Eli Lake joins today's podcast as we discuss two major articles in the May issue of COMMENTARY: Christine Rosen on "consumer eugenics" and Seth Mandel on the anti-Semites in the conservative podcasting world. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A two-hander today as Abe Greenwald and I delve Talmudically into the New York Times story on how Donald Trump decided not to participate in an Israeli strike on Iran and why. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Eliana Johnson joins us today from the Washington Free Beacon to discuss the Trump-Harvard fight, Steve Witkoff's walk-back on Iran, and the firebombing of Gov. Josh Shapiro's house on the first night of Passover. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On several fronts—the tariffs, Ukraine, and Iran in particular—we strain to see the supposed negotiating genius of Donald Trump and his team. And what of the legal messes all over the place? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
When the Trump administration isn't doing unpopular things, it's doing popular things the wrong way. From bad actors abroad to the courts, we discuss the challenges the president is facing and the position he's put himself in. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Donald Trump backs down on the tariffs and according to his fan base, this is a mark of his Machiavellian genius. This would seem to have something in common not with Machiavelli but with Larry Tate, the completely transactional boss on the sitcom "Bewitched." How? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The 104 percent tariff on China is kicking off a very risky conflict with the People's Republic with potential geopolitical and military ramifications. Is it possible that, without even entirely understanding it, Donald Trump is sticking it to the Chinese over Covid? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Constitutional scholar Adam White joins us to talk about the surprisingly complex Supreme Court edit on the plane deportations to El Salvador and what it portends for the fights on legal matters to come. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The fallout from Trump's colossal trade-tariff moves has only just begun. What are the effects on the GOP? On the possibility of the Democrats finding their sea legs with a non-elite economic argument? On the world and our alliances? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Did the successive national shocks of the past half-century lead to the shock of "Liberation Day"? That was the focus of my COMMENTARY daily newsletter from yesterday, and today we use that newsletter as a launching point to discuss Trump's tariffs, the public's reaction, and if we ever lived in "normal" times. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
David Bahnsen joins us today to discuss the Trump tariff earthquake and whether it's here to stay, will somehow be walked back, and whether any good can come from it. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Special elections last night offered a mixed picture of the political mood in the country, even as Democrats seem to be seizing on the idea that their path to victory is to focus on Elon Musk. Did Trump do America and Elise Stefanik herself a favor by making her stay in the House to continue fighting the culture war against the universities? And what exactly are tariffs liberating us from? Plus, Val Kilmer, RIP. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How did it happen that Kamala Harris ever rose to the summit? What forces led her there, and what does it mean that she was stopped and that Trump won over her and is doing what he's doing now? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
his weekend we saw Bad Trump—the one saying he could serve a third term because of, you know, reasons—and Good Trump—the one saying Putin and Iran are angering him and that he's not going to stand for much more of their shenanigans. Now come the tariffs. Are they the work of Good Trump or Bad Trump? And here's an idea: Barack Obama for president of Columbia! Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We discuss the defense proffered by Elon Musk and his Doge team in a fascinating interview last night on Bret Baier's Fox show for their actions and why, while laudable, their efforts to apply "business" practices to government have been tried before and usually backfire. And why you shouldn't take the media assaults on Trump's deportations at face value. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
No, we're not Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers; we're the COMMENTARY podcast and we're here to discuss automobile tariffs and the dangers thereto. Not to mention: Othello! Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Eli Lake joins us today to discuss the continuing fallout from the inadvertent addition of a journalist to a discussion at the highest levels of America's military operation against the Houthis in Yemen. If the president doesn't care, will anyone else? And why are Tuckeristas trying to turn this into a holy war against those who want to use American power to open the world's shipping lanes? Also, what about these demonstrations in Gaza? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega...
We talk today about the three elements of the story about a journalist finding himself on the text chain revealing the deepest secret of the Trump administration thus far and what it says about the behavior and policies of the White House, and then dive deep into the extraordinary story of the Minnesota non-profit that stole $250 million in COVID relief money and gave it to staffers in the form of wedding gold. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Data from Democrats themselves indicate the party's fortunes are historically poor, and we spend the podcast discussing how they got themselves into this hole and how difficult it is for them to climb out of it. Also: Trump manhandles Columbia University and a big law firm. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The podcast discusses the rescue of astronauts from a failed Boeing craft by SpaceX, raising questions about the future of NASA and the privatization of space. It also delves into a landmark lawsuit against Greenpeace for allegedly supporting terrorist acts, examining the implications for NGOs and freedom of speech. The episode explores the intersection of politics, technology, and activism.
David Bahnsen and Tevi Troy join us today to talk about the Fed and its talk of inflation and uncertainty, and Tevi's lead article in the April issue of COMMENTARY, "In Praise of Big Pharma." Plus, new merch! Very exciting! Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
With Trump and Putin negotiating with each other in an attempt to force a resolution onto Ukraine, the question arises: How do former American agreements bind (or not bind) Trump or any new president? And what can be said of the traditions of American politics Trump seeks to up-end or destroy? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jonathan Schanzer joins the podcast to discuss Israel's aggressive moves against Hamas in Gaza as the "cease-fire" that ended 18 days ago really came to an actual end with the Jewish state showing its determination to bring this war to its purposeful conclusion—the destruction of Hamas—in concert with the Trump administration taking on the Houthis in Yemen. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How to keep up with the news? You can't. There's too much of it. Even over a weekend. We try to catch up. Wow. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Founding father Noah Rothman joins us today to discuss the day's news before we offer a brief history of the birth, evolution, and growth of the COMMENTARY podcast as we note our tenth anniversary (and fifth anniversary of going daily). Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Liel Leibovitz joins us today to discuss the ongoing controversy over the immigration and speech status of Columbia extremist Mahmoud Khalil and how he, as someone who has been through the immigration process, views these incendiary matters. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today's podcast is an effort to help me find my bearings in a world in which Ukraine agrees to a cease-fire, RFK Jr. is doing an ad for Steak'n'Shake, Donald Trump is selling Teslas on the White House lawn, and Democrats are siding with a terror-supporting activist. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The question we ask on today's podcast about the Trump administration is simple: "Can't anybody here play this game?" What game? We explain and you should give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tough times at Columbia University as hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money are revoked and a leader of the pro-Hamas protests is taken into custody by ICE. It's a huge development. Not so good: The antics of "hostage negotiator" Adam Boehler. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We take an offbeat tack today, jumping off from a landmark achievement in the world of AI to ask just how close we are to the "singularity," and what that means for the future of humanity. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
