The Commentary Magazine Podcast

On today's listener-questions podcast, we first discuss efforts on the right over the past 20 years to address issues of concern to working-class Americans and where they went wrong—before we get into a big, heated, passionate argument about the future and AI and the Internet and a lot of juicy stuff. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's listener-question podcast finds us discussing how the COMMENTARY crew gathers the information we gather during the day and how and when we read books. And we talk about the relation between faith and liberalism. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast marks the first in a week devoted to listener questions. First up: How do we manage to stay friends with people we disagree with so strongly—or do we? Next: What writers and political figures have inspired us? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I start today's podcast saying I'm sick of talking about Trump and then...we talk about Trump. Which is suggestive of everything about American politics at this moment. Then: did Maui's emergency management chief do an honorable thing or a cowardly thing quitting his job in the middle of the disaster? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yes, the original Commentary podcast band is back together for one night only! Noah Rothman joins Abe and me for a delightfully crushingly morose hour of worries about Ukraine, fears about Biden and Trump, and general gloom about everything. Don't miss it! Give a listen! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Stirewalt joins the podcast today to examine Donald Trump's immediate future in the wake of the latest indictments and whether they make it more likely Trump will participate next week in the first Republican primary debate. And how much time does Ron DeSantis have to save his candidacy? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrew C. McCarthy joins the podcast yet again to help us go through the indictments of Donald Trump and 18 others in Fulton County, Georgia. We ask three questions. How strong is the case legally? How effective is the case politically as a cudgel against Trump? And how just is the case? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James B. Meigs joins the podcast today to discuss the fire catastrophe in Maui and the fact that, once again, ordinary people are doing the work to help those in need while government just can't get itself organized—and the president of the United States thinks it's all right to say "no comment" when asked about it. Also on the president's mind: The weird hijinks surrounding the legal case against his son. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk about the record spike in American suicides, particularly those of adult men. What cultural, political, and economic forces are merging to create this tragedy? And why are the psychiatric and psychological communities falling down on the job? Then we discuss a new initiative in Louisiana to keep online pornography away from kids. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast connects new inflation numbers to a general feeling of uneasiness in the body politic reflected also in the way certain types of criminal conduct (shoplifting in particular) not only have an effect on rising prices but on the national mood. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast examines the results of an election in Ohio in which liberals blew past conservatives on an issue related to abortion. Will this encourage them to try to use the techniques with which they won this election on other issues besides abortion—trans matters especially? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast discusses the politics surrounding a strange special election today (Tuesday the 8th) in Ohio, which is a proxy for how voters feel about abortion rights. Then we discuss Mike Pence's emergence as an open critic of his former boss, and what happens when anti-establishment right-wing males get caught out for their racist and misogynist pasts. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast takes up the raging "truths" (tweets) released by Donald Trump this weekend on his social-media site, which seem reckless and possibly threatening to his defense strategy and to his ability to stay out of jail. Is there a strategy here? And foreign policy has taken a backseat for months—but now guess what? The Chinese, the Russians, and others are testing and prodding us to see how we respond. How are we responding? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James B. Meigs joins today's podcast to talk about what a D.C. jury might think of the fraud charge against Donald Trump, what's really happening with all this UFO stuff, and what's significant about a new commercial nuclear reactor in Georgia. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we have Dan Senor on to talk about the state of the GOP primary, the prospects for the general election, the unpredictability of it all, and whether the polls tell us anything useful this far out. We also get into the legal and political crises in both the U.S. and Israel. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrew C. McCarthy joins us today to discuss the indictment of Donald Trump released on August 1st and how its spate of novel approaches makes it extraordinarily problematic not only as a matter of law but also as a political matter. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eliana Johnson joins us today to talk about the bombshell "interview" behind closed doors of Hunter Biden's partner Devon Archer and his revelation that Hunter's vice-president father got on the phone 20 times with clients. And, um, what exactly is Ron DeSantis doing with his campaign? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we recall the mother of all sweetheart deals—Ted Kennedy's Chappaquiddick wrist slap—and what it says about our unsavory political moment. We get into the new poll showing Donald Trump's dominance of the GOP and discuss Ron DeSantis's standing among voters and Hunter Biden's effect on his father's prospects. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we discuss the new charges leveled against Donald Trump in the classified-documents case and what his legal misfortunes mean to voters. We also consider Mitch McConnell's alarming health episode at the Capitol, American gerontocracy, and the long reign of the Boomers. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrew C. McCarthy joins today's podcast to try and make sense out of the astonishing events in a Delaware courtroom where the Hunter Biden plea deal with the Justice Department fell apart before the judge's eyes and the eyes of the world. And see if you can spot my blunder at the very end of the podcast. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast takes up the rebooting of the DeSantis campaign and tries to find analogies to such a reset in both successful and unsuccessful election bids in the past. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eli Lake joins the podcast to talk about Hunter and Joe Biden. We have questions: Who is Devon Archer and what does he know? Why has it taken so long for details to emerge? Who are the friends and Democratic donors buying Hunter's paintings? And what's up with Joe Biden's dogs? We also catch up on the latest Covid-origin science. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liel Leibovitz joins the podcast today to talk about the unprecedented showdown between the duly elected democratic government of Israel and mass protestors claiming to speak for the true spirit of democracy. Also, the Hunter Biden story gets closer and closer to Joe. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast examines the newly released uncorroborated account to the FBI of a supposed payoff to Joe Biden himself in 2015 from the Ukranian energy company Burisma. The company wanted Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin fired, and Biden did later convince the Ukrainian president at the time to fire Shokin. How seriously should we take this? How damaging is it for Biden? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast examines the spectacle of angry Democratic representatives yelling at IRS whistleblowers in order to defend Joe Biden on the Hunter matter. Hmmm. Remember when they loved whistleblowers? And how strong does the "target letter" suggesting a Trump indictment on January 6 sound? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tevi Troy joins the podcast to talk about what it's like to work in a White House when the president seems infirm or out of touch or in a lot of trouble. And he discusses his important article, "How to Combat Anti-Semitism." Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast discusses the surprising Democratic snapback against the anti-Israel words of the Squad, which includes Joe Biden inviting Bibi Netanyahu to Washington. Dems do not only seem scared about that radicalism; they're scared of No Labels, protest candidacies, and Trump the supposed totalitarian. Should they be? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's podcast takes up the Secret Service's baffling announcement that it was closing its investigation into the cocaine at the White House—or is it baffling? And the naked anti-Semitism expressed by RFK Jr. and the squad: Will there be any consequences for it? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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