The ongoing disaster in California has exposed the failures of the dominant ideology of the American left just as the moment that its transmission vector, the mainstream media, is going the way of the dodo. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesAutor: Commentary Magazine

What is the connection between the policy failures in California, the fires that continue to rage, and progressive ideology dating back a century? We break it down. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesAutor: Commentary Magazine

The Los Angeles fires might prove a hinge moment in 21st century political history depending on how California's progressive leaders respond to the calamity and how to rebuild after the crisis is over. We discuss this and Trump's response. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

The incoming president gave a press conference yesterday, and what a press conference it was, from Greenland to Panama to Canada to NATO to Ukraine, and the threat of unleashed hell in the Middle East should the hostages remain in Hamas captivity upon his inauguration. We break it down. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho…

Why did Justin Trudeau step down? Why is Facebook giving up on "content moderation"? Why do people no longer trust "experts" who may not really be experts? Why did Biden give a Medal of Freedom to George Soros...and George Romney? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Republicans are staying united as Donald Trump nears his swearing-in—with the shadow of Judge Merchan's determination to sentence him as a felon later this week. Meanwhile, the Biden foreign-policy team makes its case for its success as we try not to laugh. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

The only way to combat the kind of Islamist mass murder that took place in New Orleans this week is to...combat Islamism, both abroad and at home. We talk about how before we talk about Republicans in the House and last-minute Biden moves to control and contain the new administration. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone…

The first podcast of 2025 reckons with the horror in New Orleans and the attempted horror in Las Vegas before discussing the damage done to the Democratic Party by its own ideological blinders and its decision to gaslight America about the president's condition and his family's financial shenanigans. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices.…

On this holiday podcast, we offer cheer and warning in equal measure and then talk about...sitcoms and Christmas movies! Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesAutor: Commentary Magazine

Today's holiday podcast questions concern how we Commentaryites define ourselves in terms of the generations we come from, and what indelible encounters we've had in our lives with meaningful people. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesAutor: Commentary Magazine

Today's special podcast offers a glimpse into how we prepare for each morning's conversation, and we offer some vacation spot tips as well. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesAutor: Commentary Magazine

On today's holiday podcast, we answer a viewer's question about when and how we all met, and what is going on behind us (if you watch us on YouTube). Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesAutor: Commentary Magazine

On today's special holiday podcast, John talks with COMMENTARY contributor Rick Marin about his article "The Anti-Woke King of Hollywood" and what's in Taylor Sheridan's special sauce. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesAutor: Commentary Magazine

Today's special holiday podcast provides you with our list of the shows we liked the best on streaming and broadcast in 2024. Give a listen! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesAutor: Commentary Magazine

On our last news podcast of the year, we take up the Wall Street Journal story delineating the facts of the Biden cognitive cover-up, which now, it appears, dates back as far as 2020. Aside from the governing crisis the refusal of his cabinet and vice president created by failing to intervene as the Constitution requires, the Biden story also highl…

Today's podcast explores the existential pit in which House speaker Mike Johnson finds himself and whether there's any way out. Also, Israel continues to fight the fight for Western civilization while others scoff and belittle. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Should Donald Trump be paying as much attention to dealing with the problems he actually resolved by winning the election, like his beef with Liz Cheney and the Des Moines Register poll? On the other hand, what if one of the witnesses who testified before the January 6 committee was encouraged to change a story she had already told under oath? Also…

Today's podcast notes the extraordinarily different tone and approach taken by Donald Trump in his first press conference as president-elect and what it might tell us about the kind of presidency we might be seeing. And what on earth was going on at the White House Hanukkah party? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/…

Today's podcast examines the ramifications and emanations and penumbra arising from ABC's stunning decision to settle with Donald Trump after George Stephanopoulos wrongly said he had been found guilty of rape. What does this say about the mainstream media, and how does it connect to the drone story? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices.…

What on earth is going on in the skies over New Jersey and why is it so hard to trust the authorities when they tell us there's nothing to worry about? And what on earth is happening with the pardons and clemencies now numbering well over 1,000 from the exiting Biden administration? Give a listen. Also, if you have questions you want us to answer o…

Today we discuss Christopher Wray's announcement that he will step down as FBI director and what it means for Trump. How has Pete Hegseth managed to keep his rocky nomination on track (and how much help did he get from his critics in the press)? Also, the hostage deal currently in the works seems to refute the entire Biden approach to Israel's war …

Today's podcast examines the case of Luigi Mangione, the alleged shooter of the health-care executive, and the reasons why some people seem determined to lionize him and take on his cause—one of the most potentially dangerous moments in recent history. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Jonathan Schanzer joins the podcast to talk about the fall of the Assad regime and why it's not purely good news. What happens next? Is Iran done? And, if it is, does Israel (and maybe even the U.S.) finish off the regime? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesAutor: Commentary Magazine

Today's podcast begins with the shocking moment yesterday when Joe Biden spoke of the American hostage in Syria, Austin Tice, and then, 30 seconds later, entirely forgot who Austin Tice was. There are 42 days until the election; isn't there a single responsible person in the Cabinet of the United States willing to organize a 25th Amendment letter t…

Today we marvel at the liberal habit of protecting democracy with...banana republicanism. Fearing Donald Trump's revenge, the Biden administration is mulling preemptive pardons, and legacy media is normalizing the idea. Plus, we get into the blurring of mainstream and alternative media and why the left can never have a Joe Rogan. Give a listen. Lea…

We discuss the astonishing oral arguments yesterday in the Supreme Court about trans medicine and laws to restrict it before turning to the equally astonishing Biden-should-preemptively-pardon-everybody argument that's racing around Washington like the bubonic plague. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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 kerfuffl…

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. …

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 Mi…

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…

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 pa…

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…

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/adchoicesAutor: Commentary Magazine

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 Jew…

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…

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 espec…

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 a…

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…

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…

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 a…

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…

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 megap…

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 th…

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…

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

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…

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/adchoicesAutor: Commentary Magazine

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…

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/adchoicesAutor: Commentary Magazine

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 choic…