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The Commentary Magazine Podcast

Commentary Magazinewww.commentary.org
Commentary is America's premier monthly magazine of opinion: General, yet Jewish. Highly variegated, with a unifying perspective.Listen to The Commentary Magazine Podcast, along with more than 40 other original podcasts, at Ricochet.com. No paid subscription required.
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Episodes

The Horrors at Columbia

The refusal both of Columbia University officials and New York City's mayor to confront and end the siege of the school's campus and the open threats to Jews is the culmination of 40 years of academic rot, and we describe why. Also: The House passes aid to Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and moves to end Chinese Communist control of TikTok. Is this a new path forward or a one-off success for House Speaker Johnson? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Apr 22, 20241 hr 3 min

Israel Hits Iran and Columbia's Turn

Jonathan Schanzer joins the podcast for an immediate after-action report on the details of the Israeli strike on Iran, whether deterrence has been reestablished, and how last night might represent the most significant game-changing moment in recent Middle Eastern history. And what's this? Columbia University throws the book at the Hamas-supporting tent city on its campus and has the NYPD arrest more than 100 people? Is this a game-changer too? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...

Apr 19, 20241 hr 19 min

Israelis Need to Watch 'The Godfather'

That's the advice of podcast guest Liel Leibovitz, zooming in from Tel Aviv to discuss the Columbia hearings before the House yesterday and how the anti-Semitism revealed there has unmistakable echoes of past horrors—and threatens future horrors. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 18, 20241 hr 17 min

Trump at the Bodega

Joe Biden is having a good month at the polls, but Donald Trump is finding new and inventive ways to campaign for president despite his humiliating courtroom experience—will it help? And do Israelis want a strong strike against Iran or not? And what is Mike Johnson doing? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 17, 20241 hr 8 min

Return of the Weathermen?

Yesterday's protests in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Seattle suggest again that the pro-Hamas Left is moving into a new and more dangerous phase, one in which they are openly chanting "Death to America" and may be readying violent acts of "resistance." The parallels to the 1960s are unmistakable. And things are only going to get more heated as Israel does what it has to in Rafah and against Iran. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Apr 16, 20241 hr 5 min

The Iran Attack

A full house of COMMENTARY podcasters today as we try to reckon with the many possibilities relating to Iran's repelled attack on Israel—and the fact that America now seems fixated yet again on holding Israel back rather than making Iran pay for its aggression. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 15, 20241 hr 13 min

OJ's Nightmarish Legacy

The death of OJ Simpson this week prompts us to discuss everything that changed in the wake of the murders he committed, the escape he bungled, and the trial at which he was acquitted. Also, what are we to make of the chatter about Iran striking Israel imminently? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 12, 20241 hr

The Iranian Threat

Iran is said to be preparing or on the verge of a direct strike on Israel, and it's not clear Americans know about it. They will when it happens, and we discuss why they'd do it and what Joe Biden has done to suggest to them it might be worth the cost. Republicans in the House continue to display paralysis. Sonia Sotomayor continues to serve on the Supreme Court despite liberal efforts to get her to quit. And the Japanese prime minister is here! Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. V...

Apr 11, 202459 min

The 5 Percent Fantasy

Joe Biden tells an interviewer Israel should do a unilateral ceasefire for six to eight weeks. Tom Friedman of the New York Times explains there's a 5 percent chance for a Palestinian state and that we should focus on that 5 percent. People are yelling "Death to America" inside America and the president says nothing. What on earth is going on here? We try to explain. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Apr 10, 20241 hr 8 min

Trump's Abortion Buzzsaw

Did Donald Trump help or hurt his chances in November with his statement yesterday that he did not want federal action on abortion? Did Joe Biden help or hurt his chances in November by announcing a new effort to pay off student-loan debt? Did Wolodymyr Zelensky help or hurt his nation's future by saying Ukraine would lose the war if the American aid package stalled in the House didn't pass? Did Bibi Netanyahu help or hurt his nation by acceding to Joe Biden's demands over the weekend and then d...

Apr 09, 20241 hr 7 min

A Dark New Reality

Today's podcast tries to make sense out of the Biden administration's now-undeniable harsh turn against Israel and the incomprehensible behavior of the Israeli government over the last 48 hours in relation to the war in Gaza, the negotiations over the hostages, and the threat from Hezbollah. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 08, 20241 hr 2 min

Biden Makes Israel the Bad Guy

Today's podcast reels in horror from the administration response to the tragic errors that led to the Israeli attack on a food convoy and how it represents what may be the final turn of the Bidenites against the war effort to extirpate Hamas. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 05, 20241 hr 4 min

Biden's Incoherence Exposed

Today we talk about the increasing failure of Joe Biden's contradictory position on Israel. He's now all but accused Israel of a war crime but will continue to supply it with weapons of war. Israel's supporters are fed up with his rhetoric and Israel-haters are fed up with his policy. Moreover, his incoherence is inviting Iranian aggression. We also discuss the unique success of NATO as it turns 75 and what Mike Johnson may or not do to push Ukraine aid. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad c...

Apr 04, 20241 hr 2 min

The Israel Pile-On

Today's podcast takes up the question of the Biden administration's problematic response to the tragic strike on a food aid convoy in Gaza—something for which Israel took immediate responsibility and for which it apologized wholeheartedly at the highest levels with little effect on the condemnations that continue to pour on its head. Meanwhile, Biden's polling continues to suggest a loss in November with no changes in strategy from Biden or his people. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad cho...

Apr 03, 20241 hr 12 min

The Unforgivable and the Forgivable

Today we discuss unforgivable acts of Jew-hatred—including a riot outside a synagogue where money was being raised to help a Jewish burial society—and forgivable tragic events that occur during war. There is a difference. A big difference. Also, a beautiful statement by a grieving Israeli father and Donald Trump's very good day in and out of court. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 02, 20241 hr 1 min

Why the Delay on Rafah?

Today Jonathan Schanzer joins the podcast to talk about what's been going on in public and behind the scenes between American and Israeli officials regarding a ground operation in Rafah. How much longer can Israel afford to wait? And what can we learn from the drone attack on an Israeli naval base over the weekend? But first we discuss the White House's declaring Easter Sunday Transgender Day of Visibility. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Apr 01, 20241 hr 1 min

No Excuses for Sam Bankman-Fried

Today's podcast takes up the 25 year sentence for the $8 billion fraud committed by "effective altruist" Sam Bankman-Fried, and what his law-professor mother's effort to excuse away his criminal conduct tells us about the mindset of the leftist elite. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 29, 20241 hr 2 min

The Lieberman Legacy

Today's podcast pays tribute to the life, times, and political wisdom of Joe Lieberman, who died yesterday at the age of 82. What was so special about him and why are we unlikely to see his style of politics and political interaction at work in American public life any time soon? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 28, 202454 min

Bridge Over Troubled Nation

Today's podcast talks about how the bridge collapse in Maryland may accelerate the trust crisis in the country, already accelerating because nobody really knows or understands the condition and strength of the president of the United States. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 27, 20241 hr 7 min

The Biden Turn

Eli Lake joins the podcast to discuss the American abstention from yesterday's UN Security Council ceasefire resolution. Why is the Biden administration saying the policy hasn't changed when the policy has changed? Who exactly is being gaslit and how does this make an Israeli operation in Rafah any less likely? We also talk about the rise in violent crime and how it relates to the larger sense of unraveling. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Mar 26, 20241 hr 4 min

The No-Congressional-Body Problem

Today's podcast considers the terrorist attack in Russia and what it means for the war in Ukraine—and what the chaos in Congress means for the war in Ukraine as well. Also, lesson #257 in what happens if you try to get a job in mainstream media when you're on the right, and what the new Netflix show Three-Body Problem might tell us about our coming debt cliff. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 25, 20241 hr 3 min

The Pursuit of Happiness

Today we start out discussing a new Pew poll that shows, contra Chuck Schumer and others, American Jews overwhelmingly approve of Israel and its efforts to defeat Hamas since Oct. 7. We then get into the latest World Happiness Report, which finds the U.S. ranking below the 20 most happy countries for the first time in the report's history. What's behind our recent unhappiness and why are Americans under 30 most unhappy of all? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...

Mar 22, 20241 hr 4 min

The Stakes in Gaza

Today's podcast takes up a conversation between Israeli official Ron Dermer and our friend Dan Senor in which Dermer says a failure to secure victory in Gaza means Israel "has no future." Might this be true also of Jewry itself—especially due to the Jews who are now blaming Israel for their feeling of a lack of safety in the West? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 21, 202457 min

An Anniversary of Sorts

Today we note that it was just about four years ago that this podcast went daily, and we consider the lasting impact of the pandemic and the prospects of a political reckoning. But before that, we get into the significance of Bernie Moreno's primary win in Ohio and Donald Trump's inability to make bond. We close on a discussion of Joe Biden's Israel policy and the forgotten goal of war: victory. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Mar 20, 20241 hr 7 min

The Biden Breakdown and the Middle Class

Today's podcast begins with the Biden administration's increasing schizophrenia on the Gaza war and then proceeds to a powerful discussion of the elite war on the American middle class, based on our own Christine Rosen's landmark article in the current edition of COMMENTARY. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Mar 19, 20241 hr 11 min

Bloodbathing

Today's podcast takes up the weekend kerfuffle over Donald Trump's use of the word "bloodbath" and how quickly his opponents in the media and elsewhere rose in horror at a word they themselves used just a week ago to describe the firing of staffers at the Republican National Committee, for example. What's going on here? And what about the continued fallout from Chuck Schumer's strange speech last week calling for Israel to depose Bibi Netanyahu? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. V...

Mar 18, 202453 min

Ground Chuck

Dan Senor joins the podcast to discuss the politics behind Chuck Schumer's dumbfounding speech calling for the deposition of Benjamin Netanyahu. What does it tell us about Democratic party politics and Israel's standing with the party Jews have historically supported by huge margins? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 15, 20241 hr 16 min

The TikTok Political Earthquake

James B. Meigs, our tech columnist, comes on to discuss the amazing rapidity with which a bipartisan coalition formed around the idea of forcing the Chinese-Communist company Bytedance to divest itself of TikTok. Who says the parties can't work together? But why did they manage to work together so easily this time? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 14, 20241 hr 4 min

And Now, the Threat from the North

Jonathan Schanzer joins the podcast to note how, just in the last week, things have been heating up between Israel and Hezbollah on the northern border of the Jewish state. We also discuss the peculiarities of the Biden administration's approach to Israel finishing the job in Gaza—and whether there might be a weird Egyptian component at work. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 13, 20241 hr 6 min

Is Trump Being Railroaded?

Andrew C. McCarthy joins the podcast today to talk about how the prosecutions of Donald Trump may be violating critical Constitutional and procedural protections for defendants who stand accused of crimes before the bar—and why that matters. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 12, 20241 hr 15 min
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