findings and fallout of the Durham report on the FBI's conduct during its investigation of the Trump campaign in 2016 and after. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Schanzer joins us today to discuss the firing of 1,400-plus rockets at Israel from Gaza and why this time is different from, say, 2021 in the nature of the enemy, the nature of the threat, and the nature of the geopolitical efforts being made against Israel led by Iran. Also, the Turkish elections. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast takes up, again, the baffling refusal of Republicans running against Donald Trump to...run against Donald Trump. How do they think they can beat him if they don't try to beat him? Also, the immigration crisis and the indictment of the subway chokeholder. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast reviews Donald Trump's performance at the CNN Republican Town Hall in New Hampshire—and not only his, but the hysterical Twitter reaction to it and the waves of liberal hostility generated against CNN's Kaitlan Collins for somehow not preventing Trump from being effective. And what's this about the Biden family earning millions and hiding it? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast discusses the jury verdict in the civil case against Donald Trump and how it might affect his chance—and the mien of his chief rival, Joe Biden, during a press conference yesterday about the debt ceiling. And Tucker Carlson going to Twitter. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast delves into the list of the Pulitzer-prize-winning journalism of 2022, announced yesterday, and notes that the list comes at a time when Americans are more disenchanted with the field than ever—and for good reason! Also, the border. And Abe Greenwald offers an out-of-left field "Commentary Recommends." Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The podcast descends into disagreement on the pomp and circumstance of King Charles's coronation before rising in agreement in a group analysis of the absolutely horrendous poll for Joe Biden released Sunday. And then we discuss the subway chokehold and the liberal response. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast takes up a Pew Research poll showing a majority of Americans believe things were better 50 years ago than they are now. Why would people say this about a time when America was sunk in a losing war, living under wage and price controls, and dealing with Watergate and an oil embargo? And in our new "Commentary Recommends" feature, I make the case you should read Anthony Trollope's Phineas Finn. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices