The Commentary Magazine Podcast - podcast cover

The Commentary Magazine Podcast

Commentary Magazinericochet.com
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.

Episodes

Neocon Trump?

The selections of Marco Rubio, Mike Waltz, and Elise Stefanik to senior foreign-policy posts in the incoming administration offer significant signals that Trump 2 is not going to follow the neo-isolationist hopes and dreams of the Tucker Carlson crowd. What will this mean for Ukraine, and what does it say about the Jewish vote? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 12, 20241 hr 6 min

Who's Whispering in Trump's Ear?

The first appointments of the Trump administration came over the weekend, even as the incoming president was signaling his determination not to bring back two of his first-term hawks, Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo. How are they? What's going on in the Senate? And what about that FEMA story? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 11, 20241 hr 20 min

Amsterdammerung

Eliana Johnson of the Washington Free Beacon joins the podcast as we address the horrifying news out of Amsterdam—a present-day pogrom that is taking place while anti-Semitic acts are happening across America during the same week and Israel continues to be threatened by Hezbollah and the Houthis. What connects this to the continuing fallout from the election? Immigration. And the question of who's going to be tough on Iran. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...

Nov 08, 20241 hr 22 min

Did the Democrats Gaslight Themselves?

After Kamala Harris's concession speech, the recriminations are beginning inside the Democratic Party—and oh, are we here for it. Are they going to diagnose what went wrong honestly, or are they going to retreat to their zone of ideological comfort? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 07, 20242 hr 31 min

The Trump Triumph

Well, you know what we're talking about today. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 06, 20242 hr 30 min

No, This Won't Be the Last Election Ever

It's here, and Oprah and Joe Rogan and Elon Musk are all saying it'll be the last time we ever get to vote. While some of us might feel, after the past two years, like that would be a deliverance of a sort, it's the kind of rhetoric and thinking that have gotten us into this cultural and political mess. We discuss that, and all kinds of other stuff, as we wait...and wait...and wait... Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 05, 20242 hr 35 min

Vibes and Polls and Predictions, Oh My!

With a day to go, we discuss whether the vibes lean toward Harris or Trump, where the polls are leaning (if at all), and whom we think is going to win. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 04, 20242 hr 42 min

Shameful Schumer and the Election

Another nail in the coffin of Sen. Chuck Schumer's reputation for being a voice for the Jewish community was hammered yesterday by the Free Beacon with an earthquake of a story in which he seeks to bury evidence of anti-Semitism on the Columbia University campus. This leads us into a discussion of, what else, the election. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 01, 20241 hr 23 min

The Stirewalt Closing Argument

Chris Stirewalt, whose The Hill Sunday show on NewsNation is a must-watch, joins us to discuss how polls work at this late date and whether they do, what poll herding is, and whether we can trust the data we're seeing. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 31, 20241 hr 3 min

Steve Speaks!

We're joined today by the analyst who made the video screen and the white button down shirt into election-night legends, Steve Kornacki of NBC. Where will he be looking first next Tuesday for evidence of how the night is going to go? How many undecided voters are left? And what about "partisan gravity"? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 30, 20241 hr 18 min

Don't Call It a Hate Crime Against a Jew

A synagogue-goer is shot in Chicago over the weekend and the cops—and the media—seem unable to discern the motive of a gunman who shouted "Allahu Akbar." Why would this be the case? And why is the New York Times trying to talk people into feeling hopeful about Kamala Harris's chances with an article that offers no evidence they should have such hope? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 29, 20241 hr 15 min

Where Does the Israel-Iran Conflict Go Now?

Dan Senor joins us to discuss Israel's strike on Iran this weekend. We also talk about the media meltdown over endorsements, Trump's Madison Square Garden rally, and why Michelle Obama thinks attacking men for being full of rage is a winning political strategy. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 28, 20241 hr 27 min

It's Raining Men

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are tied in the final national New York Times poll, which the Times itself says is not good news for Harris. What explains it? How about the possibility that men may have had enough of decades of being belittled by the dominant culture? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 25, 20241 hr 12 min

A Ka-meh-la Town Hall

The vice president spent 90 minutes with CNN last night at a town hall just as polling information was suggesting she is on a downward slope. We evaluate her performance and try to explain why the "Trump as fascist" line of attack doesn't seem to have the oomph the Harris campaign wants. And why the Biden administration is now acting in ways that seem to portend a Russian victory in Ukraine. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 24, 20241 hr 17 min

If Harris Wants to Win, She Has to Try

Kamala Harris seems to have stalled out on her way to Election Day, while Trump is inching upward. The kinds of things she might be hoping will help her—like the manufactured October Surprises from the New York Times and the Atlantic again highlighting bad Trump quotes and supposedly bad Trump behavior—likely won't. So how can she win unless she figures out a way to...win? Plus, a Commentary Podcast Drinking Game! Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 23, 20241 hr 11 min

Will America Fall Apart in Two Weeks?

A truly dystopian Commentary podcast envisions two paths—one where Trump wins and one where Harris wins. Both paths may lead to unprecedented political and social disorder. How? Where? Why? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 22, 20241 hr 15 min

Why Harris Can't Close the Sale

There's never been a race this close, according to the polling, and the question is why. The answers we offer have to do with which candidate is bringing the "joy" (it ain't Harris) and which candidate is throwing around 14 different messages hoping enough will stick with enough swing voters to drag the ticket across the finish line (it ain't Trump). Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 21, 20241 hr 16 min

The Significance of the Sinwar Killing

Eli Lake joins the podcast as we debate just how meaningful the killing of Yahya Sinwar by IDF troops is—is it a major turning point, a climactic event, one of the most important days of the 21st century, or something else? And what about the Biden administration's response to it? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 18, 20241 hr 10 min

Kamala in the Baier's Den

Why did Kamala Harris agree to a 26 minute interview with Fox's Bret Baier, and what do we make of what she said and how she did? And we discuss breaking news out of Israel. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 17, 20241 hr

The Latest Aggression Against Israel

What on earth is with this out-of-nowhere letter from the secretary of state and the secretary of defense threatening the flow of U.S. military aid to Israel in 30 days' time unless Israel loosens its restrictions on aid going to Gaza—most if not all of which is going to keep the dying Hamas alive? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 16, 20241 hr 16 min

Three Weeks to Go

Does the "Trump is crazy" attack still work? Why is the Harris campaign panicking over the black vote? What does the Kamala plagiarism story tell us? And what do most Americans consider a threat to their freedom? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 15, 20241 hr 12 min

Advantage: Trump?

Today's podcast looks at the way the Harris campaign seems to have stalled and the fact that, of the two competitors, it is Trump who talks issues and Harris who...doesn't talk much at all. And when will Israel strike at Iran—or will it? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 14, 20241 hr 9 min

Biden vs. Harris

In this, the last podcast of the week, we ask: What's going on between the president and the vice president? Is he targeting her? Is he trying to upstage her? Is he trying to humiliate her? Or does he even know what he's doing? And what exactly is she doing? Is she really as bad at this candidate stuff as she appears? And what's happening at CBS? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 10, 202458 min

The Hurricanes and the Race

James B. Meigs joins us to discuss hurricane politics—how they work, who gets blamed, why the media do what they do, and what the dangers are for the two presidential candidacies. Also: How did Kamala's big press day go? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 09, 20241 hr 1 min

Where Are the Men?

The disgusting displays of pro-terror masked goons marauding through New York City's streets brings to mind the question of who exactly is going to stand up to these monsters—and praises those who do. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris goes on 60 Minutes and helps explain why she's not running away with this race, while JD Vance comes up with a brilliant formulation. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 08, 20241 hr 12 min

What We've Learned

Ruthie Blum joins the podcast today to discuss the lessons of October 7—about Israel, about American Jewry, about anti-Semitism, about the Biden administration, about the hunger to blame Jews for their own misfortunes, about the hunger to blame Benjamin Netanyahu for the war, and about what the future of an America uncomfortable with military victory might hold. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 07, 20241 hr 20 min

EMERGENCY: The Veep Debate

The Vance-Walz showdown was civil, friendly, and a complete slaughter. Who slaughtered whom? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 02, 20241 hr

Joe, Take the Win!

Why is the administration remaining churlish and full of ceasefire talk relating to Israel and Hezbollah and Hamas? Why are there no papers on the Resolute desk? Why is Kamala Harris visiting a Washington office rather than a flood site? Why should Jimmy Carter be celebrated for being 100 when his record as president was terrible and his behavior toward Israel appalling? Why isn't Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 01, 20241 hr 14 min

We Celebrate

Dan Senor joins today's podcast to discuss Israel's series of staggering military and intelligence triumphs over evil this weekend and their long-term ramifications. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 30, 20241 hr 26 min

Terrorism Fans on New York Streets

What does it mean that hundreds took over the streets around Grand Central Terminal celebrating Hamas and Hezbollah before others went up Park Avenue to the hotel where Benjamin Netanyahu is staying and started chanting, "We're going to get you"? What does it mean that Kamala Harris is going to the border? What does it mean that Eric Adams wanted airline upgrades so much he might have sold himself to the government of Turkey? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/ad...

Sep 27, 20241 hr 1 min