Today we examine the failed attempt to impose martial law in South Korea and the coming collapse of the French government and ask why it is so many American intellectuals continue to claim we are living through a constitutional crisis when...we're really, really not. Also: trans surgeries before the Supreme Court, and the Defense Secretary kerfuffle continues. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Dec 04, 2024•1 hr 9 min
It's not going well for Joe Biden in the wake of the sweeping pardon he granted his son. Democrats are discomfited, Karine Jean-Pierre is at a loss, and mainstream media is despondent. Donald Trump, on the other hand, seems to be enjoying a honeymoon. We contrast his bold statement demanding the release of Hamas's hostages with the Biden approach. And we also delve a bit into what's happening in Ukraine. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Dec 03, 2024•59 min
Today John is under the weather, so the rest of us take on Joe Biden's broad pardon of his son Hunter, what it says about the Biden presidency, and how it complements Donald Trump's pick of Kash Patel for director of the FBI. What do we think of Patel? What do we think of Trump's picking his daughter's father-in-law to be a senior adviser on the Middle East? And, finally, how's the Hezbollah ceasefire holding up and what can we learn from the reignited civil war in Syria? Give a listen. Learn mo...
Dec 02, 2024•1 hr 2 min
We try to make sense out of Israel's participation in the ceasefire that began today—and which Hezbollah may already have violated. Did Israel actually want this because it needed time to recover its strength? Or did it have to agree because it needed weapons from the United States that were being withheld? Oh, and what on earth was with that weird Kamala Harris video in which she appeared to be, shall we say, not entirely sober? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f...
Nov 27, 2024•1 hr 8 min
According to Israel, it is agreeing to a ceasefire with Hezbollah in large measure to stave off an American assault in the UN on Israel's efforts in Lebanon. We discuss what this reminds us of, why it's outrageous if indeed this is the case, and whether Israel can find a way to benefit from the pause. Also, hijinks with tariffs and fights on the patio at Mar-A-Lago! Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Nov 26, 2024•1 hr 15 min
Today's podcast begins with the horrible murder of a Hasidic emissary in the UAE and the growing institutional anti-Semitism in Canada before moving on to the very interesting political dynamic emerging from the Trump picks for Cabinet and other jobs—a post-conservative-movement ideological and policy free-for-all whose winners and losers will help define the Republican Party for the rest of the century. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Nov 25, 2024•1 hr 19 min
Today we talk about AG pick Pam Bondi and why we should take the Trump transition seriously. Then we look back on the Kamala Harris campaign and wonder, What the heck was that ? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 22, 2024•1 hr 6 min
The news that the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant came the same day that 19 Democrats voted to embargo "offensive weaponry" to Israel—and a former Israeli cabinet minister was denied entry to a conference in Australia because her very presence might be "disruptive." The war against Jews is relentless and ever-morphing, and there is going to be pushback. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Nov 21, 2024•57 min
Today we take up Donald Trump's newest picks, Linda McMahon for education secretary and Dr. Oz to oversee Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and we talk about the potential for outsiders to shake up dysfunctional institutions. We also get into where the Democrats go next on social issues and how Republicans can best counter trans extremism. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 20, 2024•57 min
Today's podcast delves into a New York Times story suggesting Donald Trump thinks Matt Gaetz will not be confirmable, or confirmed, by the Senate. What's going on here? What will Gaetz do? And what does this mean for the other nominees? Also, the effort of leading Israelis to blame Benjamin Netanyahu for the continuing hostage crisis takes an especially ugly turn. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Nov 19, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Noah Rothman joins us today to talk about presidential appointments and how to stay calm and rational as Donald Trump continues to make news at the same dizzying clip he did during his presidency. Oh, and why it's comical that liberals are now claiming they don't have a social-media platform they can dominate. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 18, 2024•1 hr 23 min
How the RFK pick is both conventional (Trump rewarding an important endorser) and the result of radical changes in the way Americans view trusted institutions (they don't trust those institutions). But is RFK a change agent or merely an opportunistic ambulance-chaser who is taking advantage of their distrust? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 15, 2024•1 hr 2 min
The appointments of Matt Gaetz and Tulsi Gabbard to major jobs in the administration has set Washington's (and our) heads on fire. And with Robert Kennedy Jr. soon to follow, what shape is the nascent White House taking, and what will the Republican Senate do with its advise-and-consent powers? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 14, 2024•1 hr 11 min
Today's podcast talks about the root causes of the Amsterdam pogrom in Europe and the root causes of the surge in random anti-Semitic attacks in America at the same time. Then we look at the fascinating choice by Donald Trump of Pete Hegseth to run the Pentagon and what Hegseth says about saving the military in his work. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 13, 2024•1 hr 30 min
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, 2024•1 hr 4 min
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, 2024•1 hr 18 min
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, 2024•1 hr 20 min
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, 2024•1 hr 30 min
Well, you know what we're talking about today. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 06, 2024•1 hr 28 min
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, 2024•1 hr 33 min
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, 2024•1 hr 41 min
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, 2024•1 hr 22 min
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, 2024•1 hr 1 min
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, 2024•1 hr 16 min
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, 2024•1 hr 13 min
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, 2024•1 hr 26 min
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, 2024•1 hr 10 min
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, 2024•1 hr 16 min
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, 2024•1 hr 9 min
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, 2024•1 hr 13 min
